RANCHO BERNARDO - Robin Kaufman remembers too well how fellow residents responded in 2003, when it looked like shifting winds were going to bring the devastating Cedar fire to this community.

"We got quite a few calls," she said about herself and other Rancho Bernardo Community Council members. "They wanted to know what they should do, what should they pack."

The community ended up being spared. However, Kaufman, who is now the council's president, said the experience underscored the need for Rancho Bernardo to be ready to take care of itself in the event of a disaster.

The Community Council's Public Safety Committee responded by establishing a local Community Emergency Response Team. With a new round of training classes starting Jan. 24, the committee is now recruiting new members for the group, commonly referred to as CERT.

Seventeen Rancho Bernardo residents are already trained for the team. Given Rancho Bernardo's population of about 45,000, Kaufman said, she would love to see that number jump to 100.

"I would like to see 200 or 300," she said. "But if we can reach that 100 goal, we'll go from there."

Started by the Los Angeles City Fire Department in 1985, the response team program is designed to augment the ranks of professional emergency workers with ordinary residents who have learned basic emergency response skills. Team members use those skills to help themselves, their families and their neighbors immediately after a natural or man-made disaster hits, until police, fire and other emergency responders are on the scene.

The volunteer response teams also help with search and rescue operations, triage efforts and other activities after a disaster.

The program's official Web site shows that several North County communities - including Encinitas, Oceanside, Ramona, Rancho Santa Fe, Valley Center, Vista and the unincorporated Deer Springs area north of Escondido - have their own response teams.

The city of San Diego, however, did not start its Community Emergency Response Team program until after three large wildfires broke out in the region in 2003. Together, the blazes killed 16 people and destroyed more than 2,400 homes.

The tragedy was "kind of an awakening" for the city, said Ashley Little, volunteer coordinator for San Diego's program.

"After the (blazes), it kind of made everybody realize disasters are going to happen," she said. "And it's about being prepared for them and how to deal with them."

Public safety officials advise people to be prepared to ride out any disaster on their own for the first 72 hours. Kaufman, however, said the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 showed that communities need to be prepared to be self-reliant much longer than that.

"Forget 72 hours; it's still going on," she said. "We want to be able to help ourselves and our neighbors."

Anyone 18 or older is eligible to take the Community Emergency Response Team classes, which will meet weekly at the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department's Regional Public Safety Training Institute for six weeks. Participants can attend from 6 to 10 p.m. Wednesdays or 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturdays.

Topics to be covered include fire safety, terrorism and hazardous materials, medical triage and treatment, search and rescue, the program's command structure, and disaster psychology. The final session will include a disaster drill and graduation ceremony.

The classes are free, but participants must buy emergency response backpacks equipped with helmets, vests and other items. The backpacks typically cost about $55, Little said.

Kaufman said the Public Safety Committee hopes to arrange car pools so that no one has to drive alone to the classes. With classes scheduled to repeat once or twice a year, the committee also plans to continue its recruitment efforts indefinitely, she said.

For information, log on to the Community Council's Web site at http://rbcommunitycouncil.com and click on the "Public Safety" link on the left. General information about the Community Emergency Response Team can also be found online at https://www.citizencorps.gov/cert.

- Contact staff writer Andrea Moss at (760) 739-6654 or amoss@nctimes.com.