St. Louis Area Regional Response System (STARRS) will hold a free training course for elected officials and department heads on the National Incident Management System (NIMS).

The three-hour training is designed to provide elected and appointed officials with a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities for successful emergency management and incident response. Local emergency management experts will lead the course, which covers:

• Role of elected/senior officials in the Incident Command System (ICS) structure.
• Basic organization of ICS and the functional responsibilities of various staff.
• The administrative, logistical, financial, and reporting implications of large incident operations.

All elected officials and department heads who have not received NIMS training in the last five years should attend this course. In addition to enhancing the region’s response capabilities, the adoption and implementation of NIMS may be required for receiving disaster-related federal grants, contracts and other activities.