Last week, EMSI delivered a custom-designed course to the Maryland Incident Management Team (IMT) at the Howard County Fire and Rescue Training Academy in Marriottsville, MD. This workshop was designed to allow the IMT the opportunity to discuss, develop, and manage their organization using the NIMS Incident Command System in response to a Complex Coordinated Attack (CCA) that rapidly escalates from a localized area to a statewide emergency.
In preparation for this workshop, EMSI to tailored course materials and exercises to specific Maryland policies, elements, and regulations while expanding standard course materials to include the progression from initial response into a statewide, multiagency, complex incident response. Blending key elements of EMSI’s ICS-220 Initial Response, ICS-300 Intermediate ICS, ICS-400 Advanced ICS, and ICS-620 Area Command courses enabled attendees to work through the simulated incident’s escalation. This five-day workshop detailed several related topics, to include:
- Incident Command, Unified Command, and Area Command structures and functional area responsibilities
- Operational Period Planning Cycles
- Initial Response to a Single Incident
- Complex Incident Management of Multiple Incidents in proximity
- Area Command for a geographically dispersed Complex Coordinated Attack
- Area Command and Multi-Agency Coordination (MAC) for a statewide response
- Incident Command System-Emergency Operations Center Interface
In order to aid the IMT in an actual response, this workshop was designed as an instructor-led course that supported learning through discussion, lecture, and active participation in multiple exercises that provided a realistic, hands-on approach to mastering the skills required during a Complex Coordinated Attack.
As the current national ICS provider for the US Coast Guard and a global leader in the training and application of ICS, our instructors possess years of real-world Area Command experience that is translated into classroom exercises that simulate many of the issues that our team members have experienced on a response. During the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, EMSI deployed over 36 team members to assist in the Area Command Post, specifically coaching Area Command personnel in their responsibilities. Within the last eighteen months, EMSI has delivered ten Area Command courses to the US Coast Guard; a first-ever Canadian Coast Guard ICS-620 Area Command course; and a delivery to the Atlanta-Fulton County Emergency Management Agency, the US Department of Energy, and their partners in preparation for the Super Bowl 53. With each delivery, we consider best practices learned and areas for improvement to provide the best training we can for Area Commands.
A U.S. Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) founded in 2000, EMSI is a premier all-hazards, full-service, multi-discipline incident management and emergency management services and solutions provider, specializing in multiple aspects of incident management and emergency management, including all-hazards ICS and IMT training, exercises, development, and program support. A global leader in the training and application of the ICS, EMSI has been serving the government and private sector all-hazards incident management community for two decades, celebrating our 20th Anniversary this year!
To learn more about EMSI and how we can help your organization’s response preparedness and ICS training programs, please visit www.emsics.com.