Last week I posted an article espousing the lack of emergency operations center (EOC) content in the most recently updated ICS-100 course. In response to this article, I heard from someone at FEMA’s Emergency Management Institute (EMI) letting me know about two courses which are currently in development, focusing on EOCs. The first is IS-2200: Basic EOC Functions. This is being designed as a four-hour online course. The second is E/L/G-2300: Intermediate EOC Functions. This course is being designed for a three-day long classroom delivery. These courses are both expected to release in the spring of 2019.
For those who aren’t familiar with FEMA’s course codes…
IS: Independent Study (web-based delivery)
E: In-resident course, typically delivered at EMI
L: A course delivered on-location by FEMA personnel anywhere around the nation
G: State-delivered courses
Personally, I’m thrilled to get definitive word that courses are being developed and that we have a timeframe for deployment. I’m a big proponent of the roles EOCs can play in incident management, yet so much of the training conducted for EOC personnel for so many years has been ad-hoc at best. Hopefully this will further move us toward standardization and common implementation of best practices.
© 2018 – Timothy Riecker, CEDP
The Contrarian Emergency Manager 