Central County Fire CERT

06/01/2026

The Draft Local Hazard Mitigation Plan is now available for public comment!
🔗 Link to review the plan and submit comments: https://www.smcgov.org/dem/multijurisdictional-local-hazard-mitigation-plan

The San Mateo County Local Hazard Mitigation Plan (LHMP) is a countywide effort involving 36 jurisdictions and special districts to identify and address risks from natural hazards such as earthquakes, floods, wildfires, and severe weather. The plan outlines strategies and actions to reduce disaster impacts before they occur, helping protect people, homes, businesses, and critical infrastructure.

🗓️ Public Comment Period: May 15 – June 15, 2026

Community members are encouraged to review the draft plan and share their feedback. Public input helps ensure the plan reflects local experiences and priorities while strengthening San Mateo County’s ability to secure state and federal funding for future hazard mitigation projects.

05/22/2026

Our partners at the Hillsborough Neighborhood Network (HNN) will be hosting a community speaker series focused on wildfire insurance preparedness and resilience featuring Joel Laucher from United Policyholders. We encourage interested residents and CERT members to attend!

Join the Hillsborough Neighborhood Network for the second installment of our 2026 Speaker Series focused on wildfire insurance preparedness and community resilience.

This quarter’s featured speaker is Joel Laucher from United Policyholders, a national nonprofit organization that helps insurance consumers navigate challenges before and after disasters. The discussion will focus on insurance-related considerations surrounding wildfire preparedness, recovery, coverage challenges, and steps residents can take before and after a disaster.

📅 Tuesday, June 16, 2026
🕕 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM
📍 Hillsborough Town Hall

Residents are encouraged to RSVP in advance at: formurl.com/to/HNNQ22026
Questions may also be submitted ahead of time through the RSVP form.

Questions or need assistance registering? Please contact Kaz Chiao at: [email protected]

We look forward to another informative and beneficial discussion for our community!

05/21/2026

🎉 Last night’s CCFD CERT Volunteer Appreciation Event was a great success! Thank you to everyone who joined us for an evening filled with connection, conversation, recognition, and celebration. It was wonderful seeing volunteers meet new people, reconnect with fellow CERT members, engage with CCFD staff, and connect with elected officials from across our communities. 🤝🚒

The accomplishments and continued growth of this program would not be possible without the dedication of our incredible volunteers. Thank you for everything you do to support preparedness and resilience throughout Burlingame, Hillsborough, and Millbrae. ❤️

We would also like to thank Deputy Fire Chief Jonathan Cox, Deputy Fire Marshal Julie Parenti, Hillsborough Councilmember Marie Chuang, and Millbrae Mayor Stephen Rainaldi for joining us in recognizing our volunteers and program accomplishments.

🏅 Congratulations to our 2026 award recipients:
• Burlingame CERT Volunteer of the Year: Vindula Raghbir
• Hillsborough CERT Volunteer of the Year: Mike Chuang
• Millbrae CERT Volunteer of the Year: Oliver Abramson
• Dena D. Gunning Memorial Award: Betty & Leland Low
• Special Recognition Award: Tom Brocher

📸 A special thank you to our photographers from Nueva School for helping capture the evening’s memories. If you missed the event, no worries! Event photos will be shared soon, and a recording of the presentation will be posted to the CCFD CERT YouTube channel. Stay tuned! 🎥

05/20/2026

A special thank you to Mandarin CERT trainee Zane Z. for creating and editing this great video recap from our final day of Mandarin Chinese CERT training and Skills Day exercise this past Saturday. The video captures many of the hands-on activities, teamwork, and scenarios participants worked through throughout the day, and we appreciate him helping document these moments and helping us spread the word about the CERT program and community preparedness. 🎥👏

05/19/2026

CCFD CERT’s Teen CERT Boot Camp is back this summer! Join us in Millbrae for a two-day interactive training designed for students entering grades 9–12. This year’s program will take place on Saturday, July 11 (8:00 AM–5:00 PM) and Saturday, July 18 (8:00 AM–4:00 PM).

Participants will gain hands-on experience in disaster preparedness, fire safety, light search and rescue, disaster medical operations, teamwork, and more while learning how to stay safe and support their communities during emergencies.

Teen CERT is free to attend and no prior experience is needed. Space is limited and advance registration is required. Parent/guardian paperwork must be completed by July 1.

Registration link in bio 🔗

Questions? Contact Kaz Chiao at [email protected] or call us at (650) 558-7600.

05/17/2026

Our two-day Mandarin Chinese CERT Boot Camp has officially come to an end! Over the course of 16+ hours of training, 15 dedicated volunteers from across our jurisdiction and the Bay Area committed two full Saturdays to strengthening disaster preparedness and community resilience — and we could not be more proud of their hard work and dedication.

This afternoon concluded with a disaster simulation exercise involving a simulated earthquake resulting in small fires, damaged buildings, and injured patients. Our newest CERT volunteers worked together with tremendous skill, teamwork, and integrity as they applied the knowledge they learned throughout the course.

We were also honored to welcome San Mateo County Undersheriff Chris Hsiung, Millbrae Mayor Stephen Rainaldi, and Hillsborough Councilmember (town representative) & CERT Volunteer Instructor Marie Chuang, who joined us to deliver remarks during today’s graduation ceremony. And, a special thank you to Engine 37 for their support during today’s hands-on training and disaster exercise. 🚒

Please join us in congratulating and welcoming these new CERT volunteers! 👏

05/16/2026

Day 2 of CCFD CERT’s Mandarin Chinese CERT training is underway! Participants are wrapping up classroom instruction this morning with hands-on training in Fire Safety & Utility Control and Light Search & Rescue. This afternoon will conclude with a disaster simulation exercise to put newly learned skills into action.

CCFD 中文社區緊急應變隊（CERT）培訓第二天正式展開！學員們今早將透過消防安全與公用設施控制，以及輕型搜索與救援的實作訓練，完成課堂課程。今天下午則將以災害模擬演練作為結尾，實際運用新學到的技能

05/14/2026

The Central County Firefighters’ Pancake Breakfast is back and scheduled for Saturday, June 13 from 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM at Fire Station 34. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Alisa Ann Ruch Burn Foundation.

CCFD CERT will also have a booth at the event. We hope to see you there!

05/09/2026

The Central County Fire Department’s Mandarin Chinese CERT Boot Camp is officially underway in Millbrae! This two-weekend training brings together community members from across the Bay Area to learn disaster preparedness, fire safety, medical operations, light search and rescue, and more — all through multilingual instruction focused on expanding access to emergency preparedness. 🚒⛑️