It is on this dank foggy morning here in Plaza-Midwood that I find myself hugging a hot cup of coffee and desiring nothing more than to curl up in my office chair and go absolutely nowhere. Clearly, I'm also blasting Missy Elliott through my headphones, but I have digressed. On days like today, in the interest of furthering my education and knowledge of emergency preparedness, I will on occasion decide to lose myself in one of the many courses offered for independent study by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Please note, all of these classes I'm about to mention are completely free of charge. That's right -- these courses are offered at no cost at all to you. All you need is a little bit of time to sit down and enjoy the power of education. Many of these courses offer an interactive web course, which gives a multimedia presentation including short knowledge-checking quizzes, and all are followed up with a final exam, after which if you pass, you will receive an electronic certificate of completion from FEMA. While there is quite the variety of classes offered on FEMA's website, many are incredibly tailored and specific. For ease of navigation, I would like to offer several recommendations from my little corner of the office so that perhaps you can join me on my emergency knowledge enrichment journey. (And thank you, Beth, for being such a wonderful sport and indulging my antics.)
IS-100.B: Introduction to Incident Command System, ICS-100
- This course details the history, structure, and versatility of the Incident Command System (ICS). It's a pretty nifty course, as the Incident Command System does not have to be used solely in emergencies. Have a parade to throw? Use ICS. Have a children's birthday party? Even here, one could use ICS. Like I said, nifty.
- This is a more thorough exploration of ICS. At least a basic knowledge of the National Incident Management System (NIMS) is recommended. This can be gained through taking, at the very least, IS-700, which I have conveniently listed below.
- This course details the structure of the National Incident Management System, elaborating on how the different sectors (non-profit, private, government) interact during disaster response.
Further, should you happen to be interested in emergency preparedness and disaster response to the point that you would like to join the Charlotte area's new disaster response volunteer team, please do check out the Disaster Response Volunteer Trainings offered by Hands On Charlotte in a partnership with Mecklenburg County and the City of Charlotte's Emergency Management Office and Fire Department, the American Red Cross, and the Homeless Resource Center. We are excited to be offering two separate two-part trainings. Essentially, as a volunteer, one will need to attend one Saturday and one Wednesday training. If able, I would recommend that one attend the Saturday and Wednesday within the same month, just so all is not forgotten over a month-long span, but as a single man working two jobs, I understand that scheduling can be a nightmare and obligations exist.
The December trainings will be held on Saturday, December 13, and Wednesday, December 17; and the January trainings will be held Saturday, January 24, and Wednesday, January 28. The Saturday trainings will both be from 9:00-5:00, and the Wednesday trainings will both be from 5:30-9:00, to allow disaster response trainees to attend after the typical workday. All you need to do to sign up is register for the event via this link, so we know when to expect you! This should be a wonderful, exciting, and engaging training, and I hope we see many of you there!
Thank you for reading, enjoy some coffee or cocoa or whatever you're into on this beautiful cloudy day, as always, stay safe, Charlotte!
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