AFC-HWWT

Alabama Fire College And Personnel Standards Commission D/B/A Alabama Fire College, Tuscaloosa AL

Investigators

Linked publications, trials & patents

Abstract

AFC HWWT Project Summary AFC has established networks for delivering high quality training to emergency responders in the southeastern United States and to Native American tribes throughout the country. The proposed training project would take vital training to communities with public safety agencies on tight budgets. This program has developed the capability to deliver all levels of hazardous materials response training (Awareness, Operations, Technician, and Incident Commander) on-site at the response agency to eliminate the expense of sending the trainees out to central training sites. AFC also delivers specialized courses in areas of Incident Command System, Air Monitoring, Confined Space Rescue. AFC staff have built innovative portable training props and accumulated enough equipment to conduct courses with a majority of time spent in realistic hands-on activities with actual, functional equipment. The AFC campus boasts impressive resources of props and equipment to support realistic large-scale exercises in hazmat response and in confined space rescue. Whether at home or on the road, AFC instructors strive for realistic and effective training for the trainees. In nearly twenty-five years working with Native American communities, AFC has gained a reputation for providing exciting and appropriate training to any tribe, even in small and remote locations. These tribes often have responsibility for large areas of tribal lands and do not have large populations and resources. By partnering with Native American Fish and Wildlife Society, AFC will reach out to the tribes to offer progressive levels of training to the tribal response teams. In this proposal, AFC also offers hazardous waste worker training for tribal environmental personnel in addition to the emergency response courses offered. This is important for protecting people who assess, sample, and remediate contaminated environments. With Hazardous Waste Worker Training (HWWT) Program funds, AFC proposes to train over 1,600 Native American responders throughout the country and over 2,100 public safety responders in the southeast US in a total of 195 courses and 75,400 contact hours. Additionally, AFC will support secondary training conducted separately by trainees at their home tribes or agencies that will reach an additional 1,500 trainees in 100 classes for 24,000 contact hours. Total training with this component in the five-year grant is projected to be 295 classes for 5,200 trainees and 99,400 contact hours.