The State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services today announced the state’s popular Citizen Preparedness Corps training course is now available online with subtitles in Bengali, Chinese, Haitian Creole, Korean, Russian, Spanish and Yiddish. The 24-minute online training course covers a wide range of important safety and preparedness topics, as well as provides New Yorkers with the guidance they need to prepare for natural or human-caused disasters. Since its creation by Governor Cuomo in 2014, more than 340,000 New Yorkers have completed Citizen Preparedness Corps training in-person or online.

“By including subtitles in the most common non-English languages spoken across the state in this comprehensive online training, thousands of New Yorkers can now improve their preparedness so they can respond effectively in a crisis,” said New York State Homeland Security and Emergency Services Commissioner Patrick A. Murphy. “I encourage all New Yorkers to complete this online course since it will provide the foundation they need to keep their family and community safe in an emergency.”

The online training offers New Yorkers a condensed version of a typical live presentation, which the state paused at the start of the pandemic. The course covers three main areas: preparing your plan, you are a first responder, and recovery is a process. For example, citizens will learn about the four types of hazards in New York State – natural, human-caused, technological and biological – that could affect them, how to develop a family emergency plan, and how to recover from a catastrophic event.

The course also covers topics such as how to prepare your home against fire, which is the greatest safety threat in the U.S. and the most likely disaster citizens will face. Citizens will learn the importance of taking steps to prevent fires and teaching family members about the dangers of fire. By adopting a fire prevention mindset, citizens can prevent the common causes of fire from cooking, misuse of electricity, heating, open flame, smoking and housekeeping. The section on fire prevention underscores the importance of having working smoke alarms, fire extinguishers and carbon monoxide alarms in the home.

Other hazards covered in the online training include flooding, and what to do to in specific situations such as an active shooter incident. The course also covers evacuation or sheltering-in-place due to a life-threatening event and much more. All citizens who complete the online course receive a certificate at the end of the course.

Since 2014, representatives from the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services’ Office of Emergency Management and Office of Fire Prevention and Control, the New York National Guard and the American Red Cross, have delivered live presentations of the Citizens Preparedness training course in locations across the state. Since live presentations remain on pause, officials encourage New Yorkers to receive this important preparedness information using their laptop computer or tablet at a convenient time.

To complete the online course, individuals must create a NY.GOV ID. To get a NY.GOV ID, click here. More information is available at https://prepare.ny.gov/online-citizen-preparedness-training.

About the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services

The New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services provides leadership, coordination and support for efforts to prevent, protect against, prepare for, respond to, and recover from terrorism and other man-made and natural disasters, threats, fires and other emergencies. For more information, visit the DHSES Facebook page, follow @NYSDHSES on Twitter, or Instagram, or visit dhses.ny.gov.