Community Preparedness Team (CPT)

PBEM CPT Programs

PBEM's community programming and engagement is the purview of the Community Preparedness Team (CPT). CPT has several programs in their portfolio, as listed below:

• Some of the programs managed by PBEM's Community Preparedness Team.
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  NET volunteers in a field exercise on May 31, 2019.
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  BEECN volunteers and a BEECN cache, May 22 2013.
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  COAD partners packing and picking up supplies during COVID-19, April 24 2020.
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  Angela Dorsey Kockler with the Speakers Bureau and a class of Cub Scouts on April 18 2022.
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  APANO holding a community CPR training on April 26 2025.
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  TeenCERT trainees about to put a fire out on June 1 2018.

Portland Neighborhood Emergency Teams (Portland NET)

See also: NET official website, NET NETwiki page

Portland NET is the City of Portland's equivalent of a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program. In CPT's portfolio, it is also the largest program (with approximately 1,300 volunteers in July 2025) and the oldest (founded in 1994). Neighborhood Emergency Teams are Portland residents trained by PBEM and Portland Fire & Rescue to provide emergency disaster assistance within their own neighborhoods.

Basic Earthquake Emergency Communication Nodes (BEECN)

See also: BEECN official website, BEECN NETwiki page

BEECN is an earthquake response communications program, powered by volunteers, and founded in 2012. A BEECN is a temporary radio communications site staffed by at least two volunteers after a major earthquake that takes down phone lines. BEECNs are places to report severe damage or injury or ask for emergency assistance. BEECN is a program of Portland NET.

Unidos NET

Unidos is Portland NET's Spanish language programming, and includes a team of Spanish-speaking NET volunteers. It is a program of Portland NET.

Community Organizations Active in Disaster (COAD)

See also: COAD's official website, COAD's NETwiki page

Portland's COAD was formed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Spring of 2020. COAD is a national model that brings together community organizations under four principles: Communication, Cooperation, Coordination and Collaboration. Each organization acts independently and retains full autonomy and authority in how they serve their communities.

Speakers Bureau

See also: Speakers Bureau NETwiki page

The Speakers Bureau is a network of volunteers trained to deliver disaster preparedness presentations in their communities. Presentations are free of charge and available in multiple languages.

Community Trainings

See also: Community Trainings NETwiki page

PBEM partners with local nonprofit organizations to offer disaster response training to the communities they serve directly. Training might include AED, CPR, First Aid, Stop the Bleed, fire extinguisher training, and more.

Business Engagement

See also: Business Engagement NETwiki page

Business engagement is a new program in PBEM CPT. At this time, PBEM staff have not yet released curriculum related to this program.

Youth Programming

See also: Youth Programming NETwiki page

Youth Programming is not offered by PBEM at this time. In the past, PBEM partnered with Portland Public Schools and other school districts to deliver disaster preparedness training and TeenCERT programming. Currently, Multnomah County is providing youth programming as their resources allow.

PBEM CPT Mission/Vision/Values

TBA; strategic planning process began in early 2025 and is ongoing.