A first-of-its-kind mutual-aid training exercise designed to demonstrate the feasibility of dispatching, mobilizing, and deploying hundreds of emergency vehicles and personnel during a state-wide incident came off "without a hitch" last week during a timed demonstration broadcast live over the Internet.
The Tank Car Specialist course develops the specific fundamentals and skills associated with emergency responses to railroad tank car incidents involving hazardous materials (HazMat) and/or weapons of mass destruction (WMDs). The Tank Car Specialist course is the first to be certified by DHS/FEMA (Department of Homeland Security/Federal Emergency Management Agency) at the Security and Emergency Response Training Center (SERTC).
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Craig Fugate met with state and local officials in Louisiana to discuss the region's ongoing recovery from Hurricane Katrina. During the last year and a half, FEMA and other agencies of the Obama Administration worked closely with state and local officials to cut through bureaucratic red tape and expedite the financial assistance needed to help implement important projects in the ravaged area.
Purdue University researchers have developed a technology that has the potential to more quickly identify food-borne pathogens, aiding U.S. homeland security officials in responding to a bioterrorist attack or other emergencies. The research team, which is based at Discovery Park's Bindley Bioscience Center, has received a $1.3 million seed grant from the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases to test the technology.
The North Carolina Hazardous Material Regional Response Teams (RRTs) have added RAE Systems' AreaRAE wireless toxic-gas and radiation-detection monitors to their equipment base, serving six of its seven regionally placed teams.
The United States Fire Administration (USFA), in partnership with the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), announces the release of Best Practices for Emergency Vehicle and Roadway Operations Safety - which highlights the results of an initiative supported by the U.S. Department of Justice's National Institute of Justice (NIJ) to enhance emergency vehicle and roadway operations safety for firefighters and law enforcement officers.
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Craig Fugate addressed the National Commission on Children and Disasters' public meeting on how FEMA is coordinating with state and local governments, as well as with the private sector and non-profit organizations, to integrate the needs of children into planning for disaster response and recovery.
In a series titled Disaster in the Gulf on NBC, Bruker Detection scientist Bob Kibler is shown using the E2M finding significant levels of BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes) and other hydrocarbons deposited in the mud, silt, and sand along the affected areas of the coastline.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) funding was awarded through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to 62 public health agencies in 50 states to help strengthen their ability to respond to terrorist incidents and/or natural disasters.
The American Red Cross has selected Motorola's MC55 Enterprise Digital Assistant (EDA) and wireless LAN (WLAN) access points to help document blood donations for more than 200,000 blood drives each year. The MC55 EDA, which uses an integrated bar code scanner, will provide the ARC with a lightweight, size-optimized device that will securely and wirelessly connect the end user to the application and data server used in each blood drive.
