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Strengthening the emergency management workforce at the state, local, tribal, territorial, and national levels is crucial to building and maintaining a strong profession and keeping the public safe. This is such an important task that FEMA's administrator, Deanne Criswell, included strengthening the emergency management workforce in FEMA's latest strategic plan. One of the many training programs that FEMA supports is the Center for Homeland Defense and Security at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. This unique program is open to all state, local, tribal, and territorial employees with a nexus to homeland security and emergency management. So, on today's episode, host Troy Christensen, speaks with Heather Issvoran about the center and the different training programs that are offered.

Fire dangers increase during the winter months and claim more lives than at any other time of the year. Deaths caused by fire are only part of the story as there are thousands of displacements when homes are destroyed, contributing to homelessness numbers across the nation. Unfortunately, the statistics on winter fire destruction are devastating, but they also highlight the need to educate the public on ways to protect themselves, especially during the winter months. As cold weather brings additional home fire risks, unwanted and destructive fires are preventable, and the steps people take to prepare now can save lives to help people prepare for winter weather. FEMA's Ready Campaign's first ever #WinterReady public education effort is designed to reach all communities with simple, accessible, and culturally competent messaging on how to protect themselves, their loved ones, and their homes. This is the second episode in a series where we consider all aspects of winter preparedness and the challenges that winter weather and cold compose. Dr. Lori Moore-Merrell, the head of the U.S. Fire Administration, and Justin Knighton, FEMA's external affairs director join us to talk all about how we all can be fire safe and winter ready.

January is Human Trafficking Prevention Month, a presidentially designated observance designed to educate the public about human trafficking and the role they can play in preventing and responding to human trafficking. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services theme for Human Trafficking Prevention Month 2024 is, "Activate connections to prevent human trafficking." This is an opportunity to build human trafficking prevention initiatives that work. Human trafficking cannot be prevented by any one individual community, organization or government, but building connections is at the heart of what emergency managers do. And to that end, we can be leaders in the effort of prevention. When we partner to prevent, we can enhance our efforts to keep everyone safe from human trafficking. So, on today's episode, we talk to leaders from within the Department of Homeland Security and FEMA about how we all within the public safety and emergency management communities can build human trafficking prevention initiatives that work.

Heatwaves are on the increase and garner well-deserved attention from the media. While these extreme heat events are growing in frequency and severity, a recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the CDC, found that more deaths occur due to exposure to the cold. The CDC reports that in 2019, about 1,300 people died of hypothermia. An analysis by the CDC of U.S. temperature related deaths between 2006 and 2010, showed that 63% were attributable to cold exposure. To help people prepare for winter weather, FEMA's Ready campaign's first ever Winter Ready public education effort is designed to reach all communities with simple, accessible and culturally competent messaging on how to protect themselves, their loved ones, and their homes. So, this episode is the first of a series where we consider multiple aspects of winter preparedness and the unique challenges the cold can pose. So, on this episode, we discuss that and more with Matt Lanza, a Houston-based meteorologist who lived through the impacts of winter weather in the Southwest in recent years.

Our friends at the U.S. Fire Administration recently had the opportunity to screen the new documentary “Elemental: Reimagine Wildfire” with the film creators. Before the screening, the U.S. fire administrator, Dr. Lori Moore-Merrell, sat down with one of the film’s participants, Margo Robbins, to get a better understanding of cultural fire and how the practice of cultural burning will lead to a healthier ecosystem, long-term fire protection for residents, and provide a platform that will support traditional hunting and gathering activities. The conversation was shared on the USFA podcast and now, we’re sharing the conversation with you.

In 2018, the Woolsey Fire consumed huge swaths of Los Angeles and Ventura County in California. The fire burned nearly a hundred thousand acres and destroyed thousands of structures. This was one of several fires in California at the same time. FEMA responds to disasters of all kinds - hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, and others. But wildfires pose a variety of unique challenges. The speed and sheer destruction are nothing short of terrifying. Often, nothing is left in their wake. Survivor stories are often harrowing and heartbreaking, but even within the destruction, there are opportunities for hope and resilience. On this episode, we talk with journalist Adriana Cargill, founder of Wave Maker Media, about her podcast "Sandcastles" - a new podcast that dives into the gripping story of the Point Doom Bombers during the Woolsey Fires in California. The story is heartbreaking, thrilling, and inspirational. Over five episodes, Adriana beautifully tells the story of a community coming together amidst the devastation of the wildfires.

This summer, we launched a four-part series in support of FEMA's #SummerReady campaign, where we're exploring the effects of extreme heat and how collaboration among local, state, tribal, territorial, and federal partners can lead to more educated communities. In this fourth and final episode of the #SummerReady campaign, we'll dive a little deeper into how FEMA grants are being used to address extreme temperatures and mitigate risks posed by natural hazards.

This summer has been hot. We're seeing some of the hottest days on record, and the extreme heat is without borders impacting not just the United States, but countries across the globe. So welcome back to episode number three of our four-part series in support of FEMA's Summer Ready campaign, where we're exploring the effects of extreme heat and how collaboration among local, state, tribal, and federal partners can lead to more educated communities. Heat and extreme heat continues to impact communities across the globe. We've seen more frequent events and cascading disasters over the past few years. Staying ahead of them requires we review our response plans regularly and adjust as needed, but also think in both short and long terms to ensure a whole community approach to keeping people safe. With that in mind, and as individuals are experiencing more frequent and extreme heat waves, which we've seen throughout this summer. On this episode, we will discuss one state's innovative effort to keep residents safe from extreme temperatures. California recently launched one of the nation's first statewide multi-ethnic awareness and education campaigns designed to keep Californians safe during extreme heat. So in this episode, we'll learn all about what it means to be heat ready in California.

Our nation's, roads, waterways, hospitals, and utilities support the millions of activities that people conduct each day to transact business, travel, communicate with friends and family, maintain health and safety and more. They also include the venues where people gather to learn, worship, shop or find entertainment. In other words, the heart of our communities. These are all examples of our nation's critical infrastructure system. One of FEMA's sister agencies within the Department of Homeland Security, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), is focused on protecting these systems. Its office for bombing prevention leads efforts to protect life and critical infrastructure from specific threats. They also work to prevent, protect against, respond to and mitigate, improvise explosive device incidents, or IEDs. FEMA works hand in hand with CISA to support our consequence management missions for all events. On this episode, we explore how the Office of Bombing Prevention is supporting our communities and emergency managers as they work to understand this threat landscape.

Disasters are devastating on multiple levels. Every year, our communities are affected by disasters which disrupt the mental health and wellbeing of millions of Americans. While the psychological effects of disasters on survivors and communities is well documented, the effects on responders can be dramatic. First responders, state and local officials, FEMA and other federal agencies work tirelessly in the aftermath of natural or manmade disasters to support survivors. This work often goes on for weeks, months, and sometimes years. For FEMA, supporting our employees' mental health is critical to creating a strong and resilient workforce. On this episode, we focus on the many ways we are supporting our employees through the stresses of our work as emergency managers.

Heat and Extreme heat continue to impact communities across the globe. We've seen more frequent events and cascading disasters over the past few years. Staying ahead of them requires that we review our response plans regularly and make adjustments as needed, but also think in terms of both the short and long term to ensure a whole community approach to keeping people safe. With that in mind, this episode is the second of a four-part series. In support of FEMA's Summer Ready campaign, we're exploring the effects of extreme heat and how collaboration amongst state, local, tribal, and federal partners can lead to more educated communities. Specifically on this episode, we talk through how emergency managers can identify impacts, gaps, and challenges that extreme heat has on our critical infrastructure like roads, bridges, and railways, and how we can all collectively increase awareness, provide resources, and make our communities more resilient.

Heat and extreme heat continue to impact communities across the globe. We've seen more frequent events and cascading disasters over the past few years. Staying ahead of them requires we review our response plans regularly and make adjustments as needed, but also think about both the short and long-term to ensure a whole community approach to keeping people safe. With that in mind, this episode is the first of a four-part series. In support of FEMA's Summer Ready campaign, we're exploring the effects of extreme heat and how collaborating among local, state, tribal, federal partners can lead to more educated communities. On this episode, we will recap FEMA's recent monumental agency-wide Extreme Heat Summit hosted in Chicago and discuss the events and the impacts for how FEMA will address extreme heat events and our look towards resilience efforts. We also discuss our upcoming Summer Ready campaign to provide awareness and education for high temperatures.