First responders gather for disaster training

In response to the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, President George W. Bush directed the secretary of Homeland Security to develop and administer a National Incident Management System. The system provides a nationwide plan for governments to follow during an emergency.

On Thursday, nearly 100 of those delegated to respond first to an emergency -- including local elected officials, emergency personnel and public health officials -- gathered at the Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau for NIMS training.

"It's basically to get everyone on the same page," said Eric Evans, emergency management specialist with the University of Missouri and facilitator of the training. "That way when some type of an emergency does occur, everybody is able to orchestrate the same plan of action."

Cape Girardeau County Presiding Commissioner Gerald Jones said the NIMS training is critically important. With the New Madrid Fault, the region needs to be prepared for a devastating earthquake, Jones said.

The daylong class introduced the principles of NIMS as well as the incident command system -- an organized structure for responding to catastrophes.

The incident command system has been used for 30 years, Evans said. "It can be used for planned events, such as a fair, or in natural disasters, such as an earthquake. This needs to be in place so first responders get what they need when they need it."

The system also eliminates the confusion about who's in charge of what.

If local agencies don't comply with NIMS training requirements, Homeland Security funding will disappear and other grants for police and fire departments could be in jeopardy.

"It's extremely important to receive this training," said Cape Girardeau assistant fire chief Mark Hasheider. "It meets future regulations for funding, so it's an investment for not only this immediate area but surrounding areas as well."

Hasheider said Thursday's turnout for the training -- which included Cape Girardeau and Jackson's city administrators, Cape Girardeau, Bollinger and Perry county commissioners and other city and county officials -- was by far the largest number of participants for emergency response training.

Elected officials often go through emergency preparedness training and recently received training through the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

"We have always thought in Cape County that we were as prepared as anyone," Jones said. "But then Katrina hit and we have to ask ourselves, 'What would we have done?' Would we have done it any better? I don't know."

jfreeze@semissourian.com