FEMA Emergency Response On-Line Courses

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June 17, 2007

 

I just learned that HSUS through the Louisiana SPCA could have requested a Type 1 or Type 2 “Incident Management Team” to assist with the overwhelming animal rescue mission of Katrina and Rita. As I understand, the Louisiana SPCA would have needed to submit the request for an IMT through the State OES (Office of Emergency Services) which would then have submitted the request to FEMA. Apparently there are approximately 16 Type 1 and 35 Type 2 (as well as Type 3, 4 & 5) national Incident Management Teams throughout the country available to deploy for emergencies of all kinds.

 

Incident Management Teams are part of the Incident Command System and manage the logistical, fiscal, planning, operational, safety and community issues related to the national/state emergency. An Incident Management Team will provide the command and control infrastructure that is needed for the emergency.

 

Requesting a Type 1 or Type 2 Incident Management Team for the animal rescue/shelter mission may have been unconventional but what was so desperately needed as it became clear early on how understaffed, overwhelmed and unprepared the official animal rescue team was and remained until it’s departure from the scene.

 

Incident Management Teams are different than VMAT (Veterinary Medical Assistance Teams) which also require an invitation from the state affected by the disaster. A request for VMAT services are submitted through the Department of Human Health Services for approval and once deployed, released by the AVMA (American Veterinary Medical Association) and become temporary federal employees under the direction of the National Disaster Medical System.

 

It is worth noting that there is no guarantee FEMA would have complied with the request for an Incident Management Team deployment for the animals had it been made appropriately. And if the request was made and denied then hopefully the heart wrenching lessons still being learned from Katrina will see an affirmative response if such a request is made in the future.

 

If you are interested in how emergency response is organized nationally, you might wish to take the following FEMA courses.

 

IS-10 Animals in Disaster, Module A: Awareness and Preparedness

ICS-11 Animals in Disaster, Module B: Community Planning

IS-00100 (ICS-100) Introduction to the Incident Command System (ICS)

Q463 - (ICS-200) Basic ICS for Operational First Responders

IS-00700 (ICS-700) National Incident Management System (NIMS) an Introduction

 

These and many other emergency response courses are available at no charge from:

 

http://virtualcampus.fema.gov/learningspace5/program/UI/Main/Themes/Kendall/Main.asp

 

At the successful completion of each class you will receive a printable certificate.

 

For the animals,

Kate Danaher

Animal Earth Human

 

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