The quality of FEMA's response and recovery efforts is directly linked to the knowledge and skills possessed by staff working at disaster sites. Keeping a well-trained field workforce is a great challenge.

New disaster workers may be hired from the local community each time there is a disaster. FEMA disaster employees may not have worked in many months and may not be current on disaster programs and policies that often vary from disaster to disaster. In catastrophic disasters, permanent full-time employees are sometimes deployed to work disaster assignments for which they have not been trained previously.

These challenges create the need to provide quality on-site training at the disaster site. The Emergency Management Institute created the Disaster Field Training Operation to meet these field-training requirements.

The mission of the DFTO is to:

• Provide a professional training resource to ensure that all training requirements in the field are identified and met.
• Ensure that disaster staff have the skills and knowledge needed to provide effective and efficient services.
• Enhance the professional expertise of disaster staff to ensure they are prepared for future deployments.

The DFTO is not intended to replace ongoing training that is conducted by FEMA or State and local governments. The DFTO is meant to provide on-site training opportunities to assist field staff in performing their job functions.

Contact: Bernice Zaidel

DFTO Photo Album