FEMA Official Preps Local Agencies for June Training

(TNS) - Des Moines County officials have dealt with their share of emergencies during the past decade, but the Federal Emergency Management Agency saw potential for locals to benefit from a course at its training institute in Emmitsburg, Md.

The four-day Integrated Emergency Management Course is intended to prepare communities for large-scale disasters — from tornadoes to building collapses, airplane crashes and threats of terrorism.

Only 10 counties are chosen each year to participate in the free course worth $100,000. Seventy-nine people from law enforcement, government offices and critical industries will spend June 27 to July 1 on the agency's sprawling campus.

Des Moines County Emergency Management coordinator Gina Hardin assembled the winning application securing southeast Iowa's spot in the course.

Douglas Kahn, FEMA/IMEC exercise director, praised Hardin's efforts and emphasized the value the course can bring to a community's emergency management strategy.
"Your community was selected because Gina put together such a great package that it came to my desk and I said, 'Wow, Des Moines County, Iowa. Man, I got to get up there and check this out,'" Kahn said.

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