CDP, AFC Offers Pro Board Certification
The Center for Domestic Preparedness (CDP), located in Anniston, Ala., recently teamed with the Alabama Fire College (AFC) to offer Pro Board certifications to eligible first responders attending the Emergency Responder Hazardous Materials Technician for CBRNE (ERHM) incidents course. The Pro Board accreditation for the CDP curriculum under the umbrella of the AFC program provides an opportunity for graduates to receive a nationally recognized certificate for hazardous materials emergency response.
According to Rick Dickson, CDP assistant director for training delivery, Alabama Fire College’s cooperation was instrumental in the partnership that will benefit graduates of the CDP’s ERHM course and emergency response agencies nationwide.
“Pro Board certification is a major credential to a large majority of first responders,” said Dickson. “This accreditation is available because of the partnership between the CDP and AFC, and the ability of the CDP to offer this under the umbrella of AFC. It is a significant success story for the CDP training because it offers the emergency response community an opportunity, through education, that impacts their professional career.”
"Pro Board certification ensures both the student and the employer that the training and evaluation processes have met internationally-accepted benchmarks of quality,” said Allan Rice, executive director, AFC and Personnel Standards Commission. “AFC is very proud to have CDP operating within our state, and we are even more proud of the partnership that has been forged between us. By working together, we are meeting the needs of America's first responders."
The fire college has only designated ERHM as the current CDP training program for Pro Board certification and plans to offer the test in early April. Among the many courses offered at the CDP for emergency response personnel, ERHM is a five-day class providing responders with a combination of lectures and advanced hands-on practical exercises.
The course introduces response personnel to the terrorist threat, the hazardous materials management system, responder health and safety, the Incident Command System (ICS), site management, information management, response objectives, and terminating the incident. The responder receives hands-on training in identifying hazardous materials, using advanced surveying and monitoring equipment, selecting and using the appropriate level of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), and performing decontamination procedures.
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 50 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 agency.