HARM Students Drive Training Procedures
Hands-on training that provides both mental and physical challenges to emergency responders is difficult to duplicate. Few training courses require students to demonstrate solid response skills, while providing parameters and developing plans for a hazardous materials or weapons of mass destruction (WMD) response.
The Hazard Assessment and Response Management (HARM) course is the first course of its kind at the Center for Domestic Preparedness (CDP), located in Anniston, AL. The HARM course provides response personnel with a scenario, but the students determine the tempo and plan their response.
"All CDP courses have instructors directly involved with training," explains Rick Dickson, assistant director of training delivery. "In HARM our instructors step back and let the students make the decisions. Sometimes the students meet with difficulty; other times they succeed immediately. Ultimately, the information and learning tools they gain are invaluable. This course is about as real as it gets for WMD or hazardous materials training."
Course prerequisites include ICS 100 and 200, as well as successful completion of one of the following CDP courses in the previous 36 months: WMD Technical Emergency Response Training, WMD HazMat Technician or WMD Hands-On-Training (8 or 16 hours).
The goal of the HARM course is to provide the responders with a realistic operational WMD environment in which the students operate within the incident command system and decide procedures, equipment and their tactical approach to an emergency event.
"We were forced to work in a unified command," says Sue McManus of the Memphis (TN) Fire Department. "If we had a real incident, we would work with multiple agencies and jurisdictions," she adds. "Most agencies do not practice like this, but they should. Any real event will be similar to this experience."
The three-day course consists of up to 45 responders from multiple disciplines and jurisdictions with different levels of training and experience. The students appoint their incident commander and determine response elements based on the number of students and response background of each person.
Day One
The teams choose their equipment, determine their level of competency, and conduct individual and collective refresher training in preparation for their mission.
"This was a great learning event," says LeLand Hopkins of the Memphis (TN) Fire Department. "There were students who knew more than others, but that worked to our advantage. Some people's strengths can plug holes in others' weaknesses. Today was an excellent blend."
Day Two
The response element must conduct life safety actions, determine the toxicity within the complex, mitigate the threat, and identify and contain any toxic spills.
"We came here with general knowledge from previous courses," says James Johnson, an Arlington, VA-based hazardous materials technician. "We had to put into play what we have learned, both here at the CDP and from our technical knowledge based on our occupation. We were able to demonstrate our competency and show we could respond to a disastrous event."
Day Three
The teams mitigate and contain CBRNE material consisting of nerve agents. The HARM course incorporates the CDP's toxic agent facility that allows for hands-on training using actual nerve agents.
"This was a great training experience," says Hector Cintron of the Portsmouth, VA, U.S. Coast Guard. "I'm better prepared. You never know when you'll be in a hazardous situation and possibly required to collect evidence or work on a decontamination line. This course has increased my versatility."
"The final day of training allows the students to continue mitigation and hazardous materials containment at our toxic agent facility," says Dickson. "These responders have a familiarity from previous nerve agent training, but today they make entry into a toxic agent environment, locate the threat using the tools they have chosen and render the location safe. All the while our instructors maintain a comfortable distance, note observations, provide critical feedback and ensure the student responders operate safely."
Course Information
CDP courses range from one to five days in length and feature interdisciplinary resident and nonresident training that promote greater understanding among 10 diverse responder disciplines: Emergency Management, Emergency Medical Services, Fire Service, Governmental Administrative, Hazardous Materials, Healthcare, Law Enforcement, Public Health, Public Safety Communications and Public Works.
The CDP is a component of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Preparedness Directorate in the Department of Homeland Security. The Anniston training center is the nation's only federally chartered weapons of mass destruction (WMD) training facility for civilian responders. Learn more about the CDP at https://cdp.dhs.gov.
