09/25/2026
This past Wednesday the Pompton Lakes Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) was honored for the team’s 20 years of service. Started in February of 2006, the first class of members completed their training and the team was officially formed in August 2006.
Since then the team has run over 15 shelters some lasting as long as a full week, helped out at evacuations and lockdowns of the local schools, wildfire suppression support, door-to-door residence canvassing, searching for missing people, and, in one case a missing puppy, and extensive time volunteering at flu and Covid vaccine centers. During the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy members traveled to the Jersey shore to assist with cleanup efforts.
CERT exists to teach people how to prepare themselves for emergencies, and then help their neighbors. The team supports first responders whenever needed. The training is free.
The current team comprises of over 40 members. Pompton Lakes OEM/CERT has trained over 150 individuals over the years, including four years of the Teen Cert program run out of the high school and open to anyone in Pompton Lakes High School.
People who complete the course do not have to join the team and will receive a gear bag of basic tools to get them started in their own preparations. The course teaches people to understand how emergency management works, how their town, state, and federal government respond to various issues from small power outages to major hurricanes or earthquakes, and how they can prepare and protect themselves and their families.
The course provides instruction in basic fire suppression, search and rescue, first aid, disastrous psychology, and hazard mitigation. Those in the class get to practice these skills with hands-on activities. 
The Passaic County Safety Academy is running the free course on the first four Saturdays in October from 9 AM to 4 PM, all four days must be taken to complete the course and the first class is on October 3. For more information on registering please email [email protected].
