CDP met numerous training needs in 2022

State, local, tribal and territorial responders recorded 57,537 course completions in 2022 in training offerings provided by FEMA’s Center for Domestic Preparedness (CDP).

The completions spanned resident, non-resident and indirect courses and online (Virtual Instructor-Led Training and distance learning) classes, including training which directly helped responders prepare for the 2022 World Games in Birmingham, Alabama, and Super Bowl LVI in Inglewood, California.

Leading up to the World Games, the CDP provided training to more than 1,200 emergency managers, firefighters, law enforcement officers and medical specialists in Birmingham and Jefferson County, Alabama. The training, which covered law enforcement and healthcare response to CRBNE (Chemical, Radiological, Biological, Nuclear and Explosives) and other incidents, was conducted both on the CDP campus in Anniston, Alabama, and online.

Meanwhile, more than 3,800 responders from the Los Angeles County and Inglewood, California, areas completed CDP courses in the three years leading up to Super Bowl LVI -- including some in early 2022 -- which helped ensure the safety of fans and players at that event.

The CDP also hosted three different themed training weeks during the year -- Tribal Nations Training Week, Hurricane Theme Week and Instructor Development Week.

Seventy-five responders from 31 different tribes participated in the resident portion of the Tribal Nations Training Week, with many more taking VILT courses in the three weeks following that.

Hurricane Theme Week saw more than 100 Gulf Coast area responders learn how to better prepare for and respond to the damaging effects of such storms. The responders completed one of four different CDP courses, several of which culminated in a day-long, hands-on exercise with a hurricane scenario.

More than 110 responders from throughout the nation became qualified to deliver select CDP courses to those in their organizations and communities during Instructor Development Week. The courses spanned a variety of disciplines, including the fire service, law enforcement, healthcare, and emergency management.

Also of note during the year, the CDP hosted the 2022 National Preparedness Symposium, which was attended by more than 200 emergency management professionals from across the United States, including federal preparedness coordinators and state training officers.

Meanwhile, one of the CDP’s premier training venues -- the Chemical, Ordnance, Biological and Radiological Training Facility (COBRATF) -- underwent the first part of a project to upgrade its six training bays. New vinyl wall coverings were installed in the bays, which enhance the realism of training for responders who train there.

Later this year, the facility will incorporate additional materials (i.e. props) into the bays and complete the project.