The Florida Department of Health’s Bureau of Radiation Control has a statutory responsibility to help protect the public health and safety in the event of a radiation emergency. A duty officer is available 24/7 to answer calls and determine the appropriate response to the radiation emergency. Many can be handled over the phone. However, depending on the severity of the emergency, a radiation control health physicist or team may be dispatched to the scene.
To assist with this mission, the bureau offers several training courses for firefighters, law enforcement, and other first responders. The courses prepare them to handle emergencies involving: nuclear power plants; production, transportation and use of industrial or medical radioactive materials; and purposeful use of radioactive materials to harm others or property, such as weapons of mass destruction (WMD), dirty bombs, etc. There is no fee to public agencies for these courses.
For more information and scheduling, please contact RadiationTraining@FLHhealth.gov.
First Response to Radiological Accidents & WMD Courses
Awareness (4 hours)
This course provides instruction in radiological fundamentals, detection instrumentation, package labeling, transportation placarding, and an overview of radiological dispersal devices and nuclear weapons.
- Florida State Fire College Course #: RN5113
- Course length: 4 hours
- Fire Service CEs: 4
Operations (8 hours)
This course provides instruction on all the aforementioned topics of awareness plus initial response actions including tactics, strategies, and incident control; and patient handling including contamination and decontamination.
The course also includes a number of indoor hands-on proficiency stations designed to reinforce covered topics as well as an outdoor licensed sources locate drill whereby participants gain experience utilizing either their department provided or instructor provided survey instruments.
- Florida State Fire College Course #: RN5114
- Course length: 8 hours
- Fire Service CEs: 8
Technician/Advanced (8 hours)
This scenario-based training incorporates a simulated motor vehicle courier accident transporting nuclear pharmaceuticals. Live licensed sources are in play. Host department selects incident command, entry and back up teams, decon personnel, safety and research officer, and appropriate instrumentation. Host department responds using their SOP’s or IC’s best judgment. At drill end, an after-action review is conducted.
- Florida State Fire College Course #: RN14630
- Course length: 8 hours
- Fire Service CEs: 8
Population Monitoring (8 hours)
This course covers radiation fundamentals, instrumentation and dosimetry, radiological dispersal devices, and WMD’s, county response overview, hospital reception overview, and population monitoring through community reception centers. Practical hands-on proficiency stations incorporating portal monitors as well as outdoor licensed source locate drills are included.
- DOH Radiation Control Course #: 28000033
- Course length: 8 hours
- Radiological CEs: 4 hours
Radiological Instrumentation and Dosimetry (4 hours)
This refresher course is designed for those departments that have already received operations level training and simply desire a review. Topics include those of Awareness level plus indoor proficiency stations and outdoor licensed sources locate drill.
- Florida State Fire College Course #: RN6724
- Fire Service CEs: 3.5
- Length: 4 hours
Courses offered by external partners
R.O.S.S. Training Course
A radiological operations support specialist is a state and local subject matter expert tasked with identifying and providing critical information pertaining to radiological or nuclear incidents to responders, key leaders, and decision-makers in an incident command system environment.
