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City briefs commission on CERT program and air‑quality response; officials urge residents to sign up for alerts
Summary
Emergency management staff updated commissioners on the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) volunteer program, recent activations and outreach; commissioners pressed staff on air‑quality messaging during recent smoke events and asked staff to consider N95 distribution points and a voluntary 'check‑in' registry for vulnerable residents.
Emergency management officials briefed the commission on the city’s Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program, outreach and recent activations, and described the city’s emergency‑alert transition to Everbridge.
Benjamin Rantz, emergency management administrator (S11), and Ingrid Shear, CERT program manager (S30), said the program — established in fall 2023 — has delivered more than a dozen level‑1 preparedness classes across wards and graduated 18 level‑2 CERT volunteers in spring 2026, bringing the active volunteer total to about 95. The level‑1 course is a short, three‑hour introduction for general preparedness; level‑2 is an expanded, six‑week training that qualifies residents to be called on in incidents. CERT volunteers have supported events, provided crowd and traffic management at parades, helped with water distribution following a water‑main break, and staffed community preparedness events.
Staff also described improvements to emergency alerts: the city has migrated to the Everbridge platform and has added customization that lets residents choose which alerts they receive. Staff said registrations for the alert system rose by roughly 1,500 since January, bringing the total to about 16,000 signups. Rantz offered practical sign‑up options: a city emergency‑management web page and a text shortcode (text 'Grand Rapids' to 888777) to enroll in Everbridge.
Commissioners pressed staff on topics raised by recent smoke and heat events: how the city communicates about air quality, whether N95 masks should be stocked at city facilities or fire stations, and whether the city should maintain a voluntary registry of residents who want a welfare check during an incident. Commissioners also suggested exploring resilience hubs or community resource hubs that could offer PPE, cooling and air‑quality resources during prolonged events.
Staff said they had already activated the city’s emergency operations coordination during the recent air‑quality event and had worked with the county public‑health department and the EPA on messaging. They welcomed the mayor’s suggestion to identify distribution points — for example, fire stations — where vulnerable residents could obtain masks during severe smoke episodes.
Rantz and Shear outlined ongoing outreach plans: expanding Spanish‑language offerings (one Level‑1 class was conducted entirely in Spanish), continuing neighborhood‑by‑neighborhood CERT classes, and integrating CERT volunteers into community events. Commissioners endorsed exploring psychological first‑aid and recovery resources for disaster survivors and directed staff to report back on options for mask distribution and a voluntary check‑in registry.
Ending: Staff will continue CERT outreach, promote Everbridge enrollment through public campaigns and provide follow‑up briefings on air‑quality resources and possible distribution strategies for PPE.
