Overview of FEMA Online Courses

FEMA stands for Federal Emergency management agency. It is the agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security. This agency was known to be created initially by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978 and implemented by two Executive Orders on April 1, 1979. The whole structure of the EMI curricula is made in such a way that will meet all the needs and the requirements of different types of audience or people who are in different organizations but working together in all-hazards emergencies with the aim to save lives and also to protect properties of people. Providing an overview of FEMA Online Courses is the main target for this article.

The EMI has developed a number of courses and is implementing training delivery systems to include residential onsite training and also providing technology-based mediums that will help to conduct individual training courses for Emergency Management and Response personnel across the United States.

What is FEMA Certification?

As we know that in order to demonstrate professional competence, there has to have a credentialing process for it. Only then, a profession becomes recognizable. Same is the case for emergency management and that is why we have the FEMA certification that is available for emergency managers to help them enhance their professional portfolio. So let us talk about the FEMA certification in detail.

The FEMA certification programs are conducted in collaboration with the Emergency Management Institute (EMI). Among these certification programs, the first one is the Professional Development Series (PDS). This certification is completed and being awarded upon completing seven FEMA courses. Here the learner is given the option to take these courses as an independent study or in the classroom. So here are the names of the seven courses that are a must.

• Principles of Emergency Management, IS230
• Emergency Planning, IS235
• Effective Communication, IS242
• Decision-Making and Problem-Solving, IS241
• Leadership and Influence, IS240
• Developing and Managing Volunteers , IS244
• Exercise Design, IS139

These above courses have been mentioned in the exact order and FEMA recommends that these courses should be completed in the same order as above. Once this PDS program is completed, a person can take another certification that is the APS certification. To enroll in this program you have to submit a request to your State Emergency Manager Training Officer. If your request is approved, it will then be forwarded to the FEMA regional office and lastly the Superintendent of the Emergency Management Institute (EMI) makes the final call.

To take more free courses, visit free online courses with certificates of completion.

These below mentioned are the require courses to take in the APS certification.

• EOC Management and Operations, G275
• Incident Command System/Emergency Operations Center Interface, G191
• Rapid Assessment Workshop, G250.7
• Recovery from Disaster: The Local Government Role, G270.4
• Mitigation Planning Workshop for Local Governments, G318

With that a person has to take five more additional elective courses from a long list of courses.

How do I sign up for FEMA Online Courses?

To sign up for FEMA courses, you need to follow these steps.

• Go to the FEMA Official Website.
• Register for a Student Identification Number (SID) if you haven’t done it already.
• Select a course from our course list.
• In the next step, you can review the material of the course by choosing any one of the options.
• Select the “Take Final Exam Online” link which can be found out easily on each Course Overview page.
• Then you need to enter your SID and your additional Student Information.
• Lastly, you need to answer the examination questions and put up your answer.

Taking FEMA courses online or certification will not only help a person put a great impact on his professional career but it will also help him to become fully prepared of dealing with different types of emergencies, accidents, storms, saving lives and properties etc so register for a FEMA course now.