Niles firefighter attends WMD training course

Published 11:50 am Tuesday, July 26, 2005

By By ERIN VER BERKMOES / Niles Daily Star
NILES - Though we hope Weapons of Mass Destruction will never be used on American soil, it's nice to know a local responder is in our midst.
Lt. Scott Rieth, who is an emergency responder with Niles City Fire Department, recently completed a Weapons of Mass Destruction training course at the Center for Domestic Preparedness, located in Anniston, Ala.
The Center for Domestic Preparedness is operated by the United States Department of Homeland Security's Office of State and Local Government Coordination and Preparedness and is the only federally chartered Weapons of Mass Destruction training facility in the country.
The Center for Domestic Preparedness provided federally-funded, interdisciplinary training for emergency responders from across the United States and U.S. Territories for the following disciplines; Emergency Management, Emergency Medical Service, Fire Service, Governmental Administrative, Hazardous Materials, Health Care, Law Enforcement, Public Health, Public Safety Communications and Public Works.
The emergency responders attending training participated in advanced hands-on all hazards training on chemical ordnance, biological, radiological and nuclear weapons of mass distraction.
The training at the Center for Domestic Preparedness assists the nations emergency response community with the overwhelming task of prevention of, prevention against, response to and recovery from acts of terrorism.
Responders attending the Center for Domestic Preparedness were specially selected from the nations 11 million emergency responders.
The training done at the Center for Domestic Preparedness ensures that responders gain critical skills and confidence to be better prepared to effectively respond to local incidents or potential weapons of mass distraction.