Emergency Manager seeks funding for high-level first responder training
M.K. French
Farmer Staff Writer
How do you prepare a community for the unimaginable? That’s the question McKenzie County’s Emergency Manager Karolin Jappe posed to commissioners, at their April 1 meeting. Jappe appeared before the board seeking funding for a full-scale exercise designed to test and strengthen the county’s emergency response capabilities. Jappe explained that her goal was to hire The Response Group to facilitate a specialized, full-scale emergency exercise for local first responders. Jappe emphasized the need for advanced training, particularly in light of the how much the County has grown and with the recent fires we had back in October 2024.
Jappe’s request stemmed from a desire to improve the county’s preparedness for large-scale incidents. “After the 2024 October fires, I sat back and thought about how I could make it better if something like that ever happened again in our county. One thing she has already done is increase the Counties Mutual Aid agreement to include three more counties. She has also got in touch with the major oilfield companies that she exercises with and asked if they would be willing to participate in the future if we had a major event. The response was very positive and all the companies that were asked replied with a yes. So with that I would really like to get them involved, too, just because here’s the thing. We have two large event centers and other major events throughout the County (including weather) and I always want us to be fully prepared for the what if’s.”
While Jappe’s budget could cover $10,000, she requested an additional $4,287 to fully fund the training. “I will tell you that I believe this to be a great investment, and it is very important for all our first responders. “It brings us all together, and it would challenge us as well to do large full scale exercise.” Jappe recalled past training and had something similar in mind for her request. She noted the work of previous instructors whom the county had utilized for training. She highlighted the effectiveness of a hands-on approach, which she said left a lasting impact on law enforcement when we brought in “The Response Group, The instructor we had brought the training to life… We got up. We did work on the walls (large forms). We learned a great deal with the hands on approach, we didn’t sit around watching a powerpoint presentation. A full scale exercise would also include all First Responders in the County.
However, commissioners expressed the need for more detailed information before approving the funding. Jappe suggested a tentative training date in October, acknowledging the challenges of scheduling during the summer months. “October would work,” one commissioner said. “Get you through harvest and people taking vacations. Jappe agreed to provide the necessary information to the commission, and to formally submit the request via the county’s agenda platform. The commission agreed to table the matter until their next meeting, pending receipt of the detailed proposal. Jappe will provide an agenda request and the proposal details.
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