Staff report

Holly-Anne Franco, a firefighter and medical responder coordinator for the South Salisbury Fire Department, recently completed training with the Center for Domestic Preparedness in Anniston, Alabama.

The center is operated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency and is the only federally chartered Weapons of Mass Destruction training facility in the nation.

During the weeklong training, Franco acted as incident commander of a weeklong drill that used resources in the mock city of Noble.

Franco coordinated resources and provided coverage of all departments under her control.

“Her background in the fire service and in emergency management allowed her to understand how to prioritize and stage resources, as well as the importance of rehabilitating tired firefighters and ensuring their safety on the scene,” a FEMA news release said.

CDP develops and delivers advanced training for emergency response providers, emergency managers and other officials in state, local and tribal governments.

The center offers more than 40 training courses focusing on incident management, mass casualty response, and emergency response to a catastrophic natural disaster or terrorist act.

The training is federally funded at no cost to state, local and tribal emergency response professionals or agencies.