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| Emerson Lake, High River, AB (photo by V.A. McMillan, 2023) |
Title: Planning Section
Chief Course Review – 02 April to 05 April 2024
The Town of High River
with the High River Fire Department hosted the Planning Section Chief course
delivered by Daryl Black of Exigent Academy (https://www.exigentinc.ca/43055/academy/).
The program was delivered at the Memorial Centre in High River, Alberta between
the 2nd and the 5th of April 2024. The Alberta Emergency
Management Agency was also present to ensure their endorsement was not
misplaced. The program had other ICS role specific training – Incident Commanders,
Operations Section Chiefs, Logistics Section Chiefs, and Task Force
Leaders/Strike Team Leaders. In all, over 100-students received exceptional
training in their specialty.
For many who take ICS
(Incident Command System) training, there is little opportunity for enhanced
training beyond the ICS-100, ICS-200, ICS-300, and ICS-400 courses. Thankfully,
organizations like Exigent Academy are stepping in to fill this knowledge gap.
The first operational period should NOT be the place where you learn about the
role you need to fulfil. Daryl Black and his team of instructors did a
fantastic job of sharing their personal experiences and knowledge of ICS and
incident management. I did not encounter any student who expressed any
displeasure with their learning experience. Kudos, Daryl!
This training event was
hosted in the Memorial Centre in downtown High River. A fitting venue, since
some of the case studies discussed included the 2013 Southern Alberta Floods,
which flowed down streets right close to the Memorial Centre. Not only was the
training excellent, the catering service for the provided lunches throughout
the week was also excellent. Easier to learn when you are in an appropriate
facility and eating great food during the lunch break…good food fuels learning
well.
So, what did it cost, you
ask??? Each role specific training cost $875 and that included access to
digital student manuals and the catered lunches. In my biased opinion, it was a
good value. For those considering getting onboard for the next training
opportunity, just know that ICS-300 is a pre-requisite.
Until next time…Get some
training!
VAM.
