FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, November 06, 2003
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Washington DC Citizen Corps Council
Contact: Jerome A. DuVal phone: (202) 727-7925 email: Jerome.Duval@dc.gov |
First Citizen-Based Disaster Drill Planned for District |
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(Washington, DC) The DC Citizen Corps Council will participate in the first
citizen-based disaster exercise planned for the District, November 22, 2003.
More than 100 trained DC Citizen Corps volunteers will be involved. This
exercise is being sponsored by the DC Commission on National and Community
Service, DC Citizen Corps program, in concert with our partners, as a continuing
commitment to create opportunities for individuals to help their communities
prepare for and respond to emergencies.
"This disaster exercise marks the first time that trained volunteers from
different DC Citizen Corps programs are working in a coordinated effort to test
their emergency response skills," said Jerome DuVal, director of DC Citizen
Corps. "They are bringing a wide variety of skill sets together and identifying
their role in a disaster."
This exercise, scheduled to take place at the District of Columbia's Fire
Academy complex, is designed to enhance DC Citizen Corps' ability to operate
effectively and safely in an emergency environment. DC Citizen Corps volunteers
will receive further training from experienced instructors on the use of the
Incident Command System (ICS), and how the ICS can be modified and tailored to
meet the needs of DC Citizen Corps. These training sessions will be followed by
a formal functional exercise, which will provide an opportunity for volunteers
to practice and test their emergency plans, procedures, and communications
protocols in a simulated flood emergency environment.
Throughout this exercise, DC Citizen Corps volunteers will interact in
disaster simulations with DC first-responders and responding agencies, such as
fire departments, police departments, emergency medical personnel, and other
volunteer organizations, resulting in a better understanding of exactly how
these agencies interact in an emergency and what capabilities each offers.
The DC Citizen Corps Council works with community partners that administer
the DC Citizen Corps volunteer programs. The partners include Inner City
Training Services - Emergency Medical Technician Corps, Metropolitan Police
Department - Metropolitan Police Reserve Corps, The George Washington University
- Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), Community groups - Neighborhood
Watch, DC Medical Society - Medical Reserve Corps, and American Red Cross,
National Capital Region - Disaster Action Team, and Greater DC Cares.
The District recognizes the contributions that trained citizen volunteers can
offer professional response agencies in an emergency, and encourages residents
to become involved as "part of the solution."
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