News

Welcome to the first issue of the CDP Alumnus, a quarterly newsletter for Center for Domestic Preparedness (CDP) students, alumni, and others interested in the CDP.

They breathe, bleed, cry,show pain, and they can even talk. Many have died and been brought back to life several times in one day during mass casualty exercises at the Center for Domestic Preparednessin Anniston, Ala. The CDP’s Human Patient Simulators (HPS) provide a level of realism and student interaction that’s impossible to replicate with cardboard cutouts or lifeless mannequins.

Here at the Center for Domestic Preparedness (CDP) we focus on delivering all-hazard preparedness training for local, tribal and state first responders. This training is timely, skill-based, and a critical investment in more resilient communities. Time and time again, we have seen cases of CDP alumni putting what they have learned with us to work—saving lives, protecting property and making our co...

The city of Helena, Mont. garnered national attention in mid-July 2011 when approximately 70 environmental activists from Montana and other states gathered at the state capitol to dispute construction of a planned pipeline from Alberta, Canada through Montana. Thanks to training through the Center for Domestic Preparedness (CDP), the local Civil Disobedience Team (CDT) was prepared to respond and ...

On the morning of February 8, 26 responders from more than a dozen states made history when they donned Personal Protective Equipment and entered a unique training facility in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. These individuals were the first group of responders to train with biological materials at the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Center for Domestic Preparedness in Anniston, A...

Long known for its unique, hands-on training classes for emergency response personnel, FEMA’s Center for Domestic Preparedness (CDP), recently combined three courses and 108 respondersinto an Integrated Capstone Event (ICE), giving students from multiple disciplines the opportunity to experience the full impact of a mass casualty incident.

FEMA's Center for Domestic Preparedness (CDP) reopened its hospital Emergency Department (ED) for training in late January. Five months after renovations began the 8,000 square foot area features expanded training space and improved technologies to enhance medical surge training for CDP students.

"The CDP pandemic training gave us the insight to educate our employees and local fire departments on the pandemic issue. It helped us prepare our institution in ordering supplies and having the masks, gloves and sanitizers on hand. We all knew this was going to happen, we just didn't know when. This has played out just like the [exercises] we did in Anniston. But even faster than expected." -Bob ...

In May 2011, as tornado sirens sounded, hospital workers at St. John's Regional Medical Center rushed to pull 183 patients to safety as one of the largest tornadoes on record bared down on their southwestern Missouri city. Breaking glass and the roar of the powerful storm deafened the dark hospital as power was lost.

The threats against America and its citizens has become real, and the need for ready responders is ever more critical. Response personnel must remain vigilant, and skilled with the preparedness knowledge to protect the citizens and cities they serve.