DUBOIS – Recently the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), Bureau of Forestry, held a training session based out of DuBois.
This specialized training, focused on responding to incidents (wildfires, storms, etc.) that often require more resources (people, equipment, supplies, etc.) than are locally available.
The Bureau of Forestry maintains a corps of individuals organized into what are known as Incident Management Teams (IMT) that are available to respond in these types of emergency situations.
These teams are organized into a nationally-recognized organizational standard referred to as the Incident Command System or ICS.
One of the primary goals of this training was to provide IMT members a safe training and meeting environment in which they could practice and hone their skills.
The training also provided the opportunity to cross train with county and township emergency managers.
When asked about the benefits of this type of training, local officials indicated that it was “important to be prepared and be aware of available resources, in case an actual event does occur.”
They also indicated it was “very important to practice and to have a plan in place.”
Local Bureau of Forestry personnel from the Moshannon Forest District helped organize the training and coordinated much of the involvement from the local cooperating agencies.
“As a forest district, we constantly rely upon our local volunteer firefighter resources to assist in the suppression of wildland fires,” officials say.
This training gave the local forest the ability to exercise a worst-case scenario fire and walk through the response in a proactive way with direct involvement from local emergency managers.
“While we cannot prevent every emergency, we can be prepared if or when the need arises. This opportunity built upon the already strong local relationships between DCNR, Clearfield County Emergency Management Agency, Sandy Township and the Treasure Lake Property Owners Association, to talk through concerns that would likely arise during a true emergency.”
The Bureau of Forestry would like to express its sincere appreciation to representatives from Clearfield County EMA, Sandy Township and the Treasure Lake Property Owners Association for their participation and cooperation in this training opportunity.