RENO — The Washoe County Sheriff’s Office Citizen Corps is conducting a free “Emergency Preparedness” Academy this weekend and next at the Regional Public Safety Training Center.

This program has successfully trained more than 2,500 Washoe County residents during the past seven years, providing valuable information on emergency preparedness, disaster recovery, sheltering and resiliency.

“Currently, the Citizen Corps program has more than 500 members who support the community outreach efforts of Washoe County Sheriff’s Office,” said Lt. Tim O’Connor of the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office Special Operations Division.  “This dedicated group of volunteers assisted the Sheriff’s Office with the ‘Knock and Lock’ program in the Virginia Foothills area on Sunday, providing local residents with information about wildland fire education and community safety,” O’Connor said.

Classes will be held from 6-9 p.m. at the Spectrum Boulevard facility in Reno on dates throughout June. To register for the upcoming Academy please log on to the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) web site at www.wcsovolunteer.org and click on the “Files” drop-down menu to complete the “Volunteer Registration/Application” form.