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Ventura, Calif. — To expand accessibility and ensure all residents have the opportunity to be prepared for emergencies, the City of Ventura, in collaboration with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the City of Santa Paula, is offering a full Spanish-language Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training beginning this October.
The free, hands-on program is open to 40 participants from Ventura and Santa Paula and will run from October 9 through November 15, 2025. Applicants will be accepted on a rolling basis with the application open through Wednesday, October 8, 2025.
“In recent years, we’ve heard from our Spanish-speaking community about the need for this training, and we are excited to finally make it a reality,” said Mack Douglass, Ventura’s Emergency Services Manager. “Preparedness should never depend on language. By offering this training in Spanish, we’re ensuring that more of our residents feel included, supported, and ready to step up when their families and neighborhoods need them most.”
Participants will complete 24 hours of training covering critical skills such as fire safety, medical triage, disaster psychology, team organization, and light search and rescue. Upon graduation, each participant will receive a certificate of completion and a disaster start-up kit, including a helmet, gloves, vest, and safety goggles.
Classes begin October 9 and will be hosted on six consecutive Thursday nights from 6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m., with a final skills showcase on Saturday, November 15, from 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. Classroom training will take place at the Ventura Police Department Headquarters, with the final drill hosted at the Ventura County Fire Drill Grounds in Camarillo.
Classes will be taught entirely in Spanish and will combine classroom instruction with hands-on learning.
For more information or to apply, visit www.cityofventura.ca.gov/CERT.
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