Planning Guides and Training Programs

The following emergency preparedness planning guides and links (appear in alphabetical order) are intended to assist local officials and community members in developing or updating local emergency response plans or assist in planning preparedness activities and training events:

• EPA Training and Workshops
• Accommodating Individuals with Disabilities in The Provision of Disaster Mass Care, Housing, and Human Services.  Federal Emergency Management Agency, Accommodating People with Disabilities in Disasters. The Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has released a reference guide that outlines existing legal requirements and standards relating to access for people with disabilities.  The publication is the first of a series of disability-related guidelines to be produced by FEMA for disaster preparedness and response planners and service providers at all levels.
• Incident Command System All-Hazard Core Competencies - Final.   As part of our nation's efforts to strengthen catastrophic response capabilities in line with the National Incident Management System (NIMS), FEMA's Incident Management Systems Division has released the Final ICS All-Hazard Core Competencies.
• Chemical Security Assessment (CSAT) Top-Screen - The federal Department of Homeland Security's system for collecting and analyzing key data from chemical facilities.  CSAT is a questionnaire regarding the chemicals manufactured, processed, used, stored at or distributed by each facility.
• Citizen Corps - Provides opportunities for people to participate in a range of measures to make their families, their homes, and their communities safer from the threats of crime, terrorism, and disasters of all kinds.
• Combating Terrorism - Provides training for emergency responders regarding radiological/nuclear WMD situations.  Courses are taught by mobile training teams and at the Nevada Test Site.  Funded by the Office of Grants and Training under the Department of Homeland Security, courses are provided at no costs to the students or jurisdictions. 
• Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT)  - Educates people about disaster preparedness for hazards that may affect their area and trains them in basic disaster response skills, such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization, and disaster medical operations. 
• Commission on Fire Prevention and Control, Connecticut Fire Academy
• Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Guidance for LEPCs
• Envirofacts - Provides access to several EPA databases with information about environmental activities that may affect air, water and land anywhere in the United States.
• Federal Emergency Agency Guide - State and Local Guide (SLG) 101: Guide for All-Hazard Emergency Operations Planning.
• Federal Emergency Management Agency - Provides data on current and past disasters and emergency management information.
• FEMA Independent Study Program IS700 - An Introduction to the National Incident Management System (NIMS).
• Model Local Emergency Operations Plan - Model developed by Department of Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security. 
• The National Association of SARA Title III Program Officials - The membership is dedicated to working together to prepare for possible emergencies and disasters involving hazardous materials, whether they are accidental releases or a result of terrorist acts.   
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Office of Response and Restoration  - Resources for Oil and Chemical Accident Responders.
• National Response Center - The National Response Center (NRC) operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and is the sole federal point of contact for reporting oil and chemical spills.
• National Response Framework Resource Center - The National Response Framework Resource Center provides ready access to information and tools needed for all response partners to fulfill their roles under the National Response Framework. 
• Natural Hazards Preparedness - Natural hazards includes floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes, winter storms and drought.
• NorthEast Disaster Recovery Information X-Change - NEDRIX is a non-profit organization with more than 1,200 active members throughout the six (6) New England States.  NEDRIX was formed as an organization in August 1991, to provide a low cost venue for disaster recovery and business continuity planning professionals from the six New England States to meet and share effective disaster recovery and business continuity ideas and experiences.
• Public Assistance - Disaster Assistance Forms 
• Revitalize your LEPC  - How to's and Forms
• TRANSCAER (Transportation Community Awareness and Emergency Response) is a voluntary national outreach effort that focuses on assisting communities prepare for and respond to a possible hazardous material transportation incident.  TRANSCAER members consist of volunteer representatives from the chemical manufacturing, transportation, distributor, and emergency response industries, as well as the government.
• U.S. Census Bureau Home Page - Preparing for emergencies using census data.
• Emergency Planning Doesn't Freeze in the Winter.  An article by EPA's Jim Gaffey reminding LEPCs that the winter season is a good time to review their emergency plan. The article is a follow-up from EPA's exercise program. It outlines key areas that need to be kept up-to-date in a community's plan. Many of these items have been found to be outdated and/or obsolete during exercises.  

Response Plans & Guides - State of Connecticut Consequence Management Guide For Deliberately Caused Incidents Involving Chemical Agents.
Emergency Response Guidebook for 2008 - A primary guide to aid first responders in quickly identifying the specific or generic classification of material(s) involved in the incident, and protecting themselves and the general public during the initial response phase of the incident.  The Guidebook is updated every three or four years.
The U.S. Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) has available a "how to use" the Emergency Response Guidebook 2008 (ERG) training video.  The International Association of Fire Chiefs, under a cooperative agreement with PHMSA, developed this training video to enhance the use of the ERG and to fill training gaps.  The video explains the contents of the ERG and how to use it as a resource in the event of a hazardous materials transportation incident.  It is designed to be a stand-alone training tool for those who have no familiarity with the ERG and as a refresher for those who have had prior training.  The video is available for direct viewing and download from PHMSA's website at http://phmsa.dot.gov/hazmat/library/erg and download from IAFC's website at www.iafctv.org .  
IS-706 NIMS Intrastate Mutual Aid Course - Online.
U.S. EPA and FEMA First Responder and Incident Commander Initial Tasks Checklist (PDF).  Checklist includes a check list of things to do; call down lists; and a detailed report information format.
National Incident Management System Incident Resource Inventory System (NIMS-IRIS) Update Release - Version 2.0 to enhance the tools capabilities by adding a Data Sharing feature.  This release enhances the data aggregation capability and incorporates input confirmation for user defined resources.  The release also includes new functionality for accessing a locked account and many general system usability improvements.

Content Last Updated on August 3, 2009