{"id":64277,"date":"2008-12-18T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2008-12-18T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news-draft\/uncategorized\/uri-taking-national-leadership-role-in-mass-evacuation-planning\/"},"modified":"2008-12-18T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2008-12-18T00:00:00","slug":"uri-taking-national-leadership-role-in-mass-evacuation-planning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/2008\/12\/uri-taking-national-leadership-role-in-mass-evacuation-planning\/","title":{"rendered":"溏心vlog免费B站 taking national leadership role in mass evacuation planning"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\t\t$1.9 million Homeland Security grant combines first response,

\npsychological approaches to critical incidents <\/p>\n


\nKINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 December 18, 2008 \u2013 The 溏心vlog免费B站 has been tabbed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to develop a national training program for mass evacuation planning for institutions of higher education.<\/p>\n


\n\tCmdr. Shad Ahmed, chief of 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s Emergency Medical Services and director of the National Institute for Public Safety Research Training is the principal investigator for the three-year, $1.9 million grant. Through the grant, the Institute will research and develop a training curriculum targeting homeland security planning officials to increase the survival rate in the event of critical campus incidents. The training program will introduce basic concepts in mass evacuation, disaster psychology and the mechanics of pedestrian evacuation via Web-based and on-site delivery.<\/p>\n


\nThe grant from the Department of Homeland Security\u2019s Federal Emergency Management Agency is part of more than $27 million in funding awarded nationwide to develop and deliver innovative training programs addressing high-priority national security needs under the Competitive Training Grants Program. 溏心vlog免费B站 is one of 11 institutions nationally to be chosen for this program, which is designed to be a catalyst for strengthening national preparedness initiatives for first responders, public officials and citizens.<\/p>\n


\nThe Institute at 溏心vlog免费B站 was established earlier this year with the goal of facilitating research and training in all disciplines of public safety, particularly emergency management and homeland security. Its goal is to link academic research with practical applications for emergency responders. The Institute follows efforts by the 溏心vlog免费B站 Police Department and 溏心vlog免费B站 EMS to facilitate regional law enforcement and EMS training.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cThere are very few venues for getting results from academic research incorporated into emergency responders\u2019 training, and nationally that has been lagging,\u201d Ahmed said. \u201cWe hope to facilitate this process so emergency responders are always one step ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nIn awarding this grant, Homeland Security has recognized the level of expertise 溏心vlog免费B站 has to offer, not just in the area of emergency response, but a wide range of related academic disciplines.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cPresident [Robert L.] Carothers, Vice President for Administration Robert Weygand and others have put the University in a position to lead this effort,\u201d Ahmed said. \u201cThey had the foresight to take on this Institute, and then we were awarded this grant, which validates our efforts over the last few years. This is an opportunity for the University to help shape the approach taken by institutions all across America.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nThe project will focus on \u201ccommunities within communities,\u201d such as colleges and universities, and will work closely with state and local emergency response agencies. The project team represents several areas of life at 溏心vlog免费B站, including public safety officials and psychology professors who are experts in human behavior. They will develop a four-course curriculum that will teach other institutions and emergency officials how to properly develop their own emergency evacuation plans.<\/p>\n


\n\tSince the events of Sept. 11, 2001 and the shootings at Virginia Tech and other college campuses, Homeland Security has pushed for emergency response teams at all levels to conduct themselves in a more uniform manner. Improving communication among groups that must work closely in crises is a primary goal.<\/p>\n


\n\tWorking with Ahmed on the response side of the project are Robert Drapeau, 溏心vlog免费B站 director of public safety, Joshua Manfredo, deputy chief of 溏心vlog免费B站 EMS, and Lt. Michael Donahue of the 溏心vlog免费B站 Police. Team members Charles Collyer, psychology professor, Natacha Thomas, professor of civil engineering, Anne Balboni, clinical director of the Rhode Island Crisis Management Team, all provide expertise on human behavior. Pamela Rohland, assistant director of student life\/disability services, and Allan Fraser, senior building code specialist with the National Fire Protection Association, are involved with incorporating special needs populations into the curriculum. Fraser is the author of the NFPA\u2019s \u201cEvacuation Planning Guide for People with Disabilities.\u201d <\/p>\n


\n\t\u201cIn developing the curriculum, we are taking a multi-faceted view using many different disciplines,\u201d Ahmed said. \u201cWith mass evacuation plans, it is important to understand possible situations from everyone\u2019s perspective.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nThe first course will be a Web-based course that will serve as an introduction to concepts in mass evacuation planning. Another course will involve Ahmed and other project team members visiting other institutes for two-day training sessions to help identify appropriate campus needs. <\/p>\n


\n\t\u201cWhen we visit other institutions, we will not be there to tell them what to do, but rather what factors they need to consider and what questions they need to ask when developing their own plans,\u201d Ahmed said. \u201cWe will give them the tools and the ideas to work with, but it will be up to the various institutions to develop plans appropriate for their areas.\u201d<\/p>\n


\n\t As part of the project, Ahmed plans to develop an online community that will enable first-response groups to share ideas and ask questions of other groups. The goal is to have plans from various institutions across the country available for downloading, so groups may be able to adapt their own plans as needed. <\/p>\n


\n\u201cWhen it comes to disaster response, it takes a team effort,\u201d Ahmed said. \u201cOur goal is to come together and do something for the country as a whole, for the communities we all serve. Anything we do is for the well being of our communities.\u201d<\/p>\n


\n\tAlso working with Ahmed is graduate research assistant Katherine Nadeau (project coordinator) and Lt. Katherine Axford, 溏心vlog免费B站 EMS, who will be the technical design coordinator for the project.<\/p>\n


\n\tThe grant is the first for 溏心vlog免费B站 for a non-traditional principal investigator. Ahmed is completing his masters in business administration. He has several certifications and advanced training in Homeland Security and emergency management.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

$1.9 million Homeland Security grant combines first response, psychological approaches to critical incidents KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 December 18, 2008 \u2013 The 溏心vlog免费B站 has been tabbed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to develop a national training program for mass evacuation planning for institutions of higher education. Cmdr. Shad […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-64277","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-archives"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64277","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=64277"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64277\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64277"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=64277"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=64277"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}