In the wake of Hurricane / Super storm Sandy, I know that
some of the comments I hear being made by small town mayors and other elected
officials blasting the FEMA response are being made out of frustration. I have experienced firsthand the citizens and
community you serve and truly care about suffering from the devastation of a
disaster. However I must again remind these officials and all elected officials
in our nation how the system works; All Disasters are Local.
Disasters are a true test of the leadership and preparedness
of an elected official. Especially in a
small community or in a community that lacks dedicated emergency management
personnel (separate from Police and Fire), citizens deserve elected leaders who
take the time and do what is necessary to gain the skills, awareness and
knowledge that might be needed when a disaster strikes. Many of those officials are not aware that
programs exist where they can gain this insight for little or no cost. I hope that this article can inspire some of
those officials to take advantage of these great programs and do what they were
elected to do, protect their communities.
DHS/ FEMA operates a series of training programs that are
open to and are of benefit to elected and other policy leaders. Among these is the Integrated Emergency
Management Program (IEMC) that is available at the Emergency Management
Institute located in Emmitsburg Maryland.
In the IEMC classroom, participants not only learn about the emergency
management process, but they also have the opportunity to apply what they learn
in realistic disaster scenarios and functional exercises. Participants assume a similar role to what
they play in real life and learn new skills and concepts needed in all phases
of emergencies. The best part is these
classes are free.
Applications are now being accepted for 2013 classes at http://training.fema.gov/EMICourses/
. FEMA covers the cost of training,
transportation from the airport, housing on the campus of the National
Emergency Training Center (where EMI is housed) and reimburses the cost of
transportation to the DC area. The only
cost to the participant is the time to take the class (typically 1 week) and
the cost of the food ticket (typically around $100).
I encourage you to look at this and other programs that are
available and encourage your elected leaders to take advantage of these
programs. The skills they gain might
just make the difference during the next disaster. The life they save might be someone you care
about.
Richard Hildreth
Former Mayor, City of Pacific Washington
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