FREE: FIRST AID MANUALS (courtesy of www.vnh.org)

USNavy assisting Japanese post
Great Eastern Japan Earthquake

[Thank you www.vnh.org]
First Aid

• Anatomy of First Aid: A Case Study Approach, U of Iowa
• First Aid: FM 4-25.11, NTRP 4-02.1, AFMAN(I)44-163, FMFRP 4-52, US DOD (PDF)
• First Aid for Poisoning and Overdoses: NAVMED P-5095, US Navy (PDF)
• Standard First Aid Course: NAVEDTRA 13119, US Navy

LAW ENFORCEMENT: Tampa Police Already Training for 2012 RNC Convention

Published 22 July 2011

In preparation for next year’s Republican National Convention in Tampa Bay Florida, nearly every local police department employee is required to attend a three-day training course.

The mandatory training is designed to teach officers how to control large crowds.

“It’s kind of a no-brainer,” explained Captain Brian Dugan who is in charge of the Tampa police department’s crowd management division. “It’s different techniques; lessons learned from other types of events from football games to political events.”

Dugan avoided speaking more specifically, but did say that the training course covers basic crowd management techniques and that roughly half of the three days are spent doing hands-on training.

“You’re always concerned you’re overtraining, but I’m not sure we can over-prepare for this,” Dugan said.  Read more

DISASTER COMMUNICATION: Bringing First Responder Communications Into the 21st Century

Posted: 7/21/11 11:44 AM ET

photo courtesy apfn.org

New Yorkers know better than anyone the constant threat that our country faces. As we've seen time and again, New York continues to be the number one target for terrorists around the world who want to harm Americans.

That's why, as the Senator from New York, I am extremely concerned that we not forget the lessons of 9/11.

One important lesson we learned on that horrific day was how crucial it is that our first responders can communicate in real time between agencies in a time of emergency. We have the best firefighters, police officers, emergency medical technicians and public safety professionals in the world, yet currently they communicate on different frequencies and with different systems -- creating barriers to providing a coordinated and efficient response during a crisis.

FREE COURSE: FAST Foundations (Disaster Behavioral Health First Aid Specialist Training)

Program Aim: The FAST Foundations program is intended to provide training in the foundational knowledge necessary to effectively deliver Psychological First Aid (PFA) to children, adolescents, adults, and families in the immediate aftermath of disaster.

Program Goals: 
• Define and describe Psychological First Aid. • List the basic objectives of Psychological First Aid. • Identify guidelines for delivering Psychological First Aid to adults, children, older adults and persons with disabilities. • Identify guidelines for delivering Psychological First Aid to adults, children, older adults and persons with disabilities. • Identify things that the Psychological First Aid provider should know and do when preparing to deliver Psychological First Aid. • Recognize survivors who are at increased risk for adverse psychosocial outcomes. 
• Identify the 8 Core Actions of Psychological First Aid and the related goal(s) and key tasks.

FREE COURSE > BIOTERRORISK

[This is a really good course for any and all who have any degree of disaster response/management]

Who is responsible for protecting the public's health against a
bioterrorist threat?

Since the events of 9/11/2001 and the Anthrax outbreak in the U.S., it is now recognized that bioterrorist risk may come to attention and require "first response" from physicians, nurses, laboratory personnel, communicable disease surveillance specialists, public health officers, and environmental hazmat teams.
Bioterrorisk is a case-based, mini-course in hazard recognition, interagency communication, risk assessment, and risk communication for the public health workforce.

At the end of this course, you will be able to:
1.	Identify your role in responding to a bioterrorist event
2.	Recognize circumstances that may indicate bioterrorism
3.	Establish intra- and interagency communication
4.	Follow an appropriate protocol for responding to a bioterrorist event
5.	Communicate with the public regarding risk
6.	Assemble a list of resources available to assist in a bioterrorist event

ICE > Readies Disaster Response Teams for Hurricane Season

Wed, 2011-07-13 07:20 AM

By: Mark Rockwell

RRT deploys

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is readying response teams that would provide support to ICE and DHS facilities if hurricanes strike this summer and fall.

ICE’s Rapid Response Teams (RRTs) deploy during natural and manmade disasters, emergency situations when other federal, local or state agencies request ICE assistance.

Teams have already been deployed this summer in the Midwestern U.S. to help with recovery from flooding along the Missouri River, according to ICE. Teams from Denver, Boston, and Newark, NJ, and Boston were recently deployed to Dakota Dunes, SD to assist the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) with law enforcement support. The team members are scheduled to provide assistance through mid-August 2011, said the agency.  Read more

SOCIAL MEDIA ROLE IN DISASTERS > JAPAN Spread of information via Twitter, post Great Eastern Japan Earthquake 11MAR2011

[This should answer the question 'To Tweet or not to Tweet during a disaster...", an obvious profound answer displayed in video...Happy Tweeting!] 

This video displays worldwide retweets of Tweets originating in Japan for one hour after the earthquake. Senders’ original Tweets are shown in red; Tweets retweeted by their followers in the hour after the event are displayed in green.

credit: @miguelrios

SOCIAL MEDIA USE DURING DISASTERS > JAPAN Personal messages (tweets) from Japan on 11MAR2011 post Great Eastern Japan Earthquake

[To Tweet or not to Tweet....]



On Twitter, we saw a 500% increase in Tweets from Japan as people reached out to friends, family and loved ones in the moments after the March 2011 earthquake. This video shows the volume of @replies traveling into and out of Japan in a one-hour period just before and then after the earthquake. Replies directed to users in Japan are shown in pink; messages directed at others from Japan are shown in yellow.

EXPLOSIVE DETECTION > Sensors printed on wetsuits detect explosives, other hazards

Published 12 July 2011

UC San Diego researcher has successfully printed thick-film electrochemical sensors directly on flexible wetsuit material, paving the way for nano devices to detect underwater explosives or ocean contamination; UCSD has a full U.S. patent pending on the technology, and has begun talks on licensing the system to a Fortune 500 company

Flexible sensors printed on neoprene wetsuit sleeve // Source: calit2.net

Breakthroughs in nanoengineering often involve building new materials or tiny circuits. A professor at the University of California, San Diego, however, is proving that he can make materials and circuits so flexible that they can be pulled, pushed, and contorted — even under water — and still keep functioning properly.

Joseph Wang has successfully printed thick-film electrochemical sensors directly on flexible wetsuit material, paving the way for nano devices to detect underwater explosives or ocean contamination.

“We have a long-term interest in on-body electrochemical monitoring for medical and security applications,” said Wang, a professor in the Department of NanoEngineering in UC San Diego’s Jacobs School of Engineering. “In the past three years we’ve been working on flexible, printable sensors, and the capabilities of our group made it possible to extend these systems for use underwater.”

Wang notes that some members of his team — including electrical-engineering graduate student Joshua Windmiller — are surfers. Given the group’s continued funding from the U.S. Navy, and its location in La Jolla, it was a logical leap to see if it would be possible to print sensors on neoprene, the synthetic-rubber fabric typically used in wetsuits for divers and surfers    Read more

EMERGENCY RESPONSE TO TERRORISM > JOB AID

Description: Edition 2.0. Identifies strategic and tactical considerations that should be assessed within the first hour of a terrorist incident.

Year/pages: 2003: 74 p. and 7 index dividers.

Price: $13.50

[To order]

FREE .pdf VERSION:  http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/downloads/pdf/publications/ert-ja.pdf

FREE TRAINING > Anhydrous Ammonia Training

This is the best training I have ever seen on anhydrous ammonia.  Please pass along to all your emergency responder buddies and who ever else might benefit from this great training!  

Photo courtesy of:  http://transcaer.com

Below is the list of contents.  Go to course page

1. Introduction
2. How To Use This Training Package
3. Student Handbook
4. Properties
5. Transports
6. Railcars
7. Emergency Response
8. Additional Materials
9. Sponsors & Partners
10. Conclusion

NUCLEAR > Nuclear Safety Journal Launched

Published 7 July 2011

Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, Fukushima: for the third time in twenty-five years a nuclear power plant suffered a serious accident, precipitating a global review of the way to govern nuclear safety and security; a publisher of scientific journal is launching a new journal -- International Journal of Nuclear Safety and Security (IJNSS) -- which will offer a forum for the serious discussion of nuclear power plants' safety

pThree Mile Island, Chernobyl, Fukushima: for the third time in twenty-five years a nuclear power plant suffered a serious accident, precipitating a global review of the way to govern nuclear safety and security.

The 11 March Fukushima accident was especially poignant because it came during — and may well put an end to — what was correctly termed a Nuclear Renaissance: as worries about climate change and the volatility of oil prices grew, interest in nuclear power generation was rekindled.

InderScience Publishers is launching a new journal — teInternational Journal of Nuclear Safety and Security (IJNSS) — which aims to address the growing interest in, and concern about, nuclear safety.

The publisher says that the international community must learn from these accidents in order to improve international co-operation, both in terms of crisis management and prevention of risks. IJNSS will provide an opportunity to exchange information on the implications of safe and secure operation of nuclear power plants and approaches taken by countries worldwide.   Full article

Among the topics which will be covered by the new journal:

• Strategic, managerial, organizational issues; total quality management (TQM) and environmental management
• Macroeconomics, nuclear economics and business
• Technological advances, issues, innovation, hazards; role of information and communication technologies (ICTs)
• Analysis/assessment methodologies, performance measurement
• Governance, policy strategy, assessment, review
• National/international environmental protection policy; ecosystem research
• Ecological/environmental impacts; risk assessment/legal aspects of pollution
• Waste disposal strategies; clean technologies
• Energy security and risk assessment; policy, standards and regulations
• Critical infrastructures design, protection, management
• Risk assessment, control, characterization, perception, communications, models
• Integrated risk assessment and safety management
• Nuclear systems management, transport, resource development, power quality
• Public policy, regulations, governance and nuclear use; public attitudes
• Knowledge based policies and education; knowledge transfer

FREE Medical Training > Immunization Project

[Great NEW training for nurses, immunizations and more. READ MORE]

photo courtesy of University at Albany, Center for Public Health

Nurse Training on Immunization Project

Nurse TIP

Nurse TIP recognizes that nurses play an integral role in the success of immunization programs. Nurses are often the first point of contact at any health care visit and can have considerable influence on the public health practices of a community.

Goals: Increasing the knowledge and competency of nurses in immunization by offering relevant content in a variety of distance-learning approaches.

Engaging nurses in program planning, dialogues with other nurses, and exploring strategies to promote immunization.

Target Audience: Nurses working in medical offices, clinics, community health centers as well as other settings.

FREE Course > Surviving Field Stress for First Responders

[For those of you that do not want to take the course, I have attached the 60 page  > handbook  that is of the same title.  A must have for anyone who is a first responder...]

First responders to a traumatic event are tasked with applying their expertise under incredibly stressful conditions. This webcast deals with the physical, emotional, and mental stressors first responders face when called to a technological disaster. It gives practical coping strategies and resources for dealing with stress.

Goal   To help the responder or those they assist be prepared for the stressors of twenty-first century disasters.

Objectives   Upon successful completion of the program, participants will be able to: Describe psychological stress. Explain common causes of stress. Describe the mental and physical health effects of excessive stress. Describe the social, physical, and emotional causes of first responders stress. Identify methods to cope with field related stress. Identify strategies for assisting members of the public adults and children, with their disaster-related stress in your role as first responder.

Target Audience   Health-care providers, federal, state, and local public health and emergency management officials.

Joplin MO > Three neighboring states offer aid to stricken Joplin, MO

Three neighboring states offer aid to stricken Joplin, MO

Tue, 2011-05-24 09:37 AM

By: Jacob Goodwin

Fans at Kansas Speedway will donate to help relief efforts in Joplin

Because it is located in the far southwest corner of the State of Missouri, the devastated City of Joplin is sitting only short distances from its neighboring states of Kansas, Oklahoma and Arkansas, all of which have offered immediate assistance.

Missouri Governor Jay Nixon has activated the Missouri National Guard to respond in the Joplin area. “The State Emergency Management Agency is helping to coordinate the deployment of search and rescue teams, a disaster medical assistance team, communications vehicles, mobile command vehicles, heavy equipment and an incident support team,” announced the Missouri Department of Public Safety on May 23. Full article

Terrorism Update > 29 DC schools receive envelopes with suspicious powder

FBI details DC school letters investigation.  

- by Mark Rockwell

Duke Ellington High School in DC

Federal investigators continue to log a mounting number of suspicious letters containing a white powder mailed to dozens of Washington DC, schools.

FREE Course > First Responders

[I just have to throw this one at you guys.  This is a British online website.  Take a gander.  They don't even attempt to develop their own online courses, I mean really, why should they, when the good ol' USA does it better than anyone else!]

Image courtesy of:
britishbattles.com

http://www.ehow.co.uk/about_6088194_online-training-first-responders.html