DisasterExercises

As any department-head of an emergency response unit can tell you, the only way to ensure that emergency personnel are up to the challenge of a real emergency, is to hold DisasterExercises. These exercises allow units to come together in a simulated disaster and apply the training that has been given to them and to learn from mistakes in training.

DisasterExercises allows you and your unit to see where your deficiencies are and to correct them before a disaster strikes. There are different levels of DisasterExercises that can be held. The following are the different levels of DisasterExercises:

• Orientation Seminar - Introduces particpants to the plan and their role in it.
• Drill - Tests a specific function within an agency.
• Table Top Exercises - Designed to elicit a constructive discussion in a non-stress environment, cost-effective, can be done in a large room.
• Functional Exercises - Performed in the field, E.O.C. activated, tests multiple agencies coordination.
• Full-Scale Exercises - Performed in the field, real-time exercise with players, multiple agencies, higher cost factor.

DisasterExercises are an integral part of Emergency Services. You will never know how truly prepared your organization is until a disaster strikes, but you can certainly limit the amount of ineffectualness with proper training, DisasterExercises, and honest evaluation.

F.E.M.A. offers free courses on DisasterExercises.

The following link will take you to F.E.M.A.'s website of their independent study courses. IS 120 and IS 139 are two courses designed for DisasterExercises.

http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/IS/crslist.asp