HOUSTON, Miss. (WTVA) -- Whether it be tornadoes, floods, or fires, emergency responders are called upon to help handle the crisis.
At the Houston Fire Department, Turner Luttrell an adjunct fire academy instructor for the state of Mississippi, is teaching a lesson in Instant Command System 300.
The system is about these emergency responders learning to coordinate their activities when a disaster strikes.
Its a federal mandate and is therefore required learning.
That is especially important for volunteers like Chief Russell Denton of the Sabougla Fire Department in Calhoun County.
"We're here to learn about the ICS, Instant Command System. This is something that you've got to have in the volunteer fire departments and along with the ICS 400," said Denton. "And it enables you to get federal grants to help you with your fire departments.Us being a new fire department, needing new resources we felt like we needed to come and get up to date on this kind of stuff so that we could apply for some of the grants that are out there," he continued.
This event is scheduled for two days and organizers say its about teaching the responders to coordinate their activities in times of disaster.
They say it is a lot like the right hand telling the left hand what's going on.
"So what we are going to do is if you have a situation such as the tornado that came through here in April of 2011, its going to make these counties and these agencies better able to handle should another one of those occur in their community," said Turner Luttrell, a State Fire Academy instructor.
The class was divided into separate teams for this session.
It involved responding to a fictitious heavy snow storm that covered much on north Mississippi.
"If your fire department from Okolona understands the practices of Houston Fire Department or Chickasaw County Sheriff's Department understands the operation of a local police jurisdiction, then when that emergency happens we're all working together cohesively," Luttrell continued.
He adds that's the ultimate goal to save lives and property.
The ICS course lasts for two days, and ten professionals from around the area are enrolled..
The responders are expected to pass a final exam at the end of the two days.
