ROCKVILLE, Md. -- In a large-scale emergency, your next-door-neighbor -- not a traditional emergency rescuer -- could be the first responder to recommend an evacuation or administer CPR to the injured.

After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, local governments around the country looked to programs in which regular people could help.

Under a program called Community Emergency Responder Training, Montgomery County has begun training volunteers to provide aid during natural disasters, terrorist attacks and other emergency scenarios.

The program began being offered in the county two-and-a-half years ago, and is a part of a growing movement by the county's Department of Homeland Security to recruit a fleet of civilian front-line assistants.

Officials said they would eventually like to have 100 to 150 safety advocates that are positioned in each of the county's six major geographic territories, ready to help at a moment's notice.

Besides notifying residents to get out of their homes and away from danger, the volunteers also are trained to fight small fires, assess and prioritize patients, do light search and rescue, and have a basic awareness of hazardous materials.

During three-week training sessions, participants receive a start-up kit complete with a hard hat, vests, goggles, a utility shut-off tool and work gloves, according to officials. They're also added to a text messaging alert line that will notify them when their help is needed, and they are asked to return for monthly follow-up training as well as upkeep of their supply kits. Officials said the volunteers are also asked to be involved in their communities.

The Montgomery County Fire and Homeland Security departments train the volunteers at the Training Academy in Rockville.

The CERT program started in Los Angeles 20 years ago so that emergency personnel could ready average citizens to assist after earthquakes.

In Montgomery County, so far, close to 100 county residents have become CERT-certified. Officials are hoping to raise that number considerably, particularly in the currently underrepresented east-county and down-county areas.

For more information of CERT training, click here.