Symposium draws record number of emergency responders to San Marcos

More than 900 Texas emergency responders are expected to attend the 7th annual Leadership Development Symposium on Jan. 12-14 in San Marcos.

TEEX recently added two new Cooperative Learning Centers (CLCs) in Puerto Rico and Australia to the list of companies approved to provide TEEX emergency response training to local responders and industrial clients within their respective countries. Including the new centers, TEEX now has 12 CLC partners in seven countries.

TEEX was selected to provide emergency management training and exercises for the renowned Emergency Management Institute (EMI) in Emmitsburg, MD. A six-member instructional team developed and delivered a successful, four-day capstone course for the National Emergency Management Executive Academy.

The recent outbreak of Ebola, a viral hemorrhagic fever, has the medical community seeking information about how to identify the disease and manage patient care, while protecting themselves from contamination. TEEX has addressed those topics and more for 15 years as part of its training in Medical Management of CBRNE (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosive) Events.

A new course offered by TEEX, Pediatric Disaster Response and Emergency Preparedness, is designed to identify gaps, integrate efforts and enhance the ability of the community to plan for and more effectively manage the effects of a disaster on children.

The new web-based Emergency Management * Exercise System (EM*ES Web) simulation software has been successfully deployed to connect emergency responders in two locations – 1,600 miles apart. The Newark, NJ, Emergency Operations Center (EOC) used the EM*ES to connect to the city’s Incident Management Team in College Station during a daylong exercise.

The annual July Fire Training Schools concluded on July 25 with the 85th Annual Municipal Fire Training School. The three schools drew more than 3,000 firefighters from Texas and around the world to Brayton Fire Training Field for a challenging week of training.

The public is invited to a firefighting demonstration on Wednesday, July 23, sponsored by the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service (TEEX) in conjunction with its Municipal Fire Training School at the Brayton Fire Training Field in College Station. There is no admission charge.

TEEX wants to help ensure firefighters in all departments in the State of Texas have training in effective and appropriate responses to industrial emergencies – training that could save their lives. A new course, “Industrial Emergencies for Municipal-Based Responders,” has been developed to train firefighters to handle industrial and other non-traditional emergencies.

Thirty fire service leaders from five states have completed the capstone Fire Service Chief Executive Officer (FSCEO) program, which is a joint initiative between TEEX and the Texas A&M University Mays Business School. The certificate program is designed to provide executive level professional development for company and chief officers within the fire service.