CDP Training Vital to North Dakota Flood Response

As Bill Brown received flood condition updates in June 2011, city officials were preparing for the worst overflow in more than 130 years. Brown, a retired captain with the Minot Police Department and now the Southwest Regional Emergency Response Coordinator for the North Dakota Department of Emergency Services, was making arrangements to staff the city's Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and coordinate state resources to assist in the flood response.

Brown, a veteran of 19 courses at the Center for Domestic Preparedness (CDP), has trained in a variety of subjects to include law enforcement protective measures and response to a mass casualty event involving Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD). However, during this event, it was not terrorists or domestic criminals threatening the streets of Minot, it was water—a lot of water. Brown found his Incident Command training at the CDP most helpful, and ultimately played a large role in the EOC response, coordination, and decision making. Most notably, the Incident Command: Capabilities, Planning, and Response Actions for All Hazards (IC) course provided a solid foundation for planning and response, he said.

"I found the course of instruction at the CDP to be more of a real-world scenario allowing me to better retain the information," Brown said. "The IC class gave me the opportunity to better understand the roles of each division within the incident command structure as well as understanding the diverse perspectives of different responder disciplines. Having had this training allowed me to have a more effective understanding and better line of communication with the private, local, state, and federal organizations."

Brown said his experiences as a law enforcement officer and Regional Response Coordinator also made a difference. Although his CDP training is combined in those experiences, Brown attributes his training directly to his city's response.

"As far as decisions, when we were first assigned to the EOC, requests for resources were made to anyone who was available to take a note or a call," he added. "I decided early on to implement the use of the ICS request for resource form and advise all personnel that request for resources would be made at one central location. By doing so, resources and assignments were better assigned and tracked, status of existing personnel and equipment was monitored, and a written documentation of all requests was available in the event federal reimbursement was approved."

More than 10 feet of water from rivers surrounding Minot and other North Dakota communities poured through the streets, sweeping homes and store fronts away and forcing the evacuation of more than 12,000 people. Brown said a large scale evacuation always experiences problems, but added, his training "kicked in" and provided a sense of calm to a turbulent situation.

"Having been a police officer for over 30 years, I never really truly embraced or utilized the ICS concept until this flood," Brown said. "I was very surprised and pleased to see that it does work and it can make things run more smoothly and reduce your workload. I think all management staff including first line supervisors from every first responder organization as well as public works, highway department, city hall, finance and elected officials should attend the IC class."