NAICU Washington Update

FEMA Launches New Private Sector Web Portal, Training, Strategic Involvement

July 02, 2013

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) recently launched its Academia & Resilience web portal, which contains emergency management and homeland security tools, preparedness campaigns, emergency management training, and other resources targeted to the higher education community. FEMA, which is under the Department of Homeland Security, has asked NAICU to help publicize the availability of these valuable new resources.

One notable new FEMA program is the Campus Community Emergency Response Team (CERT). FEMA considers colleges and universities to be an integral part of our nation’s critical infrastructure, and therefore seeks to involve them in its overall emergency preparedness and response plans. As part of this effort, Campus CERT aims to train students, faculty, and staff in emergency preparedness and response in order to ensure they have the skills needed to protect themselves, and assist others, in an emergency.

Campus CERT educates participants about local hazards, and trains them in basic disaster response skills such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization, and disaster medical operations. It empowers trained students, faculty, and staff to disseminate the disaster preparedness information they have learned well beyond the campus walls.

FEMA is offering members of the private sector the opportunity to hold a seat on its National Response Coordination Center (NRCC), where strategic decisions are made during emergency response operations. Private sector participants serve through the FEMA 90-Day Rotational Assignment – Private Sector Representative Program, which is available at FEMA’s Washington, D.C. headquarters and at its regional offices. Private sector participants must first complete an application and pass security screening.

Free, downloadable emergency planning exercises are available on the FEMA Private Sector web portal at www.fema.gov/emergency-planning-exercises. To subscribe to state and/or disaster email updates click here, and for academia-focused e-alerts, send an email to tracey.batacan@fema.dhs.gov. Private Sector liaisons may be contacted through FEMA’s 10 regional offices.

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