Arlington emergency planner completes FEMA training
Published on Thu, Sep 11, 2008Read More Communities
9/11/08
Arlington emergency planner completes FEMA training
September is National Emergency Preparedness Month, and local officials are leading efforts to provide training and education promoting public safety.
Christine Badger, an employee of Arlington’s fire department, recently completed Homeland Security training at the Center for Domestic Preparedness (CDP), located in Anniston, Alabama. The CDP is operated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and is the only federally-chartered Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) training facility in the nation.
As the City of Arlington’s Community Emergency Management Coordinator, Badger attended the Fundamentals of Healthcare Emergency Management course representing Cascade Hospital.
“This course gave me insight and training to assist the hospital with their internal and external emergency preparedness planning,” said Badger. “Being able to network with 48 other hospital preparedness personnel was very valuable, in addition to meeting the instructors who were subject matter experts on hospital issues.”
The CDP provides federally-funded, interdisciplinary training for emergency responders from across the United States and U.S. Territories for ten responder disciplines: Emergency Management, Emergency Medical Service, Fire Service, Governmental Administrative, Hazardous Materials, Healthcare, Law Enforcement, Public Health, Public Safety Communications, and Public Works.
Healthcare and public health training is conducted at the CDP’s Noble Training Facility, the nation’s only hospital facility dedicated to training hospital and healthcare professionals in disaster preparedness and response.
Many training courses culminate at the CDP’s Chemical, Ordnance, Biological and Radiological Training Facility, the country’s only facility featuring civilian training exercises in a true toxic environment using chemical agents. The advanced hands-on training enables responders to effectively prevent, respond to, and recover from real-world incidents involving acts of terrorism and other hazardous materials.
Responders attending CDP training are selected from the nation’s 11 million emergency responders. Training at the CDP ensures that responders gain critical skills and confidence to be better prepared to effectively respond to local incidents or potential WMD incidents.
