The United States Fire Administration (USFA) reported that fires kill an average of seven Americans every day in the
United States and cause an estimated $7.3 billion property loss
annually. Home fires can be prevented by having the basic knowledge of fire
prevention, such as the use of smoke detectors. In a recent partnership
between FEMA and Red Cross, they focused on a simple goal – to provide smoke
detectors to households that need them the most.
FEMA and Red Cross collaborated and combined data on
fatal home fires in order to determine the various neighborhoods that are most
at risk of home fires. The results gathered from this study will be used to
support households and provide smoke detectors. The goal of this new program is
to prevent deaths caused by home fires as well as property loss.
USFA is also working with FEMA to prevent home fires. USFA's "Fire Is Everyone's Fight" campaign is a national initiative to unite the fire service, life safety organizations, and professionals in an effort to reduce home fire injuries, deaths and property loss by changing how people think about fire and fire prevention. Fire safety and prevention webinars are available for individuals interested in joining the campaign and promoting fire safety.
To watch previous fire safety and prevention webinars, visit USFA. Home
fire prevention and safety information are also available from Ready.gov.
Before establishments and
structures are re-built after a Presidentially-declared disaster, there must be
an environmental and historic preservation (EHP) review. EHP reviews ensure
that natural and cultural resources are considered in the federal
decision-making process regarding funding or permitting actions.
The Unified
Federal Review (UFR) Process was created as an improved approach for the
EHP reviews associated with disaster recovery projects. The goal of the UFR
Process is to promote the use of best practices and to provide tools designed
to address gaps in EHP review processes, increase consistency, and leverage
existing resources to create process efficiencies.
Examples of best practices
and success stories regarding the UFR Process are compiled in a newsletter showcasing
successful interagency coordination. The newsletter also allows agencies to
stay involved with efforts to create a UFR Process across the nation. The third issue of the UFR newsletter is now available
online.
Agencies are encouraged to
submit content and articles that show examples and experiences of the UFR
process, general EHP review efficiencies, and successful interagency
coordination for a project(s) to federal-unified-review@fema.dhs.gov.
For more information on
the UFR Process, visit the Unified
Federal Environmental and Historic Preservation Review Library.
FEMA’s Emergency Management Institute (EMI) Virtual Tabletop
Exercise (VTTX) program will offer an earthquake scenario from September 20 to 22, 2016 at 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. EDT.
The VTTX was designed to help communities specifically look at an earthquake in
their community, using historical events and recovery actions. The VTTX involves key personnel discussing simulated scenarios in an informal setting and can be used to assess plans, policies, training, and procedures. Content for each session
is the same for all days and participants should only attend one session.
EMI conducts a monthly series of VTTXs through video
teleconferences (VTC) to reach community-based training audiences
around the country, and provide a virtual forum for disaster training. The VTTX is designed for a group of ten or more representatives from state,
local, tribal, and territorial emergency communities of practice. Participants
will need to connect via a site equipped with the appropriate VTC capability,
but alternate ways to participate are also available upon request.
The goals of the VTTX are to test the participants’ knowledge,
skills, and abilities to conduct all-hazards emergency response and recovery
effectively. The VTTXs also enable coordination of response operations
with counterparts from fderal agencies, state, local, tribal, and territorial
governments, private sector organizations, non-governmental agencies, and other
whole community partners.
To participate in a VTTX,
send an email request to Doug Kahn at douglas.kahn@fema.dhs.gov and copy fema-emi-iemb@fema.dhs.gov. Participants
can also call 301-447-7645 or 301-447-1381. The deadline for all applications
is August 26, 2016. Additional information is available at https://training.fema.gov/programs/emivttx.aspx.
The deadline has been
extended until December 15, 2016, to submit inputs and feedback to the
Mitigation Federal Leadership Group (MitFLG) Disaster Resilience Indicators
Subcommittee’s “Draft
Interagency Concept for Community Resilience Indicators and National-Level
Progress Measures." Stakeholders can submit comments and feedback to FEMA-CommunityResilience@fema.dhs.gov.
In response to broad
public interest in identifying key factors of community resilience nationwide,
FEMA, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and federal
partners in the MitFLG Disaster Resilience Indicators Subcommittee released the
draft white paper in June 2016. This white paper is intended to start a
broad conversation among public- and private-sector stakeholders on ways to
best define and track improvements in community resilience capacity across 28
key indicator categories.
The document is the result
of a year-long effort to identify potential indicators of community resilience
capacity building that align with the Mitigation and Recovery Core Capabilities
under the National Preparedness Goal. Learn more
details about this initiative through FEMA and NOAA partnership here.
Higher Education Webinar in Emergency Management Education
FEMA’s Emergency Management Institute Higher
Education Program is hosting a webinar, "The Role of Research in Emergency Management
Education: Current Status and Future Directions," September 28, 2016 from 3 - 4 p.m. EDT.
The webinar highlights research issues in emergency management
higher education programs. The webinar will examine the results of a recent
research study by Arkansas State University students who will discuss the
relationship between the results of their research and the perceptions and
experiences at their institutions. Presenters include:
• Deborah
J. Persell, Ph.D., RN, APN, Director, Regional Center for
Disaster Preparedness Education College of Nursing and Health Professions
Arkansas State University
• Jessica
Jensen, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Emergency
Management Co-Director, Center for Emergency Management Education and Research,
North Dakota State University
Interested individuals
should register using the event
registration link and contact Wendy Walsh at wendy.walsh@fema.dhs.gov for
more information on the webinar.
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