Training Resources

Safeguard Iowa

The Safeguard Iowa Partnership is a voluntary coalition of the state's business and government leaders, who share a commitment to strengthen the capacity of the state to prevent, prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters through public-private collaboration.

Iowa Fire Service Training Bureau

The Iowa Fire Service Training Bureau is Iowa’s designated state fire academy, providing quality training and education for Iowa’s fire and emergency services.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS)/FEMA Training Programs:

Emergency Management Institute (EMI)

Emergency Management Institute (EMI)

Location: Emmetsburg, Maryland

EMI is the emergency management community’s flagship training institution, and provides training to Federal, State, local, tribal, and volunteer, public, and private sector officials to strengthen emergency management core competencies for professional, career-long training.

EMI offers several awareness, advanced and executive level programs for emergency management professionals:

• National Incident Management System (NIMS) Training Program
• The NIMS Training Program identifies those courses critical to train personnel capable of implementing all functions of emergency management. The curriculum includes 28 courses that are designed to provide a baseline understanding of emergency management concepts as well as an overview of key NIMS principles relating to MACS, public information, resource management, mutual aid, and communication and information management.
• Professional Development Series (PDS)
• The PDS includes seven independent study courses that provide a well-rounded set of fundamentals for those in the emergency management profession. Students who complete all seven required PDS independent study courses are eligible to receive the EMI PDS Certificate of Completion.
• Advanced Professional Series (APS)
• The APS contains a set of five required courses and a set of fifteen elective courses. The purpose of the APS is to motivate and challenge students to continue emergency management training. These classroom style courses build practical disaster management and coordination skills. Students who complete the five required courses and any five of the fifteen electives are eligible to receive the EMI APS Certificate of Completion.
• Emergency Manager Professional Program (EMPP)
• The EMPP provides a structured and progressive framework for acquiring the knowledge, skills, and abilities to enter and progress through the field and to meet the challenges of a dynamic and complex environment. The entire EMPP curriculum is designed to provide a lifetime of learning for a career in emergency management.
• The EMPP includes three academies:
  • National Emergency Management Basic Academy
  • National Emergency Management Advanced Academy (formerly the Leaders Academy)
  • National Emergency Management Executive Academy

Community Emergency Response Team (CERT)

The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Program educates people about disaster preparedness for hazards that may impact their area and trains them in basic disaster response skills, such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization and disaster medical operations giving members the skills to assist others in their neighborhood or workplace following an event when professional responders are not immediately available to help.

Rural Domestic Preparedness Consortium (RDPC)

The Rural Domestic Preparedness Consortium (RDPC) provides relevant all-hazards training in support of rural homeland security requirements. RDPC courses are offered both in-person and online, and are provided at no cost.

National Domestic Preparedness Consortium (NDPC)

The National Domestic Preparedness Consortium (NDPC) is a partnership of several nationally recognized organizations whose membership is based on the urgent need to address the counter-terrorism preparedness needs of the nation’s emergency first responders within the context of all hazards including chemical, biological, radiological, and explosive Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) hazards.

• Center for Domestic Preparedness (CDP)
• Location: Anniston, Alabama
• The CDP’s interdisciplinary resident and nonresident training courses promote greater understanding among the following diverse responder disciplines: Emergency Management, Emergency Medical Services, Fire Service, Governmental Administrative, Hazardous Materials, Healthcare, Law Enforcement, Public Health, Public Safety Communications, and Public Works.

• Homeland Security - National Emergency Response and Rescue Training Center (TEEX-NERRTC)
• Location: College Station, Texas
• NERRTC, a center within the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service (TEEX) delivers a comprehensive set of courses and workshops to emergency responders. NERRTC provides training in eleven core competency areas across the community: cybersecurity, crisis communications, executive and elected officials education, hazardous materials awareness and operations, health and medical services, incident management, infrastructure protection, search and rescue, threat and risk assessment, and training gap analyses and public works.

• Counterterrorism Operations Support - Center for Radiological Nuclear Training (CTOS)
• Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
• CTOS coordinates the development and delivery of preventive radiological/nuclear detection and interdiction training with the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO). CTOS training prepares first responders to take immediate, decisive action to prevent or mitigate terrorist use of radiological or nuclear WMDs, such as Improvised Nuclear Devices (INDs) and Radiological Dispersal Devices (RDDs or “dirty bombs”).

• National Disaster Preparedness Training Center (NDPTC)
• Location: Honolulu, HI
• NDPTC works collaboratively to develop and deliver training and education in the areas of disaster preparedness, response, and recovery to governmental, private, tribal, and non-profit entities, and under-represented/under-served communities. It incorporates urban planning and environmental management, emphasizing community preparedness and addressing the needs of vulnerable at-risk populations.

• National Center for Biomedical Research and Training (NCBRT)
• Location: Baton Rouge, Louisiana
• NCBRT provides awareness level, performance level, as well as management and planning level courses to emergency responders throughout the United States and its territories at no cost to course participants. Topic areas include hazardous and /or explosive device training, planning and response activities following a catastrophic event. The NCBRT offers course delivery, indirect course support, instructor development and technical assistance.

• New Mexico Tech Energetic Materials Research and Testing Center (EMRTC)
• Location: Socorro, New Mexico
• EMRTC provides courses focusing on explosive devices with the use of practical exercises, field labs, and job-based case scenarios is integrated in all courses.

• Security and Emergency Response Training Center (SERTC)
• SERTC offers hands-on training based on OSHA 29 CFR 1910.120 (q) and NFPA Standard 472 requirements including Hazmat Awareness, Operations, Technician, Specialist Level Courses, WMD Technician Course and Incident Commander as well as advanced refresher courses.