PIFD emergency responders train in Alabama

 PRESQUE ISLE, Maine – Members of the Presque Isle Fire Department recently returned from a training session in Alabama as part of the Department of Homeland Security’s continued efforts to improve emergency services nationwide.
    Emergency responders Scott Cyr, Rich Wark and Nate Allen, of the PIFD, completed a Weapons of Mass Destruction training course at the Center for Domestic Preparedness (CDP), located in Anniston, Ala.
The CDP, operated by the United States Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Grants and Training, is the only federally-chartered Weapons of Mass Destruction training facility in the country.
“The CDP is also a member of the National Domestic Preparedness Consortium, in partnership with Louisiana State University, the Nevada Test Site, New Mexico Tech and Texas A&M,” explained Allen.
The CDP provides federally-funded, interdisciplinary training for emergency responders from across the United States and the U.S. territories for the following disciplines: emergency management, emergency medical services, fire service, public health/public safety communications and nuclear weapons of mass destruction.
“Training at the CDP assists the nation’s emergency response community with the overwhelming task of prevention of, protection against, response to and recovery from acts of terrorism,” Allen continued.
Cyr, Wark and Allen joined a select group who participated in the training. Responders attending CDP training are specially selected from the nation’s 11 million emergency response personnel.
Training at the center provides responders with critical skills and the confidence needed to better prepare them to effectively respond to local or potential WMD incidents.
Additional information about the CDP training programs can be found at http://cdp.dhs.gov.