Who Issues In Person and Online Course Certificates?

In Person and Online course certificates are issued by either one of our partner states or Colorado. The Blue Cell works with multiple State Training Officers where we have ongoing contracts (South Dakota, Wyoming, Alaska and Iowa). When we do a course for those State Training Officers, those States issue an official certificate with the appropriate seals and signatures as the authorized FEMA entity. 

The majority of our courses are conducted from our broadcast location in Colorado. The State Training Officer for the Colorado Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management has vetted all of our, policies and practices. 

The Blue Cell does NOT issue "G", "ICS" or "L" Certificates. Please see below and example of the typical certificate that is conveyed.

NEW POLICY (07/08/23)

Can I get a refund if I am told by anyone that the Colorado Certificate or NWCG Certificate is somehow not accepted?

A refund is possible, after supplying the State, Agency and or Individual acting in an official capacity when making the statements full contact information, in writing for follow-up. Failure to do so will automatically place the refund request into a store credit posture good for up to 365 days.

New Policy 09/01/23

For " L" Courses it is The Blue Cell policy that 7 business days ( to include holidays) that in the event 15 students have not been accepted into the course, the course may need to be rescheduled. This decision is made by the Founding Owner / Managing Partner.

What States Have Issued Certificates for The Blue Cell Courses?

In our 14 years of business, the following states have issued certificates for The Blue Cell Courses:

Alaska, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, West Virginia, Wyoming.

What States Have Students Taken Our Classes From and Have Had No Issue With Regards to Acceptance of the Certificate They Received?

We have had students take our courses with no issues regarding acceptance of certification from the following states:

Alabama, Arizona, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska,  Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin

 

 

What Other Entities Issue Certificates on Behalf of Courses Taught by The Blue Cell?

Other entities that issue certificates on behalf of courses taught by The Blue Cell include:

The Colorado Wildfire and Incident Management Academy (NWCG)

 FOR ALTERNATE CERTIFICATE INQUIRIES EMAIL STOREMANAGER@THEBLUECELL.COM

Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program (CSEPP)

What Key Entities and Agencies Have Taken Online Classes like ICS 300 and ICS 400 from The Blue Cell? 

The Blue Cell has trained more than 5 thousand students virtually from across the United States, Canada, UK, and IAEM members from around the globe. Some key entities and agencies that have participated in virtual instructor lead classes such as ICS 300 and ICS 400 ( and exercises) from The Blue Cell are FEMA, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency, NOAA, Bureau of Land Management, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory, Civil Air Patrol, National Park Service, U.S. Department of Agricultural, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish & Wildlife, Department of the Interior, Department of Defense and DOJ / FBI, The US Department of Defense, The US National Capital Police, as well as NGOs, Hospitals, major Airport and numerous private sector companies to include the Fortune 10 (ten).

How Long Will It Take to Receive my Certificate?

Our normal turnaround time for you to receive your certificate is 30 days (it rarely takes longer than 30 and in most cases is much less).

FEMA Related General Frequently Asked Questions on Training and Certifications

  https://training.fema.gov/is/isfaq.aspx

       

Does My State Certificate Get Sent into The FEMA System / Transcript ?

 FEMA authorizes the States to provide NIMS courses within their jurisdictions. States are required to follow FEMA guidance and curriculum.  All certificates come from the state entity responsible for the approval of these courses, and their certificates are recognized by FEMA. Colorado Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (DHSEM) is the official issuing entity for Colorado certificates. Upon verification of completion of a course, DHSEM directly issues the certificates to students through Colorado's transcript system TRAIN.org. No States have access to upload course certificates into FEMA/EMI's transcript system, and FEMA/EMI does not maintain copies in any format of State issued certificates.

What Makes The Blue Cell Different From Other Training Entities?

What makes The Blue Cell different from other training entities is our industry-expertise and knowledgeable trainers. We take pride in being the premier emergency and disaster management training company in the US. Our trainers are highly experienced in real world situations, from national incidents and planned events to creating the most up to date information for discussion while instructing your agency, department, or company. 

Why Should You Consider Online Training for Your Management Response Needs?

Online training can meet a variety of management response needs for large departments, small businesses, department or the solo volunteer to meet their training requirements.  

  • Online emergency management courses save money and time.
  • The Blue Cell offers online weekend classes so even the busiest professional can fit these required classes into their schedule. 
  • Given the global pandemic, The Blue Cell's online classes allow training to continue safely. 

Who Can Benefit From The Blue Cell's Courses?

The Blue Cell offers a variety of training and exercises that benefit basically anyone!  We have participants from private, government, and volunteer sectors and we have had attendees in the following professions:  Firefighting, Law Enforcement, EMS, Hospitals, Health Departments, Energy/Utility Companies, Airports, Private Security Companies and Volunteer Organizations to include Team Rubicon, United Way, Salvation Army and Red Cross.  With our vast course catalog, there is a class for you.

Try Our Most Popular Courses:
ICS 300                         ICS 400
G 191                             G 2300

 

Aside From Online/Virtual Emergency and Disaster Management Classes, What Other Products Do You Offer?

In addition to our online Emergency and Disaster Management Classes, we have created traditional exercises where we bring our professionals to your location or you may bring your team to The Blue Cell's Integrated Training Center to discover that the best way to learn is hands on and face to face.  We also offer online self-paced courses.  Our course catalog includes courses relevant to many disciplines including crisis management, active shooter courses, emergency leadership, planning and management, homeland security exercise evaluation program, HSEEP, leadership crisis, public health emergency management, safety management, risk and disaster management, and workplace violence training. See more courses here.

Does The Blue Cell Offer Any Discounts?

The Blue Cell offers special discounts and pricing on private session group buyouts. To inquire about a buyout, contact Jill Filer at jillfiler@thebluecell.com. We also offer other discount codes frequently - simply subscribe to our newsletter to receive the insider information!

How Do Refunds and Cancellation Work?

Refund requests and cancellations made via email up to 5 days before the course start date are evaluated on a case-by-case basis. We will attempt to re-schedule the participant into another session. (For up to 6 months). If an accommodation cannot be made, a full refund will be granted. Refund requests after the 5-day window of a course start date will follow the same process of attempted re-schedule, however if an accommodation cannot be made, no refund will be granted.

After Purchasing a Course, When Will I Receive Information on my Course Delivery?

After purchasing a course, you will receive information regarding your course delivery approximately 5 days prior to your course start date. The email will include information regarding course materials, the course link and additional information.

What is The Blue Cell Team?

Over time, the creators of The Blue Cell Ready Team and the Bravo Charlie Ready envisioned three things in this concept:

  1. Institutionalizing as many aspects of the Incident Command System / NIMS and Organizational Leadership into the functioning of this community
  2. Focusing the effort of sharing information and tools with the professionals and practitioners who value such effort and believe in ICS /NIMS and its proper application
  3. Using doctrine and lessons learned to get better from one incident, course or exercise to next to always seek improvement in the vocation of being an ICS advocate.

To be invited to the team’s monthly resource sharing and FREE tools and capabilities you must be a previous Blue Cell student or have participated in a Blue Cell exercise. 

What is TaaS?

TaaS stands for Training as a Service and makes scheduling and coordination in training easy!

The traditional way of coordinating training can be time consuming, costly, and so times unsuccessful.  These packages consist of virtual instructor led training (VILT), self-paced learning management systems (LMS) and uniquely designed self-serve exercise products and more. Upon signing of the agreement the agency has 12 months to have its students complete the class after which time the seats are forfeit.

 COST COMPARISON VIRTUAL VS. IN- PERSON

FREE 2-day ICS Class

 

 

 

Extended

In-person Free class

$0

1

$0

Driving to site cost (1)

$.575 per mile

150 miles

$86.25

Lodging cost (2)

$96.00 per night

2

$192.00

Meals & incidentals (2)

$55.00 per day

3

$165.00

Return from site cost (1)

$.575 per mile

150 miles

$86.25

Grand Total

 

 

$529.50

Out of Office

 

 

Limited availability

COVID-19 Risk

 

 

EXPOSURE

 

VIRTUAL 2-day ICS Class

 

 

 

Extended

In-person Free class

$250.00

1

$250.00

Driving to location cost (1)

$.575 per mile

0 miles

$0

Lodging cost (2)

$96.00 per night

0

$0

Meals & incidentals (2)

$55.00 per day

0

$0

Return from site cost (1)

$.575 per mile

0 miles

$0

Grand Total

 

 

$250.00

Out of Office

 

 

Available

COVID-19 Risk

 

 

NONE

 

  1. https://www.irs.gov/tax-professionals/standard-mileage-rates
  2. https://www.federalpay.org/perdiem/2021