On June 5th and 6th, the Fort Bend County Firefighters Association will hold the Second Annual Summer Jam & Cookoff. The event will be held at the Fire Training Field in Richmond and proceeds will benefit the Association. Specifically, money raised at the event will be used for repairs and improvements to the training facilities at the Fort Bend County Fire Field. More information about the event can be found in an article from the Fort Bend Herald: http://www.fbherald.com/articles/2009/04/04/news/doc49d7b6f925fde008914051.txt
Benefit – Fort Bend County Firefighters Association
5 04 2009Comments : 1 Comment »
Tags: Fire, Training
Categories : Fire, Training
Texas Legislative Session – April 3
3 04 2009Attached to this post is an updated listing of Emergency Management related bills that have been filed for this session of the Texas Legislature. billreport-4-03-09
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Tags: bills, Legislation
Categories : Legislation
National Hurricane Conference next week in Austin
3 04 2009The 2009 National Hurricane Conference, the nation\’s forum for education and professional training in hurricane preparedness, is slated for April 6-10 at the Austin Convention Center. The event will feature workshops, training sessions, exhibits and an awards banquet. Nearly two-dozen emergency response agencies and organizations will participate and provide a national forum for federal, state and local officials to exchange ideas and recommend new policies to improve emergency management as it relates to hurricane preparedness, response, recovery and mitigation to save lives. Attendees will discuss lessons learned from previous hurricanes, hear information on state-of-the-art programs, hear about new ideas being tested or considered and receive information from assistance programs.
This is a great opportunity for Texas Emergency Managers to visit the Conference. Normally, the conference is held in New Orleans or Orlando, and it is rarely hosted in Texas. The Hurricane Conference Web site is at http://www.hurricanemeeting.com/
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Tags: Hurricanes
Categories : Hurricanes
Spontaneous Volunteers
2 04 2009The National Emergency Management Resource Center [NEMRC] presents the second in their series of Brown Bag Live Lunches – Conference Calls – Monday, May 4th at Noon with Anne Grunewald – Harnessing the power of spontaneous volunteers
There are only 50 spaces available on a first-invitation-accepted your-space-is-reserved basis. If you would like to receive an invitation from NEMRC please send your contact info via email to: ideas@tems.ca
Harnessing spontaneous volunteers is such an important part of disaster response and recovery and yet it is often referred to a “problem” by emergency management. The guest host, Anne Grunewald, is convinced that organizations can attract motivated and potentially long-time volunteers by utilizing well-thought out intake and support systems designed to increase retention rates. Anne also believes that it is a responsibility of a community to have mechanisms for the public to support their own healing by having systems in place that incorporate volunteers into recovery programs.
A bit of background about Anne Grunewald:
Anne is a senior-level executive with a record of accomplishment in program creation, development and organizational capacity building. She has progressive experience in disaster preparedness, international development, and arts administration. Her expertise includes large-scale project launches, systems analysis, and strategic planning. Anne is recognized for her leadership, her ability to build consensus among diverse communities, and effective negotiation. Anne’s list of recent clients includes the American Red Cross in Greater New York, New York Disaster Interfaith Services, United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, Metropolitan Council on Government, State of Louisiana, and City University of New York – School of Professional Studies.
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Tags: Volunteers
Categories : Spontaneous Volunteers, Volunteers
Road to Ready Internet Radio Show – Food Safety
2 04 2009
With the on-going recall of pistachios, and recent recalls of other food items last summer, you may be interested in listening to the next Road to Ready Internet Radio Show which will focus on Food Safety and Agroterrorism. Hosted by Rick Tobin, the show will look at issues surrounding the protection of the food supply. You will learn of the complex process of moving food products from the growing fields to the dinner table. As you can probably guess, there are many dangers from intentional and unintentional contamination.
The special guest on the show will be Jason B. Moats. Mr. Moats, from Texas A & M University, is an expert in the area of protecting agricultural systems. He is also the author of the book, Agroterrorism: A Guide for First Responders.
To listen to the Road to Ready Show on Friday, April 3, at 3:00 p.m. EASTERN TIME simply access the show at
http://www.modavox.com/voiceamerica/vshow.aspx?sid=672
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Tags: Agroterrorism, Food Safety
Categories : Agroterrorism, Food Safety
Food Recall: Pistachio Nuts
2 04 2009
The FDA and the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) are investigating Salmonella contamination in pistachio products sold by Setton Pistachio of Terra Bella Inc, Calif. The company has stopped all distribution of processed pistachios and will issue a voluntary recall involving approximately 1 million pounds of its products. Because the pistachios were used as ingredients in a variety of foods, it is likely this recall will impact many products. In addition, the investigation at the company is ongoing and may lead to additional pistachio product recalls.
The contamination involves multiple strains of Salmonella. Salmonella can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Thus far, several illnesses have been reported by consumers that may be associated with the pistachios. It is not yet known whether any of the Salmonella strains found in the pistachio products are linked to an outbreak. The FDA is conducting genetic testing of the samples to pursue all links. FDA first learned of the problem on March 24, when it was informed by Kraft Foods that its Back To Nature Trail Mix was found to be contaminated with Salmonella. Kraft had identified the source of the contamination to be pistachios from Setton and conducted a recall.
According to FortBendNow.com, grocery stores in Fort Bend County have started to remove pistachios from store shelves. To view this article, go to http://www.fortbendnow.com/2009/04/02/36839
For the Pistachio Recalled Products List: http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/pistachiorecall/index.cfm
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Tags: FDA, Food Safety
Categories : FDA, Food Safety
FEMA Awards Fort Bend County $2.8 Million for Ike Debris Removal
2 04 2009
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has awarded more than $2.8 million to cover 100 percent of the cost of supervision for debris removal in Fort Bend County following Hurricane Ike. Through its Public Assistance program, FEMA is making available $1,700,580 for the cost to monitor the removal of vegetative debris during the initial six weeks following Hurricane Ike and $1,118,877 for the same service in the months of October and November of 2008. Once FEMA forwards the funds to the state of Texas, further management of the funds, including disbursement to organizations performing the services, is the responsibility of the state.
To view the entire FEMA News Release (March 31, 2009, #1791-459) go to: http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=47842
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Tags: Debris Management, Emergency Management, FEMA, Hurricanes
Categories : Debris Management, Emergency Management, FEMA, Hurricanes, Ike
New On-line Courses from the Emergency Management Institute
1 04 2009The EMI Independent Study Program is pleased to announce the launch of three new courses.
These courses are:
- IS-197.EM: Special Needs Planning Considerations for Emergency Management
- IS-26: Guide to Points of Distribution
- IS-836: Nuclear/Radiological Incident Annex
To complete these courses, go to http://training.fema.gov and click on ‘FEMA Independent Study’ in the green bar. Scroll down to the bottom of the page to see all of our new courses or click on ‘ISP Course List’ in the red box to see all courses that are available.
If you have any questions, please contact the Independent Study Office via email at Independent.Study@DHS.gov or by phone at (301) 447-1200 during normal business hours of 7:30AM-7:30PM ET Monday through Friday, excluding federal holidays.
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Tags: Special Needs, Training
Categories : Emergency Management, EMI, Training
