The
Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) National
Emergency Training Center in Emmitsburg has been preparing
hundreds of federal responders to deal with the aftermath
of Hurricane Katrina.
The
training center in Emmitsburg consists of two components
of FEMA, the National Fire Academy and the Emergency Management
Institute. The academy trains fire and rescue-related
personnel. The institute is the corporate training arm
of FEMA.
In
spite of widespread criticism of FEMA’s response
to the Katrina disaster culminating with the on-site replacement
of Director Michael Brown, the Emmitsburg-based training
institute continued through last week to prepare members
of the U.S. Coast Guard, Immigration and Customs Enforcement
(ICE) and the Department of Homeland Security staff to
join the recovery effort in the Gulf Coast area.
The
training offered at the Emmitsburg center provides “pretty
much an orientation as to what they might expect”
on arriving in the disaster region, Callis told The
Dispatch.
The
two-day sessions provide an orientation to FEMA, a briefing
on the nature of the disaster, and instructions on safety
and security issues, according to institute Deputy Supervisor
Richard Callis. Upon completion of the course, the trainees
are issued a FEMA identification badge.
In
all, Callis said, “We had about 409 trainees this
week (week of Sept. 5). These (trainees) represented other
components of Homeland Security.” On Friday, Sept.
9, the center processed 150 trainees. They will receive
more specific training at centers located nearer the disaster
impact areas.
Callis
said personnel training would continue at a long-term
FEMA center established in Orlando in response to last
year’s hurricane season. In addition, a hotel in
Atlanta is being set up to train responders in communications
and public outreach. More training centers will soon be
set up in other states.
The
FEMA supervisor pointed out the immense task in preparing
responders to deal with outreach, saying, “There
are four states – Louisiana, Alabama, Florida and
Mississippi – that have been declared disaster areas,
and 14 other states which now have emergency declarations
in place.”
Part
of the training at centers closer to the stricken areas
includes instructions on how to help evacuees in shelters
register with the FEMA database of displaced persons,
which currently includes about 400,000 people, he said.
Through the database, family and friends will be able
to locate their loved ones.
Editor’s
Note: President Jimmy Carter established FEMA in 1979.
In March 2003, FEMA joined 22 other federal agencies,
programs and offices to form the Department of Homeland
Security.
