Thanks to a recently awarded contract between West Virginia University Extension Service and the Center for National Response, thousands of American military members will be safer because of state-of-the-art chemical, biological, radioactive and nuclear hazardous material training.

The CNR provides cost-effective, state-of-the-art weapons of mass destruction consequence management, counterterrorism exercise-based training and operational equipment testing.

“Trainings conducted by WVU Fire Service Extension help ensure that our armed forces have the instruction and knowledge they need to stay safe in serious, emergency situations,” said Lanny Adkins, WVU Extension Service program coordinator.

This is the second time WVU has been granted this contract. During the previous award period, University experts travelled from Maine to Hawaii to administer the training—known as CBRN—to approximately 15,000 military members across the country.

The CBRN training meets standards for accreditation in hazardous material training for both the ProBoard Fire Service Professional Qualifications System and International Fire Service Accreditation Congress. The WVU Fire Extension Service offers a wide array of training to emergency response personnel to help keep firefighters in West Virginia—and across the United States—safe.

An estimated 81,000 firefighter injuries occur annually across the United States, and West Virginia has one of the highest relative risk of fire death statistically in the nation.

“Education and training are vital to keeping firefighters safe across the state, especially since we tend to rely on volunteer firefighters in the more rural areas. We have an established history of providing this training, and we’re proud to be able to help give the men and women the know-how to protect their communities,” said Adkins.

First responders are trained through the State Fire Academy, and future first responders are trained through the Junior Firefighter Camp. Simulated-based training occurs for numerous scenarios, including airplane fire and rescue, vehicle extrication, industrial fires and wildfires; ensuring that firefighters know how to deal with whatever scenario they run across.

For more information about these, and all of the services offered by the Fire Extension Service, call 304-269-0875 or visit firservice.ext.wvu.edu.

-WVU-

zl/ct/08/20/14

CONTACT: Cassie Thomas, WVU Extension Service
304.293.8735, Cassie.Thomas@mail.wvu.edu

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