CDP's COBRA planning for future

FEMA’s Center for Domestic Preparedness continually enhances its training platforms to ensure responders are prepared for any situations they may encounter.

Among those platforms is the center’s Chemical, Ordnance, Biological and Radiological (COBRA) Training Facility.

Improvements to the facility’s training bays are currently being eyed for improvement by a group of training managers, curriculum developers and facility engineers. The training bays are where responders in select CDP resident courses train with live nerve agents, such as VX, and biological materials, such as ricin.

One of the group’s concepts is equipping the bays with lights, sounds and other sensory effects to add more realism to training. They also envision the bays having moveable props, which instructors can use to create different training scenarios.

FEMA’s Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Office, as well as the Chemical and Biological Defense Division of the Department of Homeland Security, have been asked to aid in the project. Among other things, these offices will offer insights into emerging threats, training needs across the nation, and new technologies which are being fielded to emergency responders.

Once the training bay concepts are firmed up, the center will hire a commercial firm to help bring them to reality.

Additionally, the COBRA facility has a number of construction projects planned in the months ahead centered on its main training building. These improvements include control and other upgrades to its heating, ventilation and air conditioning system and a new medical suite for medical processing of students.