Joliet launches CERT program, preparing residents for disasters

JOLIET, Ill. - As severe weather continues to increase in frequency and intensity—particularly over the last few years—local emergency management agencies are looking for creative ways to be prepared.

What we know:

In Joliet, a group of community volunteers are in training to become members of the city’s newly-established Community Emergency Response Team (CERT)—a disaster preparedness program led by FEMA that can save lives.

"We're training our CERT members to respond to just about anything that would happen in the community," said John Lukancic, director of the Joliet Office of Emergency & Disaster Management.

The program was originally developed by the City of Los Angeles Fire Department in 1985 and has been adopted by agencies across the nation—but is brand-new to Joliet.

Currently, about 35 residents are registered for the program, which consists of an initial nine-week course that will equip them to take charge during emergencies citywide.

"Emergency management runs on volunteers," Lukancic said.

Joliet CERT members are gaining the skills they need to handle a wide range of situations, including fires, building collapses, natural disasters, and more. Soon, they will serve as extra sets of eyes and ears in their neighborhoods.

Dig deeper:

Topics covered during class sessions include disaster preparedness, disaster psychology, terrorism, bloodborne pathogens, weather spotting, light search and rescue, and fire safety.

If—and when—participants get to a scene before first responders, their training will come into play.

"It is very likely that these folks will be the initial responders to a disaster. It may take quite a bit of time for our professional responders to arrive, up to hours, maybe days if it's bad enough," Lukancic said. "So these are our first ‘first responders’ who are going to be there in their own neighborhoods when these things happen."

With more than two decades at the Joliet Fire Department under his belt, Lukancic is adding ‘teacher’ to his resume.

In class this week, the volunteers—who are everyday citizens—are learning how to triage victims, apply a tourniquet, treat burns, and other wound care.

The medical session, hosted at Joliet Fire Station 1 on Clinton Street, will provide crucial know-how to members.

Next week, volunteers will learn what it means to be ready for severe weather.

"We're going to teach all of our CERT members how to weather spot, which means they're going to learn how to identify cloud formations that may turn into tornadoes. They're going to learn how to report it to law enforcement, to the National Weather Service," Lukancic explained.

The recent uptick in tornadoes and severe weather area-wide was the catalyst to launching the CERT program in Joliet, according to Lukancic.

"It goes all the way back to the tornado of 1990," Lukancic said.

This summer marks 35 years since the August 28, 1990 Plainfield EF-5 Tornado tore through Kendall and Will counties, taking the lives of 29 people and injuring 350 others.

It's a big reason Lukancic felt it was important to get a CERT program off the ground.

"It was pretty obvious that there weren't enough resources to deal with all the damage, destruction, and injury that resulted from it," Lukancic said.

Now, an additional 35 citizens and counting will be trained to weather spot—and to do it safely.

"I really think that our neighbors needed to know more to be prepared, and I hope to do that," said Sue Fordyce, a CERT volunteer.

It's, in large part, why some residents signed up for the program.

"I lived through the ‘90 tornado that John talked about, and then we had a tornado that was very close to where I live now, in 2005, and I saw the carnage and people just didn't know which direction to go," said Jay Ringo, a CERT volunteer.

Since July 2022, nine tornadoes have touched down in Joliet—six EF-0s and three EF-1s. The most recent was just last month, on March 19—a confirmed EF-0.

"That's why this Community Emergency Response Team is so very important to be prepared when that disaster does happen—and it's not if, it's when," said Chelsea Bowen, a CERT volunteer.

"It’s not only good training to help the public, but also, it's taught me things to tell my family and my friends to get ready for an emergency," Ringo added.

Along with watching eyes and listening ears, the CERT program will also offer open hearts there to help.

"In a disaster situation, people are often overwhelmed, and sometimes the only thing that they may need is another human being to talk to, somebody who is empathetic, somebody who is understanding, and somebody who will just listen," said Lukancic. "Sometimes, that's the worst part of this is we just need somebody to sit down and talk and somebody to listen to us. And that's one of the things that we try to provide here, too."

What's next:

At this time, Joliet's CERT program is for residents only. City officials plan to add more class sessions as additional volunteers register and express their interest.

Joliet residents can learn more by clicking here.

There are residents in dozens of communities statewide who are CERT-trained. According to the CERT Association of Illinois, there are CERT volunteers living in Antioch, Buffalo Grove, Chicago, Northbrook, Oak Park, Plainfield, and Schaumburg, among other cities.

As of April 1, 2025, according to the Illinois Emergency Management Agency and Office of Homeland Security (IEMA-OHS), active CERT programs exist in the following communities:

• Alsip CERT (Village of Alsip)
• Belle Terre CERT (Sussex County CERT Coordinator)
• Elburn Campton Hills Area CERT (Village of Elburn, Village of Campton Hills, and the Elburn & Countryside Fire Protection District)
• Community Emergency Response Teams (Elk Grove Village Police Department)
• Evanston CERT (City of Evanston Fire Department)
• Fremont Township Cert (Mundelein, Libertyville, Grayslake)
• Highland Park CERT (Highland Park)
• City of Joliet CERT (City of Joliet)
• Village of Monee Emergency Management Agency (Village of Monee)
• Naperville CERT (City of Naperville)
• Peoria County CERT (Peoria County)
• Rock Valley College (Rock Valley College Police)
• St. Charles CERT (City of St. Charles)
• Metro East - St. Clair County Illinois (St. Clair County EMA)
• Wauconda CERT (Wauconda Police Department)
• Wauconda CERT (Village of Wauconda)

If you are interested in becoming CERT-trained, you’re encouraged to reach out to your local emergency management agency for more information.

JolietSevere WeatherNews