Constable Tom Dallas, who serves as Training Officer with the Lafayette Fire Department, last week completed a 32 hour Radiological/Nuclear weapons of mass destruction (WMD) training class sponsored by the Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

The course provides students with training in the fundamentals of radiation, health effects of radiation, and how to respond to terrorist use of radiological materials and devices.

Constable Dallas also completed a Train the Trainer course for this class during the evenings while in attendance. He is now certified to deliver the awareness portion of the training to local responders among the fire, rescue, law enforcement, ems and other city/county agencies and departments.

“This class helps better prepare emergency management professionals to prevent, deter, and respond safely and effectively to incidents involving weapons of mass destruction,” said FEMA Administrator David Paulison. “We are proud of the hard work and accomplishments of the students participating in the training.”

Training classes are tailored to meet the needs of the students and can range from a four-hour awareness course, where students learn how to recognize radiological incidents and proper notification procedures, to a 32-hour HazMat technician course, where students learn how to operate radiological detection equipment, conduct surveys of personnel and equipment, perform mass decontamination and participate in hands-on exercises, and work as a team within the Incident Command Structure.

To date, over 47,000 professionals from across the country have participated in these highly-specialized training courses conducted through the Nevada Test Site (NTS), Mercury, Nevada by field experts in radiological and WMD response. All training is provided at no cost to students or the students respective agencies.

FEMA coordinates the federal government's role in preparing for, preventing, mitigating the effects of, responding to, and recovering from all domestic disasters, whether natural or man-made, including acts of terror. For more information, please visit the website at www.fema.gov.

The National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Site Office, and its management and operating contractor National Security Technologies, operates the Nevada Test Site, and is responsible for conducting emergency response training at the Nevada Test Site and through mobile training teams. Additional information on the courses offered can be found at http://www.nv.doe.gov/nationalsecurity/homelandsecurity/responder.htm