The Foundation Course Information Resource Center Store
Course InformationBDLSADLSCDLSNDLS-DECONADLS InstructoreBDLSeCDLSCourse AvailabilityRecertification
Core Disaster Life Support™ (CDLS™)
Logo - CDLS | CDLS
Course Description:
CDLS® is an introduction to “all-hazards” preparedness for first responders, community officials, business owners, and other concerned citizens. The course provides a brief overview of natural and accidental man made events, traumatic and explosive events, nuclear and radiologic events, biological events, and chemical events. The focus of the course is to discuss and apply a unique approach to disaster management called the D-I-S-A-S-T-E-R paradigm. The overarching aim is to introduce participants to basic concepts and terms that are reinforced in greater detail in the BDLS® and ADLS® courses.
  • D – Detect
  • I – Incident Command
  • S – Scene Security and Safety
  • A – Assess Hazards
  • S – Support
  • T - Triage and Treatment
  • E – Evacuation
  • R – Recovery
Course Duration: 4 hours of didactic teaching
Target Audience:
  • EMTs
  • Allied health workers and technicians
  • Law enforcement
  • Medical Reserve Corps (entry level)
  • Some office-based health care professionals
  • Police
  • Firefighters
  • Emergency management personnel
  • Government officials
  • Health care administrators
  • Social workers
  • Disaster relief workers
  • Anyone needing an introductory program
Class size: CDLS® can be provided to large audiences and is limited only by the size of the classroom.
Pre-requisites: None
Course Length: 4 hours
Course Credits: 4.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™
Recertification: N/A