Overview: The FEMA IS-315.A course was published on 5/1/2020 to introduce the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT relationship to the Incident Command System (ICS), a proven management system used by emergency managers to help maintain the safety of disaster workers, provide clear leadership and organizational structure, and improve the effectiveness of rescue efforts.
Primary audience: The IS-315.A course is for CERT Members. This program educates any Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program manager, CERT trainer, or emergency responder who may manage and/or coordinate with a CERT about the CERT’s potential roles in a disaster or emergency situation.
Prerequisites
- IS-100: The Incident Command System
- IS-317: Introduction to Community Emergency Response Teams (CERTs)
FEMA IS-315.A test answers
Each time this test is loaded, you will receive a unique set of questions and answers. The test questions are scrambled to protect the integrity of the exam.
Question 1. You are the team leader for a search and rescue team. On the way to an incident, you come across another incident. What do you do:
A. Respond to the new incident before going to the original location.
B. Send two team members to the original incident and stay with the rest of the team at the new incident.
C. Contact the CERT Operations Chief about the incident and proceed to your original assignment.✅
D. Ask a bystander to call 9-1-1 to report the incident and proceed to the original assignment.
Question 2. When handing over an incident to EMS, you may give an oral or written status update.
A. TRUE✅
B. FALSE
Question 3. It’s appropriate to use acronyms when communicating if everyone on your team understands the meaning of each acronym.
A. TRUE
B. FALSE✅
Question 4. You are the CERT Operations Chief and have a three-person team to conduct medical triage. It is effective to split the groups into one team of two and one team of one person to conduct triage.
A. TRUE
B. FALSE✅
Question 5. Who is responsible for tracking the situation status:
A. CERT Incident Commander/Team Leader
B. CERT Logistics Section Chief
C. CERT Operations Section Chief✅
D. CERT Planning Section Chief
Question 6. Which of the following ratios does NOT represent an effective span of control?
A. 5 team members: 1 supervisor
B. 10 team members: 1 supervisor✅
C. 3 team members: 1 supervisor
D. 7 team members: 1 supervisor
Question 7. You are the CERT Incident Commander/Team Leader and have prioritized incidents. What is the best action to take next:
A. Inform team leaders of the prioritized incidents and assign them to locations.
B. Form teams that will best respond to each incident and send them to incident locations.✅
C. Inform the CERT Operations Chief of the prioritized incidents and ask him or her to assign appropriate teams to each location.
D. Forward the information to the EOC for his or her approval before you proceed.
Question 8. You are the CERT Incident Commander/Team Leader during an activation. The first action you should take is to assign team members to respond to incidents as they show up at the command post.
A. TRUE
B. FALSE✅
Question 9. Who is responsible for providing food to CERT members:
A. CERT Incident Commander/Team Leader
B. CERT Logistics Section Chief✅
C. CERT Operations Section Chief
D. CERT Finance/Administration Chief
Question 10. You are the CERT Operations Chief, and a team leader at an incident contacts you to inform you that a passerby has reported another incident near the team leader’s location. You:
A. Send the team to the incident to assess the other incident. Report your decision to the CERT Incident Commander/Team Leader.
B. Report the new incident to the CERT Incident Commander/Team Leader so that he or she may prioritize it.✅
C. Tell the team to stay in place and send two people from another team to assess the incident. Report your decision to the CERT Incident Commander/Team Leader.
D. Ask the team leader to send documentation about the new incident and give that information to law enforcement officials.
Question 11. You are the CERT Incident Commander/Team Leader. Two team members radio you with reports of two new incidents. What should you do first:
A. Send teams to the new incidents.
B. Reprioritize all incidents to incorporate the new incidents with appropriate priority.✅
C. Radio two teams that are close to the new incidents and ask them to report the incidents when they are finished at their current location.
D. Pull team members off of other teams to report the new incidents.
Question 12. You must use official CERT forms to provide documentation during an incident.
A. TRUE✅
B. FALSE
Question 13. The _____ ensures that each CERT member has only one person whom he or she takes direction and responds.
A. Buddy system
B. Chain of command✅
C. Five CERT management functions
D. Span of control
Question 14. Which of the following is NOT a principle of the Incident Command System:
A. Common terminology
B. Manageable span of control
C. Using technology to provide status reports✅
D. Accountability
Question 15. The CERT Operations Chief is responsible for assigning teams to incidents.
A. TRUE✅
B. FALSE
Question 16. The _____ helps encourage rescuer safety by ensuring no CERT member is ever responding to an incident alone.
A. Buddy system✅
B. Chain of command
C. Five CERT management functions
D. Span of control
Question 17. The current CERT Incident Commander/Team Leader needs to transfer the responsibility to you. What is the first thing you should do:
A. Announce to the team that you are now the CERT Incident Commander/Team Leader.✅
B. Reassign someone to take over your previous assignment.
C. Reprioritize incidents.
D. Ask the outgoing CERT Incident Commander/Team Leader for a status briefing.
Question 18. One of the first functions assigned during activation is the CERT Operations Chief.
A. TRUE✅
B. FALSE
Question 19. Which of the following incidents has the highest priority:
A. The front porch of a house is collapsed. A woman inside has injured her leg and cannot get out of the house. She is responsive.
B. The power is out in all residences in five square blocks of a neighborhood. No injuries are reported.
C. Wind has caused a tree to fall into the side window of a house. A man and a small child have evacuated to the front lawn. The man is bleeding heavily from his arm, and the child has superficial cuts on her leg. Both are responsive.✅
D. There is a downed power line on a sidewalk in front of a house. There are no reported injuries.
Question 20. Who is responsible for establishing liaison with law enforcement:
A. CERT Incident Commander/Team Leader✅
B. CERT Logistics Section Chief
C. CERT Operations Section Chief
D. CERT Finance/Administration Chief
Question 21. If you are the first person to arrive at your CERT’s pre-designated staging area, what do you do?
A. Assume the role of the CERT Incident Commander/Team Leader
B. Radio the pre-designated CERT Incident Commander/Team Leader and ask him or her what to do.
C. Wait for the pre-designated CERT Incident Commander/Team Leader to arrive.✅
D. Begin signing CERT members in as they arrive on the scene.
Question 22. You are the team leader for a search and rescue team. The CERT Operations Chief assigns your team to respond to a situation at a local coffee shop. You need to arrive at the scene as quickly as possible. What is the first thing you should do:
A. Immediately go with your team to the coffee shop.
B. Ask the CERT Incident Commander/Team Leader for more details.✅
C. Review the briefing assignment.
D. Ask the CERT Operations Chief when you should give a status report.
Question 23. Who is responsible for coordinating search and rescue operations:
A. CERT Incident Commander/Team Leader✅
B. CERT Logistics Section Chief
C. CERT Operations Section Chief
D. CERT Finance/Administration Chief
Question 24. Without using ICS during a CERT response, the team can break down because of:
A. Poor communication
B. No accountability
C. Lack of an orderly, systematic planning process
D. All of the above✅
Question 25. You are the team leader for a search and rescue team and are on your way to an incident when you realize there are nine people reporting to you. What is the most effective action to take:
A. Send two team members back to the staging area.
B. Continue to the scene of the incident with all nine team members.
C. Send a note to the CERT Incident Commander/Team Leader asking what you should do.
D. Assign one team member to become a leader of a sub-unit within the team, and assign three team members to this leader.✅
