Emergency Responders Participate in Joint Training Workshop

Workshop Focuses on Organizations Working Together in Family Assistance Centers

DULUTH, Minn. – Emergency responders from across the Northland participated in a joint training workshop in Duluth today.

The workshop focused on emergency groups, such as the Red Cross and local public health and emergency managers, gaining a better understanding of Family Assistance Centers and how groups can work together to use them in crisis situations.

“People in Northeastern Minnesota work together and care about each other so much more than other places in the nation. This is one of the first times the Red Cross and the Salvation Army and our organization and a bunch of other ones have come together,” says Blain Johnson, Northeast Minnesota Emergency Planner.

“We’re trying to create a dialogue between the groups and then local authorities, and then that will hopefully filter down over the next year or so, filter down to citizens,” says Johnson.

Organizers hope groups working together better will help all emergency responses.