Albany CERT Fifth Wednesday Meeting — Wednesday, September 30, 7–8:30pm

Join us for our next Fifth Wednesday Albany CERT community gathering, Wednesday, September 30, 2026, 7:00–8:30pm, at the Albany Senior Center, 846 Masonic Avenue, Albany (hybrid — in person or via Zoom). Topic: Getting Ready for El Niño — what this winter could bring to Albany, and what we can do together about it. Whether you’re a CERT graduate, a Block Captain, or just a curious Albany neighbor, you’re welcome — no prior training needed. Full details: bit.ly/albanycert20260930. Hope to see you there! — Albany CERT, AlbanyCERT@gmail.com

About

In March 2021, Albany CERT Inc. formed as a California non-profit corporation, a 501(c)(3) organized for the benefit of Albany, CA.

The purpose is to expand the safety and well-being of Albany residents, and to support Albany emergency preparedness through a coordinated effort between:

For more information and an online message board, visit albanycert.groups.io.

See About for our nonprofit status and board.

CERT Trained Residents

The key to CERT preparation is the formal training program put together by FEMA for use across the United States. This training teaches these skills for residents that want to learn: disaster preparedness, fire safety and utility control, disaster medical operations, light search and rescue operations, CERT organization, disaster psychology, terrorism and CERT, and disaster simulation.

Training is a 3-hour course, once a week for 8 weeks. Training oversight is by the Albany Fire Department. You will receive a CERT-equipped backpack on completion, and practice skills with other CERT Trained residents twice a year. In an emergency, CERT Trained residents are in charge of operations until authorities arrive.

Fall 2026 CERT Training has started, and we don’t have any further openings. See Training to join the wait list — wait-list members get an early heads-up on the next class.

Block Captains

Each Albany block or neighborhood needs to be organized by its residents. The Block Captain is a volunteer neighbor near you. Many areas have added co-captains and teams that focus on specific roles.

If you have a Block Captain, ask how you can help. If you don’t have one, see if a few of you are willing to organize yourselves. Block Captains and their teams organize their neighborhood, create a list of people and pets, discuss home preparations, create plans for how to respond, and know how to work with CERT Trained residents and CERT Radio.

The City of Albany has a new revision of the Block Captain Manual available on the City website, to prepare you for a disaster and organize your own home and family for such an event.

See Block Captains for how to sign up.

Albany CERT Radio Club

In a disaster, cell phones and internet could be unavailable. For CERT to be effective, messages to the City or County will likely send by radio. The Albany CERT Radio Club’s primary function is to support the CERT Trained residents in communications and message delivery. Age and disability are not barriers — young, old, and homebound folks can all be top-notch radio operators. It’s a lot of fun, too!

Check-in every Wednesday at 7pm on Channel 19 Simplex, on FRS or GMRS. See Radio Club for more.

Albany CERT is registered as a California non-profit organization. We are seeking grant funding from organizations that fund community emergency preparedness, as well as tax-deductible donations from Albany residents. Funds are used for training for CERT and Block Captains, annual simulated emergency training events, equipment for neighborhoods, additional radio equipment at gathering locations, and supplemental items for neighborhood emergency stashes.

See Donate — donations are fully tax-deductible.

Join our mailing list

Get in touch with us at AlbanyCERT@gmail.com, or join groups.io/g/albanycert for news and events.