Public Safety associates participate in regional training exercise

John Knox Village Public Safety associates take part in regional emergency preparedness workshop

 

 The Pavilion at John Knox Village hosted Homeland Security officials, FBI, law enforcement officers,  first responders, and more on Wednesday as they received training in responding to a large-scale aviation accident.

The workshop was sponsored by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Mid America Regional Council’s Regional Homeland Security Coordinating Committee. There were around 140 attendees from agencies such as the Federal Aviation Administration, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Transportation Security Administration, as well as local sheriff, police and fire departments, hospitals and airlines.

The goal of the training was to discuss the ability to coordinate the response to a large-scale aircraft accident between multiple jurisdictions.

Craig Faith, director of Public Safety at John Knox Village, helped coordinate and bring the training to The Pavilion. The John Knox Village Public Safety Department is an integral part of emergency services for the surrounding area, providing mutual aid with other local fire, law enforcement and ambulance departments when needed.

“These readiness exercises are essential to all phase of emergency management.  If it is not an aviation incident it will be something else,” said Craig Faith. “Any exercise, no matter the scenario, helps us prepare and successfully manage through snow storms, tornado threats and other everyday small and large emergencies.  As always, I was proud to see John Knox Village Public Safety staff right at home with the best of the best in emergency management.  We had well over 100 years of experience attending just with our staff.  

Stacy Jones, EMS Lead for John Knox Village Public Safety, this brought him a greater understanding of the large scope of agencies – local, regional, state, federal and private sector, that would be involved in an aviation accident, and what is involved in coordinating the response.

“This training was a great opportunity to meet and begin building relationships with those key players in other agencies,” said Jones.