May 2013
5 posts
HAZMAT Rescue Training Prepares Emergency Workers...
A new addition to Virginia’s HAZMAT training program teaches emergency workers techniques to rescue civilians during HAZMAT incidents. During a recent training, students were trained on making rescues above, at and below grade level. Different tactics and equipment are needed for each situation.
Those interested in HAZMAT rescue training may visit www.vaemergency.gov and apply to the...
Communications Field Day at Hungry Mother State...
Local and state public safety agencies were provided hands-on experience with the Statewide Agencies Radio System (STARS) in a simulated emergency incident at the Communications Field Day, held May 8 at Hungry Mother State Park. The STARS radio system is technology used to coordinate multi-agency response to emergencies. Representatives from the Virginia State Police, the Virginia Department of...
Public Safety Response to Terrorism Course...
The Technological Hazards Division is now offering an eight-hour course on Public Safety Response to Terrorism Awareness. This awareness course is designed for responders who require the skills necessary to recognize and report a potential incident involving Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) or who are likely to respond to or investigate an event involving the use of WMDs. The course will be the...
Save Money During Hurricane Preparedness Sales Tax...
From May 25-31, save money during Virginia’s Hurricane Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday. Tax-exempt items include useful commonplace products such as cellphone chargers, all types and sizes of bottled water, batteries and duct tape. Also tax-exempt are traditional emergency preparedness supplies including fire extinguishers, carbon monoxide detectors, generators and first aid kits. For...
VDEM Training Calendar
Please sign up early. The minimum enrollment for each of the classes below is 15, and the decision to conduct or cancel the course is made one week prior to course start.
Enrollment in the below courses is via the Commonwealth of Virginia Knowledge Center. Please access the Knowledge Center using the web address for the agency where your account resides. If your account is with VDEM, you will go...
April 2013
14 posts
VDEM Training Calendar
Please sign up early. The minimum enrollment for each of the classes below is 15, and the decision to conduct or cancel the course is made one week prior to course start.
Enrollment in the below courses is via the Commonwealth of Virginia Knowledge Center. Please access the Knowledge Center using the web address for the agency where your account resides. If your account is with VDEM, you will go...
Explosive Device Resources Available
There are a number of resources available to help emergency managers prepare their communities for events similar to the one that happened in Boston April 15.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security manages the national “If you see something, say something” campaign. Information and resources can be found at: http://www.dhs.gov/if-you-see-something-say-something-campaign
VDEM offers...
2013 Could Bring Active Hurricane Season
For 30 years, the Tropical Meteorology Project at Colorado State University has made annual hurricane season forecasts. The researchers say that the 2013 hurricane season will be more active than usual, with nine hurricanes and 18 named storms predicted. Four major hurricanes are forecast (categories 3, 4 or 5). “We anticipate an above-average Atlantic basin hurricane season due to the...
First Responder Resources Released to Assist Those...
To help first responders and emergency managers service the “Whole Community,” the National Terrorism Preparedness Institute, in partnership with the St. Petersburg College Center for Public Safety Innovation, has published information on assisting those with functional and medical needs. The videos and documents released are designed to improve understanding on all demographics of the public, and...
Registration Open for VHHA Forum and Virginia...
Healthcare and emergency management officials will join the 2013 VHHA State Emergency Management Forum in conjunction with the Virginia Department of Health Summit, April 29 through May 2 in Richmond. To register for this event, go to http://tinyurl.com/2013Forum-Summit-FES or log into TRAIN and enter the course ID “1042282.”
FEMA Student ID to Replace Social Security Number...
To protect security for students, FEMA, the National Fire Administration, and the Emergency Management Institute will soon ask training course registrants for a FEMA student ID, instead of their Social Security Number. To obtain a FEMA Student ID, go to https://cdp.dhs.gov/femasid and click on “Need a FEMA SID.”
VDEM Training Calendar
Please sign up early. The minimum enrollment for each of the classes below is 15, and the decision to conduct or cancel the course is made one week prior to course start.
Enrollment in the below courses is via the Commonwealth of Virginia Knowledge Center. Please access the Knowledge Center using the web address for the agency where your account resides. If your account is with VDEM, you will go...
Anonymous asked: when are ICS 400 classes being held in virginia 2013
Anonymous asked: Where is the G-290 training location in Marian Virginia?
Reaching the Whole Community
Effective disaster preparedness means everyone must get involved, including underserved populations. Each person’s abilities and needs are different. A recent FEMA webinar on meeting the needs of Latino communities highlighted successful local efforts to start and continue preparedness discussions and to build inclusive disaster plans.
Some pointers include:
• Partner with trusted community...
FEMA, American Red Cross Research Finds Importance...
FEMA and the American Red Cross have published findings on research conducted July 27-28, 2012, in a workshop organized to improve preparedness messages in both the public and private sector.
The report found that a sense of empowerment through useful, easy-to-understand information and an emotionally engaging message that connected to individuals’ sense of responsibility for their own safety...
FEMA to Conduct Regional Collaboration Training in...
FEMA Region III will train emergency personnel as well as representatives from the private sector to strengthen collaboration in emergency preparedness across the regional community.
The free course will be held May 16 in Stafford. Registration is open until May 2 by creating an account at www.trecresourcecenter.org.
Best Practice – Elementary School Outreach
(Photo provided by Sherri Laffoon)
Chesterfield County Emergency Management, in cooperation with the Chesterfield Police Child Safety Officers, designed a program to teach school-aged children about the importance of being prepared for emergencies. The CSOs incorporated emergency preparedness into the STEPP (Success Through Education & Proactive Policing) program for all students in the...
VDEM Training Calendar
Please sign up early. The minimum enrollment for each of the classes below is 15, and the decision to conduct or cancel the course is made one week prior to course start.
Enrollment in the below courses is via the Commonwealth of Virginia Knowledge Center. Please access the Knowledge Center using the web address for the agency where your account resides. If your account is with VDEM, you will go...
March 2013
11 posts
SuperStar Awards to Honor Volunteer Emergency...
Volunteer emergency responders and preparedness trainers will be recognized with the SuperStar Awards for their contributions to the Commonwealth.
Out of 46 nominees, 11 winners were chosen in categories to reflect the diverse aspects of emergency management, from medical airlift activity during a disaster, to preparedness training for refugee resettlement. View the 2013 winners below, and visit...
Central Va. Agencies Join Efforts to Promote...
Reaching the “Whole Community” may pose a challenge when outreach requires the use of a second language. Agencies in Central Virginia rose to the challenge March 16 with a day of disaster safety conducted entirely in Spanish. Emergency managers from local fire and police departments, as well as the multicultural outreach personnel from VDEM, worked together to conduct a four-hour “Spanish Survivor...
FEMA Approves Virginia Standard State Mitigation...
The Commonwealth is ensured three years of continued eligibility for non-emergency Stafford Act funding from FEMA’s approval of the Virginia Standard State Mitigation Plan. Officially adopted March 14, the plan will include eligibility for FEMA’s hazard mitigation assistance programs through March 14, 2016.
Eligible hazard mitigation assistance programs include the Pre-Disaster Program, the...
One Million Join Statewide Tornado Drill
One million Virginians participated in the Statewide Tornado Drill on March 12, led by the Virginia Department of Emergency Management. At 9:45 a.m. across the state, participants took shelter in a low-level space away from windows, and tuned in to a NOAA Weather Radio, with flashlights and bottled water on hand. Many participants, from middle school students to college faculty, tweeted their...
FEMA Webinar to Address Engaging Latino Community...
FEMA will focus on the nation’s Latino population as part of the emphasis on the “Whole Community” with an upcoming webinar, “Meeting the Needs of Latino Communities in Emergency Management,” March 26 at 3:00 p.m. The webinar will host personnel from government and non-profit organizations with success stories on reaching the Latino community in emergency preparedness efforts.
Registration is...
VDEM Training Calendar
Please sign up early. The minimum enrollment for each of the classes below is 15, and the decision to conduct or cancel the course is made one week prior to course start.
Enrollment in the below courses is via the Commonwealth of Virginia Knowledge Center. Please access the Knowledge Center using the web address for the agency where your account resides. If your account is with VDEM, you will go...
Register for the 2013 Virginia Emergency...
The 2013 Emergency Management Symposium will be held Wednesday, March 20 through Friday, March 22 at The Homestead in Hot Springs, Virginia. Speakers will include Keni Thomas, Ranger on the “Black Hawk Dawn” mission; Mayor Maddox of Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
Register at http://www.vemaweb.org/content/symposium2013/. March 8 is the last day for cancellation.
Siren Push Notifications in Red Cross Tornado App...
New technology from the Red Cross Tornado app allows smart phone users to receive audible siren alerts during tornado warnings, even if the app is closed, and thereby prevent users from sleeping through warnings.
Push notifications may also be received when a warning has expired, equally important information for families inside a safe room.
Download the app on the App Store and on Google...
Central Virginia "Survivor Day" Prepares Residents...
“Survivor Day”, a free workshop made available to communities for emergency preparedness training, was held in 12 locations across central Virginia to educate over 180 members of the community on how to prepare for the first 72 hours of a natural disaster. The courses were held by the Central Virginia Urban Areas Security Initiative.
VDEM Training Calendar
Please sign up early. The minimum enrollment for each of the classes below is 15, and the decision to conduct or cancel the course is made one week prior to course start.
Enrollment in the below courses is via the Commonwealth of Virginia Knowledge Center. Please access the Knowledge Center using the web address for the agency where your account resides. If your account is with VDEM, you will go...
Stewart named Region 3 Coordinator
VDEM has named Gene Stewart as the Region 3 Coordinator. Stewart has more than 34 years in fire, rescue, law enforcement, and emergency management experience. He is a former emergency manager for Page County and was an adjunct instructor for VDEM for more than six years.
Most recently, Gene served Region 2 and 3 as Exercise Liaison. Stewart has completed the Professional Development Series...
February 2013
11 posts
Mayor Maddox of Tuscaloosa, Ala. to Speak at Va....
Mayor Walter Maddox of Tuscaloosa, Alabama will speak at the 2013 Virginia Emergency Management Symposium to be held Wednesday, March 20 through Friday, March 22 at The Homestead in Hot Springs, Virginia, to discuss how his community responded to the severe tornado outbreak that devastated the area on April 27, 2011. The severe EF4 tornado leveled many homes and destroyed many stores and...
Va. Emergency Managers Attend Preparedness Course...
(Virginia emergency managers in attendance: Doug Jones, Deputy Coordinator, Accomack County; Melinda Moran, County Administrator, Mathews County; Doreen McAndrews, Deputy Coordinator, Newport News; Sharon Chamberlin, Emergency Planner, Chesapeake) Virginia emergency managers in attendance of the “Hurricane Preparedness for Decision Makers” course held at the National Hurricane Center (NHC) in...
VDEM Training Calendar
Please sign up early. The minimum enrollment for each of the classes below is 15, and the decision to conduct or cancel the course is made one week prior to course start.
Enrollment in the below courses is via the Commonwealth of Virginia Knowledge Center. Please access the Knowledge Center using the web address for the agency where your account resides. If your account is with VDEM, you will go...
FEMA Ready PSA Catches Al Roker in a Sudden Storm
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) recently released a new Public Service Announcement for the national Ready campaign, featuring Al Roker of NBC’s “The Today Show” in a segment called “Be Ready for Any Weather”. The video creatively promotes preparedness for disasters which may seem to arrive at a moment’s notice.
FEMA Seeks Applicants for National Advisory...
Eight positions are now open to serve on FEMA’s National Advisory Council, to incorporate “whole communities” input through appointed council members. Council members will advise FEMA on all aspects of emergency management, including the development of national preparedness plans and the National Response Framework, with perspectives from public and private sectors. For more information or to...
“Black Hawk Down” Mission Ranger Keni Thomas to...
Former Staff Sgt. Keni Thomas, Ranger on the Mogadishu Somalia mission to capture criminal warlord Mohammed Farrah recounted in the book and film Black Hawk Down, will speak at the 2013 Virginia Emergency Management Symposium on Wed., March 20 through Fri., March 22 at The Homestead in Hot Springs, Virginia. Awarded the American Patriot Award and the Bronze Star for Valor, Thomas delivers...
NOAA Southeast and Caribbean Regional Team Weather...
The NOAA Southeast and Caribbean Regional TeamWeather Ready Nation sub-team will be hosting a Wireless Emergency Alert webinar conducted by Mike Gerber on Wednesday 2/13 at 10am EST.
Register at https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/837358176
Video: Be Prepared for an Emergency at Your...
View the app features of Ready Virginia, the new mobile app from the Virginia Department of Emergency Management, now available on the App Store℠ and on Google Play™.
Download on the App Store: http://bit.ly/Va5tF1
Download on Google Play: http://bit.ly/XhCA4B
National Weather Service Releases Derecho...
Click here to view the Derecho comprehensive assessment from the National Weather Service. The June 29, 2012 event killed 13 people with extreme winds, knocked out power for over 4 million people across 10 states, and resulted in 34 heat related deaths. The assessment concludes that Virginia was among the hardest hit states, along with West Virginia, Ohio, Maryland, and the District of Colombia....
Technical Assistance Available to Academic...
U.S. colleges and universities can apply today for the newly launched Campus Resilience Pilot Program (CR Pilot) to enhance emergency preparedness and resilience. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) together with the Department of Education and the Department of Justice will work with state, local and private sector partners to engage colleges and universities to take proactive steps to...
VDEM Training Calendar
Please sign up early. The minimum enrollment for each of the classes below is 15, and the decision to conduct or cancel the course is made one week prior to course start.
Enrollment in the below courses is via the Commonwealth of Virginia Knowledge Center. Please access the Knowledge Center using the web address for the agency where your account resides. If your account is with VDEM, you will go...
January 2013
11 posts
Free Mobile App Helps You Prepare for Emergencies
Virginians now can be “mobile ready” for disasters with a new app from Ready Virginia. The app gives those who use smart phones and tablets a convenient way to prepare for disasters and to stay informed during emergencies with the latest information.
The Ready Virginia app for iPhone® and Android™ mobile devices provides emergency planning and preparedness guidance along with these important...
VDEM Training Calendar
Need help or have questions about course enrollment? Call the LMS Help Desk @ 804-897-9995 or email lmshelp@vdem.virginia.gov. Monday-Friday, 8-4:30.
Please sign up early. The minimum enrollment for each of the classes below is 15, and the decision to conduct or cancel the course is made one week prior to course start.
Enrollment in the below courses is via the Commonwealth of Virginia...
Be Mobile Ready: Virginia launches free emergency...
RICHMOND - Governor Bob McDonnell announced today a way for Virginians to become “mobile ready” for disasters. The Ready Virginia mobile app, developed by the Virginia Department of Emergency Management, gives Virginians a new way to prepare for disasters and also to stay informed during emergencies with the latest information.
The Ready Virginia app is available for download in...
VDEM Training Calendar
Please sign up early. The minimum enrollment for each of the classes below is 15, and the decision to conduct or cancel the course is made one week prior to course start.
Enrollment in the below courses is via the Commonwealth of Virginia Knowledge Center. Please access the Knowledge Center using the web address for the agency where your account resides. If your account is with VDEM, you will go...
Webinars help applicants with Hazard Mitigation...
The Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) was approved for all localities in the Commonwealth as a result of the major disaster declaration the Commonwealth received for Hurricane Sandy. These three webinars, to be held on Jan. 15, Jan. 17, and Jan. 24, will provide information on HMGP grants. HMGP grants help reduce the impact of future disasters. Some past projects include elevating homes,...
Register Now for Statewide Tornado Drill, March...
Virginia’s annual Statewide Tornado Drill will take place Tuesday, March 12, 2013, at 9:45 a.m. The date will be observed as Tornado Preparedness Day. To register and to learn more about planning a tornado drill, go to www.vaemergency.gov and click through the rotating graphics at the top of the page, or go to www.ReadyVirginia.gov.
Newport News’ “Prepare to Partner” Initiative to...
“Prepare to Partner”, Newport News’ initiative to join public and private sectors in emergency preparedness, will hold its first meeting Jan. 17. The program hopes to involve and integrate the private sector into the Emergency Management framework while helping organizations better prepare employees, services, and facilities for large scale emergencies and disasters. The initiative is based on...
2013 Virginia Emergency Management Symposium...
Registration is now open for the 2013 Virginia Emergency Management Symposium, to be held Wednesday, March 20 through Friday, March 22 at The Homestead in Hot Springs, Virginia. Speakers at the symposium will include Walter Maddox, mayor of Tuscaloosa during the town’s 2011 tornado; Doug Erickson of Northstar Management, closely involved in the 2011 tornado response in Joplin; and motivational...
Secret Service Security Plan, DC Transportation...
The U.S. Secret Service and the District of Colombia have published a security plan and transportation plan, respectively, to prepare the public for the 57th Presidential Inauguration on January 21. The plans includes valuable resources for both attendees and emergency managers monitoring the event, including road closures and pedestrian routes, as well as suggested Twitter and SMS resources for...
