In the News: October 2, 2014

(FEMA) Author: Jessica StapfLast week, the Chicago Tribune featured a story about a firefighter from the Galapagos Islands who traveled about 3,000 miles from his home to attend a firefighting training course in Romeoville, IL. Carlos Gonzales, who is a tour guide in his everyday life, saved up the moneynearly $3,000to attend the course, hosted by the Romeoville Fire Academy.Like many fire departments across the United States, Mr. Gonzales hometown fire department relies on volunteers to keep it up and running:"We are all volunteers (firefighters) on the island We do it without pay because it s our home and we want to keep our friends and family safe."Carlos GonzalesIn this country, we call other firefighters brothers and sisters. You may not speak the language, but you can tell they are calling you brother or sister. All firefighters worldwide share that same view." Jon Ibrahim, Battalion Chief and Director of Academy Operations at the Romeoville Fire DepartmentHere at FEMA, we often talk about emergency management as a team effort. The whole communityincluding emergency managers abroadoften collaborate to share knowledge and experience that can help when disaster strikes. One vital resource is free, online coursework offered by The National Fire Academy. To learn more about what they have to offer, check out their training page, www.usfa.fema.gov/training.Source: www.fema.gov