Emergency refresher course this week

Last week's storm proved it's always good to be prepared. This week, local officials and personnel are updating their emergency management skills.

According to a news release from Yuma County, nearly 75 county and city personnel will wrap up emergency management training this week at the Yuma County Emergency Operations Center (EOC). The course provides individuals with the knowledge and skills to effectively manage and operate an EOC during crisis situations.

The training is a refresher course for those local professionals who traveled to the National Emergency Training Center in Emmitsburg, Md., in spring 2009. The Yuma Sun previously reported about the course, where city and county personnel met with professional instructors in the field of emergency management and engaged in four days of classroom training and scenario exercises.

According to the release, that training helped personnel emergency policies, plans and procedures to ensure an effective response.

The County EOC is located at the Yuma County Public Works Facility, 4343 S. Avenue 5-1/2E.

“This is the first step forward in developing a training program within Yuma County that will incorporate lessons learned in Emmitsburg and also re-establishes professional relationships,” said Gretchen Robinson, Yuma County emergency operations manager.

“When you have an emergency, you don't want to be meeting somebody (other responders) for the first time. This is a reunion of people that work together during emergencies, and that is an important part of this training — knowing who it is that is going to answer the call when you need assistance.”

According to the release, the training was broken up into two groups to accommodate the size of the class.

“The coursework is designed to continually prepare students to ‘answer the call' during a significant emergency response,” according to the release.

Stephanie A. Wilken can be reached at swilken@yumasun.com or 539-6857.