What is CERT?
CERT stands for Community Emergency Response Team. It is a volunteer preparedness and training approach that helps people care for themselves, their families, and neighbors when a disaster disrupts normal services.
Basic CERT training commonly covers disaster preparedness, fire safety, disaster medical operations, light search and rescue, and team organization. Training and local direction determine what a volunteer is qualified and authorized to do.
The national CERT model is background information. It does not confirm the current capabilities, staffing, or deployment arrangements of Century Village’s team.
Connect your association with Century Village preparedness
UCO’s current Delegate, Officer and CERT Contact Report includes an association CERT contact and a 24/7 management-company contact. Maintaining these details helps establish a reliable point of contact.
UCO directs associations to update the form after the annual meeting and when delegates or officers change. Its current instructions require a printed, complete form with the association seal, delivered to the UCO office in person by a board member. Emailed or incomplete forms are not processed.
UCO contact report — PDFCurrent UCO form instructionsA practical preparedness checklist for boards
These are recommended association planning steps to coordinate with current UCO, CERT, and emergency-management guidance.
- Designate a contact and backup. Identify who receives community information and how the board reaches them if normal communications fail.
- Keep emergency contacts current. Review board, manager, contractor, and association CERT information. Submit the appropriate updates to UCO.
- Prepare a building plan. Identify reporting methods, utility-shutoff information for qualified personnel, access arrangements, and known building hazards.
- Plan resident communication. Decide how to share official alerts, check on residents safely, and report urgent needs without spreading unverified information.
- Address assistance needs respectfully. Invite residents to discuss emergency-planning needs voluntarily. Protect sensitive information and refer specialized support questions to the appropriate agency.
- Review supplies and procedures. Coordinate appropriate supplies, safe storage, and periodic practice with qualified guidance.
- Learn after each event. Record communication gaps, access problems, and actions that would improve the next response.
Understand the limits of a volunteer response
Useful coordination
Volunteers may support preparedness outreach, information gathering, communications, or other assigned tasks suited to their training and abilities. Confirm the actual role with the local coordinator.
Safety first
Do not enter unstable structures, floodwater, or areas with electrical hazards. Do not attempt technical rescue, medical procedures beyond training, or work on dangerous equipment.
Follow official evacuation orders and local instructions. Do not assume a volunteer team can provide evacuation, transportation, shelter, or continuous medical care. Build a personal plan as well as an association plan.
How residents can get involved
Contact UCO and ask for the current Century Village CERT coordinator, recruitment process, training opportunities, and meeting information. Ask which roles are available and what each requires.
People have different abilities and schedules. Discuss whether preparedness education, communication, administrative support, or another approved task is a good fit. Do not assume membership or duties without confirmation.
UCO: 561-683-9189
Office: 2102 West Drive,
West Palm Beach, Florida 33417.
Related Board Synergy resources
Board emergency powersBuilding maintenanceUCO resourcesProperty & SafetySources & current guidance
- UCO Forms & Resources — association contacts and submission instructions.
- UCO contact report, revised May 20, 2026.
- FEMA/Ready.gov CERT information — national program resource.
- Miami CERT program overview — an official example of the general training model, not Century Village enrollment instructions.
Reviewed October 17, 2026. Educational overview. Confirm Century Village’s current training, leadership, volunteer roles, and response arrangements through UCO.
Confirm the local role before assigning a task
Ask the current coordinator to confirm activation, reporting, check-in, supervision, communication, and safe task limits. Record the association’s contact and backup without presenting that listing as proof of training or deployment authority.
- Match proposed duties to verified training and the coordinator’s instructions.
- Clarify when to call 911 and how nonemergency observations are passed along.
- Test a backup communication route before an event.
- Keep any resident assistance details appropriately restricted.
- Review lessons and unresolved actions after an exercise or response.
Connect the contact role with UCO contact updates and the association’s own plan. UCO procedures, volunteer assignments, and the board’s property responsibilities are distinct; do not assume one transfers another’s duties.
Connected emergency and community resources
Authority matters: Florida law establishes statutory duties; governing documents define association authority subject to law; contractual duties come from applicable agreements. UCO procedures address separate UCO functions. The added registers and workflows are Board Synergy recommended practices, not official emergency orders or prescribed statutory forms.