Chicago Police, More First Responders Study Disaster Documentation in Des Plaines

When great losses occur, opportunities to learn can spring up. One example of this was the special training that was conducted with first responders in Des Plaines following the record-setting flood that impacted Des Plaines and other communities in the Chicago region in April.

A group of Chicago police officers, firefighters, school campus security guards and first responders from other government agencies received hands-on training in a disaster documentation class managed through Cook County in Des Plaines on May 1.

The contractor hired by the county to teach the video documentation class, who asked not to be identified for this story due to his agreement with Cook County, said he was showing first responders how to properly document disaster damage using video camcorders.

Raymond Hamilton, deputy director of training for the Cook County Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, managed the training program, the contractor said.

“What he’s asked us to do is come out and teach emergency responders how to use video camcorders to document damage caused by natural disasters and manmade disasters,” the contractor said. 

Local, county, state and federal emergency management workers document damage when disasters occur in order to build cases for government funding to be spent on aid.

Workers from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Illinois Emergency Management Agency were also documenting the flood damage in Des Plaines on May 1. Governor Pat Quinn would have to submit a request to President Barack Obama to declare the flood a federal disaster, and the president would have to approve it, in order for federal funding to be made available.

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