|
News from |
||||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
CONTACT: |
||||||||||
|
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Feb. 3, 2009 No. 09-002 KANSAS TO TAKE PART IN INTEGRATED EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT COURSETornadoes, floods, blizzards, wildfires, acts of terrorism — all emergencies that our state has faced or may face in the future. It takes an efficient and well-coordinated effort by professional, well-trained men and women to respond to such events. Toward that end, local, state and federal agencies regularly plan, prepare and train together so they can protect the lives and property of the people they serve. As part of such training, representatives from a variety of state agencies have been invited to participate in a four-day Integrated Emergency Management Course, Feb. 10-13, at the State Defense complex in Topeka. The goal of the course is to provide the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary for state-level emergency management professionals to effectively conduct all-hazards response by coordinating operations with counterparts from local government, other state agencies, federal agencies, private sector organizations and nongovernmental agencies. The course will be conducted by representatives of FEMA’s National Emergency Training Center Emergency Management Institute. It is designed to introduce the National Response Framework to state emergency response organizations and reinforce the understanding of the roles and relationships of federal, state, tribal and local emergency management organizations, as well as the private sector and nongovernmental agencies. “When a disaster strikes, no one agency can handle it alone,” said Maj. Gen. Tod Bunting, the adjutant general and director of the Kansas Division of Emergency Management. “Every agency has a very important role to play and we all must work together to ensure that we are doing all we can to protect the lives and property of the people we serve. Training courses like this help us improve interaction between agencies so we can better fulfill our mission.” The four-day course will begin with two days of classroom briefings and instruction. Day three will be an exercise geared toward the response phase of a disaster scenario and the exercise on day four will focus on the recovery phase. “This is a wonderful opportunity to practice new processes and new response roles in our own State Emergency Operations Center in a non-threatening environment,” said Angee Morgan, deputy director of Kansas Division of Emergency Management. “This exercise will provide an element of realism and prepare for an effective emergency response during an actual event. Establishing strong pre-disaster relationships prior to an actual event and testing processes and procedures is key to a successful coordinated response during an emergency or disaster.” For information on the course, contact Paula Phillips, Kansas Division of Emergency Management and Kansas Homeland Security Training Manager, at (785) 274-1413. -30- |
||||||||||