One new program is helping those with EMS jobs prepare for disaster.
The Hazard Assessment and Response Management course at the Center for Domestic Preparedness in Anniston, Ala., is offering hands-on training that provides mental and physical challenges to emergency responders.
The HARM course provides emergency responders with a realistic operational WMD environment where students operate within the incident command system and decide procedures, equipment and their tactical approach to an emergency event.
The training course requires students to demonstrate solid response skills while providing parameters and developing plans for a hazardous materials or weapons of mass destruction response. According to an article by EMS Responder, the course provides response personnel with a scenario, but it’s up to the students to determine the tempo and plan their response.
“All CDP courses have instructors directly involved with training,” Rick Dickson, assistant director of training delivery, said. “In HARM our instructors step back and let the students make the decisions. Sometimes the students meet with difficulty; other times they succeed immediately. Ultimately, the information and learning tools they gain are invaluable. This course is about as real as it gets for WMD or hazardous materials training.”
Before taking the course, students must first have taken Incident Command System 100 and 200, and successfully completed the WMD Technical Emergency Response Training, WMD HazMat Technician or WMD Hands-On-Training within the past 36 months.
The course, which lasts three days, consists of up to 45 responders from multiple disciplines and jurisdictions with different levels of training and experience. The students are responsible for appointing their incident commander and determining response elements based on the number of students and response background of each person.
Each day of the course includes:
- Day one – The teams choose their equipment, determine their level of competency and conduct individual and collective refresher training in preparation for their mission.
- Day two – The response element must conduct life safety actions, determine the toxicity within the complex, mitigate the threat, and identify and contain any toxic spills.
- Day three – The teams mitigate and contain CBRNE material consisting of nerve agents. The HARM course incorporates the CDP’s toxic agent facility that allows for hands-on training using actual nerve agents.