In an ever changing world where the threats of terrorism are very real and always present, the need to train and prepare for the multitude of different "doomsday" scenarios has become more important then ever. As seen in instances such as 9/11, the Boston Bombing, and more close to home with the Suburban Bomber and the attempted Ricin attack just last week in Bucks County, bad people wish to do bad things to innocent people whenever and wherever the opportunity arises.

While we never hope that bad things will happen especially in or around our community, in today's world we must plan and train for the 'worst case' scenarios, so that we can respond quickly and efficiently to whatever situations we encounter.

Firefighter-EMT Michael Schon has recently completed a series of advanced technical and specialist classes with the Department of Homeland Security for Hazardous Materials (HazMat) incidents and Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) response.

For the last year, Michael has spent time in New Mexico at the Energetic Materials Research and Testing Center (EMRTC) for explosives and response to terrorist bombings training; in Alabama at the Center for Domestic Preparedness (CDP) & Fort McClellan doing advanced technical and specialty Hazmat and Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosives (CBRNE) training; and in Nevada at the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) with the Counter-Terrorism Operations Support branch (CTOS) doing radiological and nuclear specialist training.

As part of his training in Alabama, Michael spent time at the CDP's Chemical, Ordnance, Biological, and Radiological (COBRA) Training Facility, which is the nation's only facility featuring civilian training exercises in a true toxic environment using actual live-agent chemical and biological warfare agents. The advanced hands-on training enables responders to effectively prevent, respond to, and recover from real-world incidents involving acts of terrorism, WMD, and other hazardous materials.

Mike trained along side fellow emergency responders from across the country and around the globe, ranging from Federal agencies and state-level organizations, to major metropolitan police and fire departments such as Boston, New York, Baltimore, Washington DC, Charlotte, Atlanta, Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Houston, Dallas, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Diago, and Honolulu.

In addition to his technical and speciality certifications, Mike also took additional coursework to become an instructor for incident response to terrorist bombings and WMD radiological & nuclear emergencies, allowing him to teach and share his knowledge to other first responders and local departments.

Congratulations and thank you to Michael for his dedication to education, training, and preparedness with the hundreds of hours he's spent taking these courses!

Photos courtesy of the Dept. of Homeland Security and the Center for Domestic Preparedness. Please note the pictures featured have been cleared and approved for public display and publication