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Ronnie Taylor, program director for Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service’s (TEEX) Community Response and Resilience Program, was a recipient of this year’s Texas A&M University System Regents Fellow Service Award. The award is the highest honor given by the A&M System, and it was established by the Texas A&M System Board of Regents in 1998. It recognizes those who have provided exemplary professional service that has created significant and lasting benefits to Texas and beyond. This award is specifically for agency professionals in the eight A&M System agricultural, engineering and emergency management agencies.

Taylor joined TEEX in February of 2009 after a 26-year career in the Army and began making an immediate impact as a senior training specialist in NERRTC’s Executive Program. As the program grew, he was called upon to instruct additional courses to senior officials responsible for disaster preparedness, response and recovery.

In 2018, Taylor joined the Enhanced Incident Management Program, leading large-scale exercises in managing catastrophic events for clients such as Los Angeles County, New Jersey Transit and the Port Authority of New York. Less than a year after joining the program, he was selected as training director.

Taylor assumed his current role as program director for the Community Response and Resilience Program in November of 2021. A recent example of his distinguished service to TEEX is his leadership in developing TDEM’s highly successful Texas Emergency Management Academy.

With a natural ability to inspire and lead others and a consistent and clear vision for excellence, Taylor embodies the TEEX values of safety, teamwork, adaptability, respect and stewardship. These attributes, along with his significant contributions to the success of his programs, make him a deserving recipient of the 2023 Regents Fellow Service Award.

Distributed by:
Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service
Vita Vaughn | Director of Marketing and Communications/CMO
[email protected]

COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS – In its 25th anniversary year, the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service (TEEX) National Emergency Response and Recovery Training Center (NERRTC) has reached a significant milestone – more than one million participants have been trained in homeland security preparedness for incidents involving weapons of mass destruction, terrorism, cyberattacks, and other all-hazards disasters.

Established by the U.S. Congress in 1998, NERRTC is a founding member of the National Domestic Preparedness Consortium (NDPC), which was also established in 1998 after the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Building in Oklahoma City brought domestic terrorism to the forefront in the United States.

“The high-quality, hands-on training and field exercises that TEEX provides through NERRTC have saved numerous lives in America’s homeland,” said John Sharp, chancellor of The Texas A&M University System. “Our first responders deserve the ‘gold standard’ in response and recovery training and preparation, and I am proud that TEEX is the gold standard for the entire country.”

Through funding from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), NERRTC develops and delivers a comprehensive set of DHS/FEMA-certified courses and workshops at no cost to emergency responders, senior officials, public works staff, and medical personnel in all 50 states, U.S. territories, and the District of Columbia. The courses are developed and delivered by TEEX’s homeland security professionals, many of whom have responded to or managed some of the most significant incidents on record.

“This is a testament to all of the men and women of TEEX/NERRTC who have worked so diligently over the last 25 years to train our nation’s first responders and to help build a more prepared and resilient nation,” said Jesse Watkins, NERRTC director. “With our broad and deep expertise, and state-of-the-art equipment and resources, I am looking forward to continuing to advance the DHS/FEMA ‘culture of preparedness’ over the next 25 years.”

TEEX has a set of competencies in emergency services, infrastructure and safety, law enforcement and protective services, and business and cyber solutions that enable the agency to sustain its premier position within the homeland security and national preparedness community.

“NERRTC has reached this milestone through the integrated management, collaboration, and leveraging of the training and expertise offered by the TEEX team,” said David Coatney, TEEX agency director. “As a result, our nation’s communities are better prepared to protect, respond, and recover from any type of disaster.”

“The Oklahoma City bombing was a real wake-up call. I felt like it was just a matter of time before terrorism came to American shores again,” said Dr. Kem Bennett, founding director of NERRTC and founding chairman of the NDPC. “Then, with more floods and hurricanes, it became clear that we needed the capability to train for the entire scope of a disaster,” he said. “I am proud that NERRTC has reached this milestone of more than a million trained to help keep our country safe from the wide-ranging threats and attacks that seem to increase daily.”

To learn more or to schedule a course, visit https://teex.org/homeland-security/ or contact one of our experts at [email protected] or (844) 789-5673.

people sitting at a table talking to each other

men rescuing a person on top of a bunch of wood planks

Distributed by:
Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service
Vita Vaughn | Director of Marketing and Communications/CMO
[email protected]

Participants Learn to Prepare and Protect Organizations and Individuals from Cyber Attacks

a group of people sitting at a table listening to a presenter

COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS – With the growing frequency, sophistication and magnitude of cyber attacks around the world, the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service (TEEX) has established a new cybersecurity certificate series to help the public and private sector protect their organizations and data.

Funded by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the five-certificate series is developed and delivered at no cost by TEEX’s cybersecurity team, which has decades of experience in private industry, critical infrastructure, military and government cybersecurity applications. The first two certificates offer a combination of instructor-led and online courses; the remaining three certificates are taught online only.

“No industry, community or individual is immune to cyber risks,” said Diane Cornwell, TEEX cybersecurity training manager. “This certificate series provides critical information for employees at all levels of government and industry, as well as private citizens, on how to prepare for and mitigate a cybersecurity incident.”

The first of the five certificates, Cybersecurity Essentials, provides an understanding of the importance of cybersecurity and strategies to protect individuals and organizations from being victims of a cyber attack. The second certificate, Cybersecurity Preparedness, provides participants with information about how to prepare for, respond to and recover from cyberattacks. Cybersecurity Awareness is the topic of the third certificate, which introduces participants to the basics of cybersecurity and how to be a good steward of electronic information. The fourth certificate focuses on Cybersecurity Risk Management, and the fifth, Technical Cybersecurity, is geared toward information technology professionals who are interested in learning more about cybersecurity or are involved in developing secure software and networks.

The courses in the certificate series are certified by the American Council on Education for recommended college credit, if desired, at the completion of each certificate.

More than 100 individuals have already applied for the program.

To learn more about the TEEX Cybersecurity Certificate Series or to register, visit the Cybersecurity Certificate Series Catalog or contact one of our experts at [email protected] or (979) 431-4837. Also, TEEX is registering participants for its Cyber Readiness Summit at the Embassy Suites Hotel and Convention Center in San Marcos, Texas, February 13-15, 2024. Designed with everyone in mind, the summit will feature experts who specialize in making complex topics accessible and relevant to those who want to protect their business or organization from cyber attacks.

Distributed by:
Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service
Vita Vaughn | Director of Marketing and Communications/CMO
[email protected]

More than 300 Florida Search and Rescue Professionals Trained to Rapidly Deploy

The Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service (TEEX) conducted an Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) Operational Readiness Exercise in August for Florida’s statewide USAR teams to perform a real-world exercise with no advanced notice to the participants.

The significance of this exercise was that all eight statewide USAR teams, various emergency operations and incident response teams, the Florida State Fire Marshal and the Florida National Guard were all deployed to the same location to conduct wide-area search and rescue operations; water and collapsed structure rescue and recovery; and related logistics, communications and operational tasks.

The purpose of the exercise was to test the theory that emergency response times can be significantly decreased when all the associated teams work in tandem to activate and mobilize equipment and resources. The teams also tested Florida’s new “Alert Order” process, which is the statewide notice issued by Florida’s Office of the Governor that puts the teams on alert to begin the process for deployment for an actual statewide emergency.

Florida USAR teams learning skills during TEEX training exercise

“This was the largest Florida USAR exercise in our program’s history with over 300 participants,” said Scott Chappell, former chief fire officer and USAR and hazardous materials program coordinator for the state of Florida.

“The August exercise built upon a smaller exercise that TEEX conducted for us in 2022 that concluded that the USAR teams receiving an alert order in advance were able to activate and mobilize six hours before teams with no advanced notice,” Chappell said. “This was a significant finding that will increase the number of survivors in a disaster. It was the partnership, teamwork and can-do attitude of the TEEX team that resulted in this successful exercise.”

The large-scale event took place at the Florida National Guard’s Camp Blanding Joint Training Center, which is a premier domestic and combat training facility near Gainesville in Starke, Florida.

The real-world USAR scenario was based around a liquefied natural gas pipeline explosion that resulted in severe structural collapses and infrastructure damage to multiple structures, as well as chemical contamination throughout the affected community. The exercise was designed so that all disciplines had scenarios to test their capabilities.

florida usar teams search rubble during TEEX training exercise.

“This opportunity to exercise statewide resources and provide tactical integration of all USAR teams in one location was the key to the success of the Florida exercise,” said Ray Browning, a TEEX instructor.

“This systematic approach to conducting FEMA-equivalent training in the customer’s environment or at a TEEX facility, in addition to a capstone to the training in the form of real-world emergency response exercises with multiple agencies and stakeholders, is our strength,” Browning said.

For more information on how this type of whole-community approach to disaster training can be customized and scalable for any local or state jurisdiction to improve disaster coordination and response, visit https://teex.org/program/emergency-preparedness/ or contact one of our experts at [email protected] or (866) 878-8900.

Also, TEEX is a sponsor and an exhibitor at the State Urban Search & Rescue Alliance (SUSAR) National Urban Search and Rescue Conference at the Double Tree Hilton at Orlando Sea World, Orlando, Florida, November 6-8.

Distributed by:
Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service
Vita Vaughn | Director of Marketing and Communications/CMO
[email protected]

Early numbers show violent crime down 24%, and police calls down 26.8% on impacted properties.

(TEEX instructor demonstrates CPTED skills to participants on-location) — (*TEEX instructor demonstrates CPTED skills to participants on-location*)

COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS – In the United States, October is National Crime Prevention Month. But all year long, Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service (TEEX) trains cities to prevent crimes before they happen through their Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) course. CPTED involves changing the design of a space to reduce the opportunity for crime and enhance the quality of life.

In February of this year, Kevin Oden, director of integrated public safety solutions for the city of Dallas, arranged for his crime prevention unit to take the course and become certified CPTED practitioners. In addition to crime unit members, detectives, city attorneys and planners attended the training.

Oden’s team of CPTED practitioners identifies areas with violent crime and quality of life concerns. They perform CPTED assessments on these properties and provide owners with a report describing realistic changes they could implement to make the property safer. Oden says, “You can tell someone they need a one million dollar camera system, but that often isn’t feasible for a small business owner. There are a lot of things that don’t cost as much. For example, hedge clippers can create a safe zone by landscaping and clearing a line of sight.” Additionally, the city of Dallas has implemented changes, such as investing in public lighting upgrades, landscape design and securing vacant structures.

*(Dallas Crime Prevention Unit team performing a CPTED assessment for a Dallas property)*

Between taking the course in February and the close of September, Oden’s team performed CPTED assessments and made improvements on 117 properties within Dallas. In this short time, they have already seen results. On properties receiving CPTED assessments, police calls for assistance were down 24%, and violent crime was down 26.8%. Overall, in Dallas, violent crime is down 9% compared to last year, and Oden says much of that is due to a reduction in incidents at the CPTED-assessed properties. In addition to preventing incidents, the changes have helped reduce the need for police response at these properties.

Oden recommends CPTED for all municipalities, saying, “It’s critical everywhere in the country, no matter a city’s size. There are crisis levels of shortages of law enforcement professionals, but there is also a higher demand for calls for service or violent crimes. If we can prevent incidents from occurring, there are fewer victims, and that’s the most critical aspect, but it also removes a burden from overworked and understaffed patrol.” In addition to these benefits, CPTED improves the quality of life for people in the area and creates new opportunities for economic development.

Oden says of his experience training with TEEX, “When you take a weeklong training, that’s a big commitment. It certainly helps tremendously when you have good instruction. Our instructor was incredible; he was engaged, and he was conversational. That makes a big impact on making that investment worth it.” Oden found the course so valuable he plans to bring TEEX back to get more staff members CPTED certified.

TEEX instructors travel around the country to teach CPTED and make communities safer. To learn more or to schedule a course, visit https://teex.org/class/sap302/. To read TEEX’s exclusive interview with architect-criminologist and professor Dr. Randy Atlas, https://teex.org/news/changing-the-crime-timeline-through-environmental-design/

Distributed by:
Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service
Vita Vaughn | Director of Marketing and Communications/CMO
[email protected]

Leadership development event offers networking opportunities and education for emergency response professionals around Texas.

ballroom full of people sitting in chairs listening to a speaker

COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS – Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service (TEEX) has announced that registration is open for the 2024 Leadership Development Symposium. The event will be held from January 8 to 10 of next year at the Embassy Suites Hotel and Convention Center in San Marcos, Texas. During the three-day event, attendees hone their leadership skills in keynote and breakout sessions with speakers from various backgrounds and industries.

The symposium, celebrating its 15th year, offers an unmatched opportunity for education and leadership development for the Texas emergency response community. Texas emergency response personnel can attend the event at no cost.

Each year, the symposium attracts more than 1,000 emergency response professionals from across Texas and the United States. Attendees come from various response disciplines, such as firefighting, law enforcement, EMS and emergency management. 

For more information and to register, see https://teex.org/event/leadership-development-symposium/.

To access more leadership development content from TEEX, listen to the TEEX Response Leadership podcast: https://teex.org/response-leadership-podcast/.

firetruck next to a stage with a man speaking on the stage

Distributed by:
Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service
Vita Vaughn | Director of Marketing and Communications/CMO
[email protected]

COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS – In May of 2022, the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service (TEEX) hired Alisa McDonald to serve as Wellness and Resiliency Program director. TEEX trains law enforcement personnel, firefighters, paramedics and search and rescue experts around the world, emphasizing physical safety, mental wellness and psychological safety for the duration of a first responder’s career and beyond.

McDonald, a licensed professional counselor with a master’s in counseling, specializes in victims’ services and first responder mental health. Before coming to TEEX, she worked for the Texas Department of Public Safety and has responded to assist with many of the state’s most critical events.

She explains that “daily exposure to trauma and critical incidents can cause long-term effects on the mental health of first responders, and peer support is critical for first responders’ mental health. Even after leaving these positions, many carry trauma with them. In delivering wellness and resiliency training to first responder agencies, early response is key.”

For the past year, McDonald has been creating a robust crisis response program at TEEX to address the mental health of employees and first responders. She developed an internal peer support team for TEEX employees, training them extensively to provide confidential support to others in the agency. Peer team members listen, provide support and refer to a higher level of care if needed. Eventually, this team could be available to deploy to large-scale disasters around the state or country.

After this, McDonald will focus on training and assisting peer support teams for first responder agencies nationwide. Her long-term goal is to open a mental health counseling center at TEEX for first responders. In addition to providing counseling, the center will serve as a training program where mental health professionals learn to treat first responder trauma. She says, “Not many programs train counselors to understand first responder trauma. At TEEX, we want to be able to provide and train culturally competent counselors who understand the unique trauma that first responders experience.”

These initiatives are critical, as mental health issues pose one of the greatest threats to first responders. Studies have shown that depression and PTSD are up to five times more common in first responders. Moreover, police officers and firefighters are more likely to die by suicide than in the line of duty.

If you or someone you know is struggling, please call or text The Lifeline at 988 or visit 988lifeline.org for 24/7 free and confidential support.

Distributed by:
Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service
Vita Vaughn | Director of Marketing and Communications/CMO
[email protected]

COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS – At first glance, it looks like a toy or a classroom model of a chemical element. However, this colorful little device holds much more than that inside. It is actually a high-tech device made by Squishy Robotics, and its sensors can detect dangerous gases and send reports and camera footage to a command post a quarter of a mile away. Moreover, the devices can be thrown or dropped from unmanned aerial systems into danger zones, minimizing human risk and exposure to hazards. The robots are semi-disposable; they can be reused, but they need de-contamination if they come into contact with dangerous gases.

When Squishy wanted to test its data communication systems, the Texas A&M University System brought together its various entities, including Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service’s (TEEX) Testing and Innovation Center (TT&IC), the Texas A&M Internet 2 Technology Evaluation Center (ITEC), the Bush Combat Development Complex (BCDC) and Texas A&M Task Force 1 (TX-TF1). They wanted to ensure critical information about environmental hazards could be sent from the robot to a safe zone at least a quarter of a mile away, where emergency managers would monitor the situation. They tested these systems in multiple operationally realistic environments: on a refinery prop, storage tanks and a train derailment prop at TEEX’s Brayton Fire Training Field and Disaster City and in the BCDC’s subterranean tunnel complex at Texas A&M-RELLIS.

TT&IC Director Ray Ivie says, “When we bring all of the capabilities of the A&M System together, we can utilize the ranges, people and subject matter expertise of the different entities. This allows us to create an environment for testing that spans the entire system and is something other universities and military ranges don’t have.”

An unbiased panel of subject matter experts, including HazMat and rescue professionals from Florida, California and Texas, was onsite to provide feedback during testing. Additionally, the TT&IC is preparing a TEEX-Tested® report assessing the data communication system’s functionality.

A group of people standing in front of trains and Disaster City sign on rocks

Colonel (USA Ret) Brian McHugh of BCDC at RELLIS said, “This event was, hopefully, the first of many partnered efforts between System members. It is vitally important for us to establish and strengthen collaborative and transparent relationships that allow us to leverage System members’ expertise and capabilities. This ultimately benefits our partners and customers and enhances the Texas A&M University System’s reputation.”

Of the collaboration, Squishy Robotics COO Deniz Dogruer said, “Testing the data communications capabilities of our sensors in a variety of operationally relevant environments at TEEX Disaster City and Texas A&M-RELLIS was invaluable to our efforts to continually improve our technology to meet the very challenging needs of first responders. The multi-day testing—motivated by specific use cases and conducted in conjunction with the guidance and feedback from a panel of subject matter experts—provided a truly unique testing capability and will produce results that will be directly relevant to the public safety community.”

TT&IC offers developmental assessments and TEEX-Tested assessments to test public safety products and solutions in operationally realistic environments. They will continue collaborating with A&M System entities to test and improve new technology for public safety and first responders. Learn more at https://teexinnovation.com/.

UPDATE: February 19, 2024 – TEEX has published the TEEX-Tested report for Squishy Robotics. To review the report, visit TEEX Tested Reports – TEEX Testing & Innovation Center.

Distributed by:
Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service
Vita Vaughn | Director of Marketing and Communications/CMO
[email protected]

A group of people standing in front of a yellow building arch

CARTAGENA, COLOMBIA – Each year, emergency response professionals from all over Latin America attend the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service’s (TEEX) Spanish Fire School to participate in Spanish language fire and emergency courses. From August 6 to 10 of this year, TEEX hosted its 57th annual Spanish Fire School at the SACS Group facility in Cartagena, Colombia. During the week, students attended specialized courses covering topics such as industrial rescue, fire management, fire instructor, hazmat and industrial firefighting. This year, 23 participants were eligible to receive the Latin American Emergency Response Specialist certificate, the largest group ever to receive this designation at TEEX’s Spanish Fire School.

TEEX Fire and Emergency Services Division Director Gordon Lohmeyer stated, “Previously, we held our annual Spanish school at our Brayton Fire Training Field in College Station, Texas. However, because of the cost of travel and the difficulty of obtaining a visa, we moved this year’s Spanish school to Latin America. The SACS Group’s facility has been affiliated with TEEX as a Cooperative Learning Center for the past eight years. The event was a huge success, and we operated above 100% capacity, welcoming 232 students and 35 guest instructors.”

Attendees at this year’s school represented fifteen Latin American countries and one U.S. territory, including the Galapagos Islands, Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Argentina, Peru, Brazil, Bolivia and Uruguay.

A group of people standing in a circle watch a person tie ropes together

After training ended on Thursday, there was a memorial service to honor guest instructors who served at TEEX’s annual schools for more than ten years. The memorial featured a trumpeter, a 5-5-5 bell signal and a ceremonial wreath laying.

On Friday, August 11, in conjunction with Spanish Fire School, the SACS Group held a conference about environmental considerations in emergency response. Three hundred people attended the conference, including Spanish Fire School participants and professionals from the oil and gas sector and the solar and wind power industries. Lohmeyer spoke about renewable energy and emerging energy sources, and TEEX Fire and Emergency Services Associate Division Director Lee Hall presented on flammable liquid tank firefighting and green foam technologies.

Distributed by:
Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service
Vita Vaughn | Director of Marketing and Communications/CMO
[email protected]

firefighters putting out a fire on an oil ridge

COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS – Firefighters and emergency service personnel from across the state and the nation came to College Station to attend Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service’s (TEEX) Texas Annual Fire Training Schools. From July 16 to 21, Industrial Fire School attracted professionals from corporations and industries nationwide. More than 750 students strengthened their skills in more than 20 courses dealing with industrial firefighting. During the second week, July 23 to 28, Municipal Fire School drew nearly 900 municipal and volunteer firefighters for 29 courses.

These participants attended training on topics such as rescue, hazardous material response, fire pump operations, leadership and EMS. In addition to courses and training opportunities, the annual schools included a vendor show, memorials and a night of firefighting demonstrations open to the public.

Director of TEEX Fire and Emergency Services Division Gordon Lohmeyer says, “This is a tremendous opportunity to share information and learn from some of the best instructors in the business. Our annual schools prepare participants to serve their communities, protect companies’ critical assets and be good stewards of the environment.”

TEEX recently celebrated the grand opening of the Les W. Bunte Jr. Administration and Classroom Complex. This 38,692-square-foot building houses an interactive lobby, 14 classrooms with interactive learning technology, a gift shop, staff offices, a computer lab and a parents’ room. The complex will be highly utilized during annual schools.

two people on a rope declining on the side of a building

firefighters using the jaws of life to cut open a car

Distributed by:
Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service
Vita Vaughn | Director of Marketing and Communications/CMO
[email protected]

Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service’s Taylor Receives Prestigious A&M System Award

TEEX’s National Emergency Response and Recovery Training Center Celebrates 25 Years, Surpasses One Million Participants Trained

TEEX Announces New Cybersecurity Certificate Series

Participants Learn to Prepare and Protect Organizations and Individuals from Cyber Attacks

TEEX Trains Florida’s Statewide Urban Search and Rescue Teams to Test Emergency Response

More than 300 Florida Search and Rescue Professionals Trained to Rapidly Deploy

City of Dallas Collaborates with TEEX to Institute Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design Program

Early numbers show violent crime down 24%, and police calls down 26.8% on impacted properties.

Registration opens for the 2024 Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service Leadership Development Symposium

Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service Establishes Mental Health Awareness Training for Employees and First Responders

TEEX Testing and Innovation Center Collaborates with Texas A&M System Entities to Assess Public Safety Technology

Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service Brings Annual Spanish Fire School to Latin America

More than 1600 Fire Service Professionals Attend Texas Annual Fire Training School at Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service