 FEATURED STORIES
|
Four employees from the Center for Domestic Preparedness
(CDP) received the Unity of Effort Award for Ebola Worldwide Response from Secretary
of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson, Nov. 4. The four-member team from the CDP’s Training and
Education Directorate was recognized for their unprecedented work in designing
and developing “just-in-time” training just days after the first Ebola patient
was diagnosed in the United States.
On the afternoon of Oct. 14, the team – Jeremy Guthrie,
Babbette Harmon, Jamie Johnson and Mallory Lowe – received the mission to
develop a course on the safe and effective use of personal protective equipment
by emergency responders operating in an infectious disease environment. For
their efforts, the team received the Department of Homeland Security’s Unity of
Effort Award.
“The intent was to quickly design, develop and deliver
just-in-time training for the range of personnel that may be involved in
transporting or treating Ebola patients. The primary training objective was to appropriately
don and doff Personal Protective Equipment in a manner that reduced the
potential for contracting the disease,” said the CDP’s Director Training
and Education, Denis Campeau.
The
team, all members of Training and Education’s Curriculum Department,
immediately consulted with subject matter experts including those from the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention who were delivering similar training
on the CDP’s campus, according to Assistant Director of Curriculum Development
and Evaluation, Bernice Zaidel. In three days the team designed and developed the
eight-hour Personal Protective Measures for Biological Events (PPMB) course, an
undertaking that usually takes 160 hours, according to Zaidel. The following
Monday, Oct. 20, the CDP piloted the course on the CDP campus. Just three days
later, CDP instructors delivered the first PPMB course in Dallas.
The course was very successful and the demand for
training quickly outpaced the CDP’s ability to deliver enough courses. To
address the high demand for the training, the team subsequently partnered with
other members of the National Domestic Preparedness Consortium to deliver
training across the country. In all, the CDP’s instructors alone trained 1,678
responders on PPMB in 36 cities across the country.
“I am very proud that the hard work of these members of
the CDP’s staff was recognized by the Secretary and they received this award.
They are representative of the entire CDP staff who routinely perform their
duties with unmatched commitment and professionalism,” said CDP Superintendent,
Mike King. “Through their work, the CDP provides the Nation’s emergency
responders the absolute highest quality training, support services and campus
services.”
 Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson and Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas present the Unity of Effort Award for Ebola Worldwide Response to CDP employees Jeremy Guthrie (center) and Jamie Johnson (right of Guthrie), Nov. 3 at a ceremony held at DHS headquartesrs in Washington, D.C. This award was presented for ensuring the safe and uninterrupted travel of passengers into the United States and safeguarding the Department’s frontline workforce during the Ebola epidemic.
FEMA
provides training for emergency responders through our Emergency Management Institute
(EMI). EMI serves as the national focal point for the development and delivery
of emergency management training to enhance the capabilities of federal, state,
local, tribal, and territorial government officials, volunteer organizations, and the public
and private sectors to minimize the impact of disasters on the American public.
Among EMI’s many programs and courses, The
National Emergency Management Basic Academy is the entry-point for individuals
pursuing a career in emergency management. The Basic Academy offers the tools
to develop comprehensive foundational skills needed
in emergency management. For those who are new
to emergency management, the Basic Academy also provides a unique opportunity
to build camaraderie, to establish professional contacts, and to understand the
roles, responsibilities, and legal boundaries associated with emergency
management.
Virginia
and
North Carolina are the first states to adopt the curriculum as part of
their emergency management training standards. More information about
how federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial emergency management
offices can adopt the Basic Academy training for
emergency managers and other partners who serve during disasters and
emergencies can be found on the FEMA
blog.
FEMA Corps teams Bayou 3 and Bayou 6 are deployed to
support the disaster operations for DR-4238 in Missouri. While supporting the disaster the FEMA Corps
and their management were able to tour the Callaway Energy Center also known as
Callaway Nuclear Power Plant. The FEMA
management staff attending the tour were Deputy Federal Coordinating Officer
DuWayne Tewes, Dawn Livingston, and Tom Erickson.
In order to prepare the group for the tour, Dan Kanakares,
Emergency Management Specialist, Technological Hazards Program Branch, FEMA
Region VII presented information on the history of nuclear power, nuclear plant
accidents around the world and the role FEMA Technological Hazards Program
fills in providing radiological emergency preparedness for citizens living near
the nuclear power plants in the United States.
FEMA has had the responsibility for the radiological
emergency preparedness of the state and local governments around the U.S. nuclear
power plants since 1979. Today, the
Technological Hazards Program Branch in the National Preparedness Division administers
the Radiological Emergency Preparedness Program (REPP). The Technological Hazards Branch is unique in many ways,
but the most unique is their funding. Regulations
set forth in 44 CFR Part 354 allows FEMA to collect fees from the nuclear
utilities in order to pay 100 percent for the operation of the REPP.
In Region VII, the Technological Hazards Branch Chief is
Chuck Gregg. Region VII is responsible
for 5 nuclear power plants; Callaway near Fulton, Missouri, Cooper near
Brownville, Nebraska, Duane Arnold near Palo, Iowa, Fort Calhoun near Blair,
Nebraska, Wolf Creek near Burlington, Kansas and shares responsibility with
Region V for another plant, Quad Cities near Cordova, Illinois. Each year Chuck and his staff review the state and county plans and procedures for each plant and every two years
evaluate the exercise demonstrations of these plans and procedures by the states, counties and utilities.
The Callaway plant started producing electricity in 1984
and provides electricity to 800,000 average size homes. Earlier this year, the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission announced approval for Callaway to operate an additional 20 years, extending
its operating license until 2044. The
approval marked the culmination of a rigorous, six-year process that included
various comprehensive design reviews and numerous inspections.
 FEMA Corps teams Bayou 3 and Bayou 6 visit the Callaway Nuclear Power Plant as part of their deployment to support disaster operations for DR-4238 in Missouri.
 Please join us in
congratulating the FEMA Privacy Team for being the recipient of the 2015
DHS “Privy” for “Privacy Compliance Team of the Year.” The FEMA
Privacy Team, including Tammi Hines, LeVar Sykes, Lakia Samuel, and Diane
Bjornson completed over 165 PTA’s during 2015; by partnering with OCIO to
execute its Resiliency Project and to make progress on OIG’s audit recommendation to
review and bring unauthorized systems into compliance with the privacy legal framework.
During the course of the year, six of the FEMA Privacy Team’s
positions became vacant. The remaining team took on additional
responsibilities in order to meet mission goals. The FEMA Privacy Team
demonstrated the ultimate team spirit and drive as they banded together and
brought their collective talents and skills to bare in order to make FEMA’s
Privacy Program one of the best in the Department.
|
On October 27, 2015, FEMA’s Voluntary Agency Liaisons (VALs), the National Voluntary Organizations
Active in Disaster (National
VOAD), and the DHS Center for Faith-Based & Neighborhood
Partnerships co-hosted the First Annual
Voluntary Organization Partnership Day. This unique event recognized the valuable services and support our
voluntary, faith-based, and community partners provide to disaster survivors
before, during, and after an event.
A special thank you to the inaugural event’s
36 exhibitors, which included national and state VOAD member organizations,
other whole community partners involved in disaster response and recovery, and
FEMA components.
If you would like to
share your experiences or photos from this event, or want to learn more, please
search or post on social media using hashtag #VOPD15, or contact AC Claud (alfred.claud@fema.dhs.gov), Voluntary Agency Liaison, FEMA Individual
Assistance.
 |
|
After many years of planning and months of hard work, www.ready.gov is now mobile friendly. You can now visit www.ready.gov
on your phone, tablet, and desktop computer and have the same content
experience. We continue to update and streamline
content on the site.
Now that ready.gov and fema.gov are both mobile-enabled, m.fema.gov will be sunset in December as it is no longer needed. Thank you to
everyone who helped promote the mobile site over the years, and thank you
for visiting and promoting the mobile-enabled ready.gov.
|
FEMA’s
Logistics Management Directorate ESF-7 Concept of Resource Support Briefing was a big success. The event focused on earthquake preparedness on Wednesday, November 18, at FEMA Headquarters in
Washington, DC.
Representatives from a broad range of federal,
state, territorial, tribal, local and private sector Logistics partners
participated in the briefing/conference which discussed scenarios on how to
rapidly provide support in commodities and resources in the event of a major
earthquake and how to anticipate expected logistics obstacles presented by
secondary impacts of a major seismic event. ESF-7 partners including the United
States Geological Survey (USGS), the U.S. Coast Guard, and the Department of Defense. During the event, General Services Administration (GSA) and critical private sector partners
outlined a wide range of earthquake preparedness initiatives.
 Federal, state, territorial, tribal, local, and private sector participants at the ESF-7 Concept of Resource Support Briefing, which focused on earthquake preparedness.
|
