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This Citizen Corps News Digest is provided by FEMA's Individual & Community Preparedness Division to highlight community preparedness and resilience resources and activities recently announced by federal agencies and Citizen Corps partners. |
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DHS -FEMA Updates
Be heard…Email comments or suggestions to us at cert@dhs.gov
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Today, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) released five documents designed to strengthen the Resource Management component of the National Incident Management System (NIMS) and is now beginning a 30-day National Engagement period. The National Engagement period will conclude at 5 p.m. EDT on June 9, 2017.
NIMS provides a consistent, common approach, and vocabulary to enable the whole community to work together seamlessly to manage all threats and hazards, regardless of cause, size, location, or complexity.
The drafts released today include the NIMS Guideline for the National Qualification System (NQS), NIMS Job Titles/Position Qualifications and accompanying Position Task Books (PTBs), the NIMS Guideline for Mutual Aid, and an updated NIMS Guideline for the Credentialing of Personnel. Together, these documents are designed to enhance interoperability and the effectiveness of mutual aid.
- NIMS Guideline for the NQS provides a common language and approach for qualifying and certifying deployable emergency personnel, enabling enables mutual aid partners to accurately communicate resource needs in disasters.
- NIMS Job Titles/Position Qualificat ions define minimum qualifications criteria for personnel serving in defined deployable incident positions.
- NIMS Position Task Books (PTBs) identify the competencies, behaviors, and tasks that personnel should demonstrate to become qualified for a defined incident position.
- The NIMS Guideline for Mutual Aid is designed to help unify mutual aid efforts by providing stakeholders with common practice and processes for use in mutual aid planning.
- The updated NIMS Guideline for the Credentialing of Personnel provide national standards and guidance for credentialing incident personnel.
FEMA is hosting a series of 60-minute engagement webinars to describe the draft documents and answer participants' questions about providing feedback. All open webinars are geared toward the whole community.
National engagement provides interested parties with an opportunity to comment on the draft documents to ensure that the final documents reflect the collective expertise and experience of the whole community. To review the drafts of the NIMS Resource Management supplemental guidance and tools, and to obtain additional webinar information, visit https://www.fema.gov/national-incident-management-system/national-engagement .
To provide comments on the drafts, complete the feedback form and submit it to FEMA-NIMS@fema.dhs.gov .
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The start of hurricane season is right around the corner. According to FEMA's 2015 National Household Survey , two out of every three Americans are aware of what to do should a hurricane affect the area in which they live or work.
This week, during National Hurricane Preparedness Week (May 7-13) learn the steps you can take to prepare for a hurricane.
The Pacific hurricane season begins May 15 and the Atlantic hurricane season begins June 1. The Ready Campaign has resources to help you prepare your family and promote hurricane preparedness in your community.
It is important to take some time to prepare with your family, colleagues, neighbors, or community group to assess your risk, develop plans, assemble supplies, and conduct emergency drills.
For information on hurricane preparedness both at home and for the workplace, visit the Prepareathon Hurricane page to download the How to Prepare for a Hurricane Guide , the Prepare Your Organization for a Hurricane Playbook , or watch the When the Waves Swell animated video. |
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This week, during National Pet Week (May 7-13), take some steps to ensure your pets have what they need when severe weather or other emergencies hit.
The Ready Campaign offers some considerations to plan for your animals in an emergency. Identify what you can do now to check some items off your list.
Actions you can take include:
- Ensure that your pet has a legible ID at all times. This includes making sure tags are up-to-date and securely fastened to your pet's collar. Microchipping your pet is painless and can ensure information is available even if a collar is lost.
- Keep a current photo of your pet for identification purposes.
- Prepare a pet emergency kit. Download this pet owner's fact sheet for a full list of items to include in your pets kit.
- Identify shelters. For public health reasons, many emergency shelters cannot accept pets. Find out which motels and hotels in the area you plan to evacuate to allow pets well in advance of travelling.
- Have a secure pet carrier, leash or harness for your pet so they don't escape if they get scared.
Learn more about preparing your pets at Ready.gov/Animals . |
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Please help spread the word about the 2017 FEMA Individual Community Preparedness Awards ! Download an application form and apply today! You can also nominate an individual or organization who inspires you to prepare.
For example, if you know someone who used outreach and messaging techniques not only to raise awareness about hazards and disaster preparedness, but also to persuade members of the public, organizations, and community sectors to take action to prepare, they may be eligible for the Awareness to Action award. Learn more about this category and others and act today so you don't miss an opportunity to recognize someone or be recognized yourself!
To be considered for any of this year's awards, send all applications to fema-icp-awards@fema.dhs.gov by May 30, 2017 at 11:59 p.m. EDT and feature program activities occurring between January 1, 2016 and May 30, 2017. For more information on how to apply, visit: http://www.ready.gov/preparedness-awards . |
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On Tuesday, May 23, the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Individual and Community Preparedness Division invites you to a webinar featuring community preparedness partnerships among local Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) programs and the Medical Reserve Corps. Speakers will share how they built and continue to maintain these successful partnerships to better prepare and respond to a disaster.
Title: Building and Maintaining Community Preparedness Partnerships Among CERT Programs and the Medical Reserve Corps
Date: Tuesday, May 23
Time: 3 – 4:30 p.m. EDT
Featured Speakers
- Tyler Krska, National CERT Program Lead, FEMA
- David Richardson, Health Officer, Township of Manalapan, New Jersey
- Kim Silverstein, Volunteer Coordinator, Township of Manalapan, New Jersey
- Carla R. Mitchell, National Technical Assistance Coordinator, Medical Reserve Corps Program, U.S. Department Health and Human Services
How to Join the Webinar:
We hope to that you will be able to join us on May 23!
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Disclaimer: The reader recognizes that the federal government provides links and informational data on various disaster preparedness resources and events and does not endorse any non-federal events, entities, organizations, services or products. Please let us know about other events and services for individual and community preparedness that could be included in future newsletters by contacting: citizencorps@dhs.gov
About FEMA
FEMA's mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.
Follow FEMA online at www.fema.gov/blog, www.twitter.com/fema, www.facebook.com/fema, and www.youtube.com/fema. Also, follow Administrator Craig Fugate's activities at www.twitter.com/craigatfema.
The social media links provided are for reference only. FEMA does not endorse any non-government websites, companies or applications. |
