SeaTac and Burien fire and police departments again are partnering to offer Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training.

The eight-session training on Tuesday evenings will begin Sept. 4 from 6 to 9 p.m. at SeaTac Fire Station 45.

CERT training, supported by Citizen Corps and FEMA curriculum, is held twice a year to promote a partnering effort between emergency services and the people they serve.

Emergency personnel train members of neighborhoods, community organizations and workplaces in basic disaster preparation and response skills. CERT members are then integrated into the emergency response capability for their area.

Events like the Nisqually earthquake, Sept. 11, Hurricane Katrina, and local wind and snow storms are motivating factors behind the CERT program.

In a major disaster, local emergency responders are overwhelmed. Citizens who receive this training can make the crucial difference and prevent a disaster from turning into a tragedy.

CERT classes focus on disaster preparation, disaster medical operations-triage, disaster medical operations - assessment, treatment and hygiene, fire safety and suppression, electrical emergencies, search and rescue, team organization and disaster psychology, and terrorism.

A mass casualty exercise will be held on Oct. 20.

There is a minimal fee for tools supplied to students, enabling them to build their own emergency response kit.

CERT is open to anyone who lives or works in the cities of SeaTac or Burien. There are a limited number of spaces for each class, so register early.

Additional information is available at www.ci.seatac.wa.us or www.burien.wa.us or www.citizencorps.gov/cert. To register, contact Community Service Officer Jessica Gilleland at 206-973-4917.