Several Snowflake first responders recently completed training offered by the Center for Domestic Preparedness (CDP) in Anniston, Ala., and have returned home even better prepared to help area residents should the need occur.

The CDP is operated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency, and is the only federally chartered Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) training facility in the nation.

Attending were Snowflake Fire Chief Pat Hancock, and first responders Captain Delton Woodside, Firefighter Dutch Kay, and Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) members Don and Susan Call, and Mike and Beth Ann Bethea.

Each participated in the Incident Command Preparedness Threat Analysis class, and two weeks prior to attending the class, Gary Tricket took the Technical Emergency Response Tactic Class.

“For what we’re doing working with Navajo County Emergency Management (NCEM), and working with the churches, CERT, VIP (Volunteers in Policing), it was a great class to get us up to speed there,” said the chief.

“NCEM plays an integral part in emergency events that occur both with tribal and non-tribal lands,” said the chief. “It worked right in with what we’re doing there. It was an excellent training.”

The CDP develops and delivers advanced training for emergency response providers, emergency managers and other government officials from state, local and tribal governments. The CDP offers more than 40 training courses focusing on incident management, mass casualty response, and emergency response to a catastrophic natural disaster or terrorist act. Training at the CDP campus is federally funded at no cost to state, local and tribal emergency response professionals or their agencies.

Resident training at the CDP includes healthcare and public health courses at the Noble Training Facility, the nation’s only hospital dedicated to training healthcare professionals in disaster preparedness response.

A number of resident training courses culminate at the CDP’s Chemical, Ordnance, Biological and Radiological (COBRA) Training Facility. COBRA is the nation’s only facility featuring civilian training exercises in a true toxic environment using chemical agents. The advanced hands-on training enables responders to effectively prevent, respond to and recover from real-world incidents involving acts of terrorism and other hazardous materials.

Responders participating in CDP training gain critical skills and confidence to respond effectively to local incidents or potential WMD events.