For six evenings and a day, starting Tuesday, Feb. 7, firefighters from the Woodside Fire Protection District will lead a series of free disaster-preparedness classes on skills that save lives and protect property, including search-and-rescue, fire suppression and disaster psychology.

The classes are open to residents of Woodside, Portola Valley and unincorporated communities in the district, including Ladera, Los Trancos Woods and Vista Verde. Advance registration is required, but previous experience with first aid or disaster training is not.

The classes are an initiative by the Community Emergency Response Preparedness Program (CERPP), a group of resident volunteers with neighborhood divisions that cover the entire fire district.

Students from outside the fire district are welcome to register and will be seated on a space-available basis, CERPP member John Carnes said, adding that this program has trained 180 residents since July 2007.

The three-hour evening classes start at 6:30 p.m. and meet at in the Emerald Hills neighborhood fire station at 4091 Jefferson Ave. The concluding class, an all-day hands-on exercise with lunch, starts at 9 a.m. on Saturday, March 17, at the main fire station at 3111 Woodside Road.

Write to [email protected] or call Pam Van Horn at 851-1594 to register for the classes. Include your contact information.