Everybody knows about IS-808 (the usual worthless online ICS/NIMS FEMA course), so hopefully these offer a bit more in substance and actually teach people what PHP is all about.

This "Red Letter Scenario" is part of a series of tabletop scenarios the Borough of Manhattan Community College has developed as part of their all-hazards emergency response plan.

For county emergency officials, it's only a matter of a time until they'll need to use the county's emergency and disaster plan in the event of a natural disaster, pandemic influenza or biological or chemical attack.

Fire departments utilize the ICS on every call; it's their standard operating procedure, just as it is for emergency medical services (EMS). Hospitals, however, only use it during a disaster, which is a federal standard. But using it only during disaster scenarios leads to inconsistent and potentially weak command centers.

The body of disaster-management knowledge has grown from each catastrophe, Dr. Manuell said last week after she rolled a disaster-management cart back into its bay on an emergency department receiving dock. That accumulated experience is now being recognized by the medical school in an academic department that will teach it to future leaders in a disaster medicine fellowship, starting in July 2009.

A major Philadelphia hospital will be under simulated lockdown this morning as healthcare professionals stage a mock disaster drill with federal agencies.

At 9:04 on a cold fall morning, Sharie Sanderlin stands in the Portland, Oregon, drizzle, cheerfully awaiting the attack. When it hits, precisely on schedule at 9:06, she and some 275 other victims will speed-walk to their positions amid carefully strewn debris in the blast zone: a blown-apart bus, metal shards, smashed cars.

As winter weather created power outages in Provo and water from a broken pipe buried back-up generators, administrators were forced to evacuate the hospital. Although this was only a drill at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center on Thursday, the scenario represents one of many possible disasters.

East Texas has a pretty good track record when it comes to handling a regional emergency. The Columbia disaster and hurricanes Katrina and Rita are good examples. But performance can always be improved. For the next two days county commissioners to fire fighters will undergo intermediate National Incident Management System Training, known now as 'NIMS'.

Emergency response teams took part in a live, simulated large-scale disaster exercise today at a Toronto-area hotel, involving a simulated bomb blast. The purpose of the exercise was to test the coordination and interoperability of these teams in a real emergency, and identify where improvements can be made. In total, close to 1,000 participants, observers, and evaluators were involved.

Thirty-four North American physicians, members of the American Physicians Fellowship (APF), came to Israel to prepare for whatever Israel needs in its next emergency.

Rappaport is one of 30 American doctors who recently participated in a grueling five-day course in emergency medicine hosted by Israeli civilian hospitals and military medics. On this day, the group visited the Israel Center for Medical Simulation, a state-of-the-art training center for emergency medicine at the Sheba Hospital in Tel Hashomer near Tel Aviv.

It is a drill the Hattiesburg-Laurel Regional Airport conducts once every three years to test the airport’s and local emergency agencies’ effectiveness to respond to an airplane crash, according to the airport’s Executive Director Tom Heanue.

John Simon's job description involves making the best out of a bad situation. Saturday was a widespread illustration of just that. A mock disaster in rural Adams County mirrored how important — and effective — local emergency personnel are at what they do.

A diversified group of local officials refined emergency communications and forged stronger relations with each other October 31 at a Public Health Preparedness Drill.

Protecting their community from significant public disasters is an important priority for Toronto's Humber River Regional Hospital (HRRH). One of the ways the hospital informs their community about those efforts is by actually involving members of the public in those preparations.

Held yesterday at the northeastern edge of the Collins Bay penitentiary property, the event featured roughly 300 people, including 75 volunteer victims who simulated a crisis at the level train crossing near Armstrong Road on Bath Road.

The Pratt Regional Medical Center is better prepared to communicate with its own people and other entities following a contamination disaster drill Friday morning at the PRMC back parking lot.

he Joint Commission requires hospitals to implement 2 disaster drills per year to test the response phase of their emergency management plans. Despite this requirement, there is no direct evidence that such drills improve disaster response.

The volunteers were participating in a mass casualty training exercise hosted by the Dodge County Office of Emergency Management. Such exercises, along with vulnerability studies, capability studies and a multitude of other steps, allow Dodge County agencies to pursue federal homeland security grants.

York University launched a new graduate program in disaster and emergency management earlier this year.

A cache of hazardous chemicals the Oregon State Fire Marshall and the Department of Environmental Quality deemed a threat has been eliminated. Residents can relax knowing things are under control.

The New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management along with the Las Cruces/Dona Ana Office of Emergency Management worked together Saturday in conducting a full-scale exercise to test the capabilities of the state Emergency Operations Center and Urban Search and Rescue, New Mexico Task Force One.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security will conduct the largest and most comprehensive counterterrorism exercise to date from Oct. 15-19 in Arizona and Oregon, and the U.S. territory of Guam. Top Officials 4 (TOPOFF 4) is the fourth in a series of congressionally-mandated exercises and involves various federal agencies as well as the governments of Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom.

Two years of planning and preparation will culminate with a full-scale disaster drill in Fauquier County on Sept. 22. Philip Myer is in charge of the Department of Fire and Emergency Services for Fauquier County. He said the exercise is part of the Virginia Region II Homeland Security Exercise Evaluation Program.

Emergency response authorities said they were pleased with the outcome of the Fort Bend County Local Emergency Planning Committee's full-scale hazardous materials response exercise Wednesday.

The concert of coughs, wheezing and fear in Lafayette General's emergency room Friday morning was all play - but not for fun. The hospital along with nine others in Acadiana tested how their procedures for handling a flu pandemic on Friday.

Police and fire departments from across Franklin County will join forces with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Thursday for a full-scale explosive drill designed to test first responders' readiness and skills.

In today's world of emergency management, a four-year degree is a must, said Aaron Kenneston, emergency manager of Washoe County, Nev., though it's not necessarily critical the degree relate specifically to emergency management.

Hundreds of police, fire, medical and other emergency personnel from Licking, Fairfield and Perry counties responded Saturday to terrorist threats around Buckeye Lake. It was a not a real emergency, but rather a training exercise to prepare emergency responders from various agencies and jurisdictions for a major threat. Funding for the exercise comes though the Ohio Emergency Management Agency.

In the event of a flu pandemic, the potential exists for millions of people to perish from illness as communities would be forced to face the prospect of infrastructure collapse, mass hysteria, rampant disorder and hospital overcrowding.

Waldo County will host a four-day, regional, full-scale disaster exercise Sept. 26-29 to test emergency responders and emergency managers from throughout Waldo County, neighboring counties and state and federal agencies.

Fire and police department personnel and officials from surrounding towns gathered in Exeter to discuss how they would handle a regional outbreak of pandemic influenza.

Firefighters and those they proudly serve are encouraged to avail themselves to free training at NFAOnline

A mock Medical Emergency Distribution System (MEDS) drill was conducted Wednesday, August 1, at Martin Middle School by East Providence Emergency Management and members of the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT).

Representatives from emergency, law enforcement and medical operations participated in a county-wide emergency management exercise last week.

Weston EMTs receive mass casualty training

In the event of mass casualties in the county, the hospital had a training session for volunteers who worked together to ensure the lives of local citizens in the event of an emergency such as a tornado, flood, or even an ice storm.

During Saturday's exercise, an explosion will be simulated on scene. A call will be made to the police department in which officers will be sent to the designated location.

Nothing seems to spark more fear throughout the world than the threat of an infectious pandemic outbreak. Health officials agree that preparedness, to include early detection and rapid response, are two key components for controlling infectious diseases.

An annual disaster drill made the first day of summer a memorable one for Galion Community Hospital employees.