FEMA Offers Free Courses in Emergency Management

The Emergency Management Institute at FEMA has built a wealth of free resources for local officials to learn more about emergency management.

eoc

FEMA’s Emergency Management Institute offers a range of free web-based courses for those interested in learning more about emergency management.

For example, a course on emergency operations centers, IS-775: EOC Management and Operations, describes the role, design, and functions of Emergency Operations Centers and their relationships as components of a multi-agency coordination system. The course contains disaster-related examples, activities and case studies that relate to EOC’s and multi-agency coordination systems at the local, state and federal levels of government.

Course objectives include:

  • Describe the role that EOCs play in overall multiagency coordination.
  • Describe the relationship between the EOC and the on-scene Incident Command System (ICS) structure.
  • Identify staffing, information, systems, and equipment needs at the EOC.
  • Determine whether participants’ EOC organizations are conducive to effective coordination.
  • Identify potential alternate locations suitable for EOC operations should the primary EOC facility become damaged or inoperable.
  • Create a test, training and exercise plan for critical EOC operations.
  • Develop a strategy and schedule for reviewing EOC resource requirements and technology needs.

For more information, view the course offerings and take a course, or join us for a special MACo Winter Conference session on public safety and emergency management issues, The ABCs of EOCs: County Roles During a Local Emergency.

In The ABCs of EOCs, Richard Brooks, Director of Cecil County Emergency Services will describe the roles of county elected officials and leadership staff in local emergency operations centers, and Russ Strickland, the Director of the Maryland Emergency Management Agency will describe their counterparts in the State’s EOC. Through presentation and a short tabletop exercise, participants will gain insight into the chain of command during an emergency, how agency functions translate into emergency support functions during a crisis, and how to work in an incident command structure.

Don’t miss this special opportunity to test your EOC skills! This session will meet on Friday, December 10, 2015, from 8-9:15am.

The MACo Winter Conference will be held December 9-11, 2015 at the Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay Hotel in Cambridge.

Learn more about MACo’s Winter Conference:

Questions? Contact Meetings & Events Director Virginia White.