Redlands Fire offers free CERT, business safety training

REDLANDS, Calif. — The Redlands Fire Department is offering free emergency preparedness training for both residents and local businesses, including a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) course beginning Friday.

The three-day CERT training will teach residents how to respond during disasters when professional responders may be delayed or overwhelmed. The program includes more than 20 hours of hands-on instruction covering disaster preparedness, fire safety, light search and rescue, hazardous materials awareness, disaster medical operations, emergency communications and STOP THE BLEED training.

All sessions will take place at the Redlands Senior Center, 111 W. Lugonia St.

Scheduled CERT trainings include:

• March 6–8, 2026 — English
• May 15–17, 2026 — Spanish
• Sept. 25–27, 2026 — English

Registration is free and available at redlands.gov/CERT.

The fire department is also offering Business Emergency Resilience Training (BERT) sessions to help local businesses prepare for emergencies and protect employees.

The BERT series began Thursday with a session on wildfire and large-scale disaster preparedness. Additional trainings will take place later this spring and will cover emergency planning, resiliency practices, fire protection systems and utility safety.

Upcoming sessions include:

• Emergency Plans & Resiliency Practices — April 22 at the Flores Senior Center
• Fire Protection Systems & Utility Safety — May 14 at the Flores Senior Center

Both sessions are scheduled from 1 to 2 p.m.

According to the fire department, the BERT program helps business owners and employees better understand fire safety requirements, emergency planning and strategies to improve workplace disaster readiness.

Businesses interested in attending can contact the Redlands Fire Department Fire Prevention Division at (909) 798-7600 or fireprevention@cityofredlands.org.