The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) is a group of Kinglake volunteers who respond to life threatening medical emergencies in the local community. Trained and operating under the auspices of the Metropolitan Ambulance Service (MAS) the team is established under the State Government's 'Key to Survival' initiative. The team members are equipped and trained to provide rapid emergency medical care to Kinglake and surrounding districts. CERT is dispatched simultaneously with the closest emergency ambulance to "000" calls.

CERT is ONLY dispatched to life threatening emergencies.

The CERT volunteers work as a single car, two person unit with the two rostered team members carrying MAS radios and pagers to receive callouts from the Ambulance Communications Centre. The Kinglake district is serviced by both the Melbourne Metropolitan Ambulance Service (MAS) and the Rural Ambulance Service (RAV). CERT can be dispatched for both MAS and RAV cases. CERT members are dispatched quickly at the same time as the responding ambulance. On arrival at the patient the CERT team is repsponsible for conducting an ititial clinical assessment and relaying this information back to MAS. MAS utilises this initial information to dispatch further resources as required, i.e. Air Ambulance. CERT initiates the primary care needed - advanced first aid including rapid response defibrillation. The team members are the first and second link in the 'Key to Survival' when life threatening emergencies strike by locally responding in an organised, disciplined and efficient manner.

Kinglake CERT has been operational since the 15th September, 2001. At the close of March 2003 the team had attended 123 cases deemed as life threatening emergencies. These have included motor vehicle accidents, individuals in respiratory & cardiac distress, seizures, imminent child births and falls. The Metropolitan Ambulance Service response times often exceed 45 minutes or more due to the constraints of distance and conditions. On average the CERT team has taken sixteen minutes to the patient, therefore the CERT volunteers have been responsible for the provision of emergency first aid for approximately twenty five minutes prior to the arrival of an ambulance and facilitating the 'Key to Survival'. CERT directly contributes to the saving of its residents in medical, life threatening emergencies who previously only relied on the response of the Metropolitan Ambulance Service.

Our current activities and goals include:
The continuing maintenance of a medical first responder unit supported by the Metropolitan Ambulance Service in the Kinglake/Kinglake West District to serve the community and visitors to the area in a medical or trauma emergency. The provision of support to current local emergency services in incidents where illness or injury is involved. To reduce the time involved in the provision of trained medical aid and to sustain life or protect the injured until the arrival of the appropriate professional medical services. To promote and develop the service in consultation with the Victorian Ambulance Service. To promote and maintain an education programme for the participants and community ensuring current emergency medical practices are adjered to.