The Penobscot County Emergency Management Agency manages disaster response before, during, and after a catastrophe. When local and county forces face overwhelming circumstances, the agency can request assistance from state and federal resources.
Emergency management coordinators play an essential role within disaster response organizations, supervising pre-disaster community education programs, preparing contingency plans, responding directly to incidents, and organizing damage assessments and cleanups. The county’s Emergency Management Agency also directs emergency management training in Penobscot County with coordinators from a number of partner agencies including:
- Homeland Security
- American Red Cross
- Maine Department of Environmental Protection
- Maine Centers for Disease Controls
- County Response Teams
- Maine Emergency Management Agency
Education for Emergency Management Jobs in Penobscot County
Having the right emergency management degree or certification is an essential part of an application for emergency management jobs in Penobscot County. Non-profit, private, and governmental agencies all have their own prerequisites for their emergency management coordinator positions, and the range of coordinator specializations sought allows candidates to come from a wide background of educational programs. Public, private, and online colleges offer two-year AA and four-year BA and BS degrees in relevant fields such as:
- Business
- Engineering
- Social Sciences
- Urban Planning
- Public Health
- Information Technology
The Penobscot County Emergency Management Agency requires its directors to have certifications in the following courses, available to county residents through the federal National Incident Management System Training Program:
- IS-800 National Response Framework
- IS-701 Multiagency Coordination Systems
- ICS-200 Single Resources and Initial Action Incidents
Additional federal certifications include:
- Emergency and Disaster Management
- Disaster Preparedness
- Security Management and Homeland Security
- National Security Technology
State emergency management training and certification programs include:
- Rail Safety for Emergency Responders
- Exercise Planning
Yearly Tradition of Brushing Off the Epidemic Contingency
Those entrusted with emergency management careers in Penobscot County have an obligation to make sure officials are prepared in the event of any possible disaster, however unlikely. This includes pandemics, and each year as flu season comes emergency management coordinators brief first responders, hospital officials, and refresh themselves on pandemic protocols. For the amount of people killed each year in Penobscot County by the common influenza virus, being prepared is a serious matter.
And it’s not just the influenza virus emergency management coordinators are worried about. Threats such as West Nile virus, the Avian Flu, and Swine Flu have recently made their appearance in Maine. Nationwide in 2009, over an eight-month period the Swine Flu killed nearly 4,000 people – including some in Penobscot County. Emergency management coordinators began preparing for the Swine Flu before it started making any headlines, directing the distribution of strategic supplies of the vaccine, a public education campaign, and arranging emergency quarantines and shelters for a worst-case scenario. When the virus finally did make its way to Penobscot County, the community was prepared and as a result there was an orderly and effective response that most likely saved lives.