WILLIAMS/PARKS/TUSAYAN/VALLE — Sergeant James Steng of the Coconino County Sheriff’s office will be holding a training course starting this Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. CERT, Community Emergency Response Team grew out of the natural desire to help others during and after a natural disaster. The first people on most scenes after a disaster are survivors who want to help.

The primary objective of Teen CERT is to teach young citizens how to keep themselves, their family members and their fellow students safe before and during a disaster and how to assist them during the aftermath of a disaster. Teens will learn how to best prepare for a disaster and how to assess the scene after a disaster. They will also learn how to conduct a search and rescue operation and how to suppress small fires.

The advantage of this type of training is that it is something a teen can carry throughout their lifetime. FEMA even sponsors online training courses one can take to further their education.

The training sessions will start this Saturday, January 9, 2016 8 am to 5 pm. The next session will follow the next Saturday, January 16, 2016 8 am to 5 pm and finish with a last session on Saturday January 23, 2016 8 am to 12 noon.

Interested teens who would like more information or who wish to register for this training are asked to call Sergeant James Steng at (928) 679-8735 or (928) 607-6470.