Soon, the drastic weather will change from snow, avalanches and blizzards to hurricanes, flooding and tornados.  Disasters can happen in any community but how you are prepared may vary drastically from your neighboring community.  Your preparedness efforts will directly impact those in your department, your resources and those who live and work in your community. 

There are many different avenues for preparedness.  Here are the top 3 ways that The Blue Cell can help you prepare.

• Have a discussion with the key players in the community.  

Who will you call on when disaster strikes?  What questions even need to be asked?  The Blue Cell offers three types of exercises to get the communication laterally and vertically with your team.  Custom created Virtual Tabletop Exercises  are hosted by The Blue Cell - You invite all of the key players together on one platform and discuss scenarios where you will need to call on resources in your community.  Similar to the Virtual Tabletop Exercise, The Blue Cell offers in person Traditional Tabletop Exercises https://thenimsstore.com/pages/traditional-exercise-services.  Bring your team together in person for a day of training that they can put into action no matter what big event happens next.  Finally, you can purchase a Blue Cell Exercise Package for many different types of events from Flooding to Active Shooter at a School to a Hazmat Train Derailment Exercise.  The benefit to this type of package is that you can use it over and over with all of your team or various parts of your team -- changing just one minor detail can completely change the outcome of the scenario! 

• Take a FEMA Certification Class  

Being proactive rather than reactive during a disaster is the single most effective way to help aid in the recovery of a disaster.  Education is valuable.  We offer many virtual emergency & disaster management certification classes that will help you manage or work with your team when disaster strikes.  Some flood and recovery related classes offered by The Blue Cell virtually are Community Mass Care Management  (G-108), Flood Fight Operations  (G-361), Evacuation and Re-entry Planning  (G-358) and Recovery from Disaster: The Local Community Role (G-205).

• Continue (or start!) your education with Self-Paced Learning.  

Through our self-paced learning management system (LMS), you can continue to take courses to further your career or manage your team more cohesively -- even during a pandemic or during the busy season at work.  Here are a few flood and recovery related LMS courses:  Recovery Support Functional Positions  (BCR 0LM08), Agency Administration in Incidents and Disasters (BCR RESP05), Communications and Flow  (BCR 0LM09)

Whatever your training goal may be, The Blue Cell is here to help.  Start training now in preparation for this severe weather season!  Contact us for full class buyouts or quotes for custom created exercises!

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Melanie Binversie is a Marine Corps wife and mother of three originally from rural Virginia but currently living in Aurora, Colorado. Melanie earned a Bachelor of Arts, Magna Cum Laude in Emergency Management and a Minor in Intelligence Studies from Amer ican Military University in West Virginia.  Melanie has previously worked for many years in Fire and EMS, a lab technician and also as a medic at a jail.  She has earned many awards including Fort Belvoir Military Spouse of the Year, Heroes at Home Marine Corps Spouse of the Year.  In her free time Melanie loves to read, write, go camping with her family and travel around the world. 

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