Fema’S Disaster Training Scheme Has Its Advantages

Despite what County Commissioner Kate McCaslin says, sending 130 area officials to Virginia for disaster-response training makes sense. So says a law enforcement officer who’s on the list to go.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s training in June is no junket, says Sheriff’s Lt. Chandler C. Bailey, Colbert. It’s wiser to test the county’s emergency readiness now than to wait for the real thing, he contends.

“Training lasts four days, with evening meetings and five- to 10-hour-long scenarios. If this were done locally,” says Bailey, “interruptions from offices and families of participants would render the training useless.”

Large-scale emergencies demand large-scale costs, says Bailey, who’s had some emergency management training and experience with various emergency incidents - equipment for rescue efforts, civil liability, criminal investigations, places for large numbers of people and equipment to assemble, emergency shelters for people and pets.

“This is why financial officers, city-county engineers, attorneys, parks department employees and animal control officers attend such training.”

Considering the potential savings, Bailey considers the expense, picked up by FEMA, minor.

As Lorraine Ezbicki of Spokane puts it, “If we don’t attend, won’t FEMA find a more gracious community to go in our stead? We should feel privileged to be chosen.”

But Sue Kaun of Spokane thinks McCaslin is right.

“The county not only loses these people for a period of time but I’m sure they pay them during the time they’re gone and the employees that are left here have to cover for the ones that are gone,” says Kaun.

“FEMA has experience in dealing with the aftermath of hurricanes, floods and tornadoes,” says Francis E. Kent, Four lakes. “They assuredly know the breadth of resources that are needed in dealing with massive, widespread destruction.”

He says McCaslin should imagine what would have happened during the firestorm if terrorists had exploited the situation by placing incendiary devices in many vulnerable areas that were not on fire. Then, he says, she should “ask herself if purchasing agents (don’t they know who has what equipment that can be of use?) and animal control officers could have made a contribution as team members in responding to the disaster.”