Join Santa Rosa County Public Safety and Florida State Animal Response Coalition (FL SARC) for the Small Animal Emergency and Disaster Sheltering Course. The course is being offered in two levels, Awareness Level (Level 1) and Operations Level (Level 2). Thanks to a generous grant from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, class registrations are FREE! 

The first course, Awareness Level (Level 1), will be 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sat., Feb. 3 at the Santa Rosa County Emergency Operations Center, 4499 Pine Forest Road in Milton. Registration for Awareness Level (Level 1) is available online at https://bit.ly/3NQMFsI

The second course, Operations Level (Level 2), will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sat., Feb. 17, and Sun., Feb. 18 at the Santa Rosa County Emergency Operations Center, 4499 Pine Forest Road in Milton. Registration for Operations Level (Level 2) is available online at http://bit.ly/3S8SXXg

After successful completion of either course level, participants will receive a free Florida SARC uniform t-shirt. Please specify the shirt size on the registration form. Extra shirts can be ordered for $15 each.  

The Awareness Level (Level 1) course is one, 8-hour day of training that will give participants the knowledge, expertise and practical experience needed to work in an emergency animal shelter and become a professional disaster responder with FL SARC. The Awareness Level Small Animal Emergency Sheltering course is certified by the Florida Department of Emergency Management and is required by FL SARC to respond in Florida to help companion animals during a disaster.

The Operations Level (Level 2) course is two, 8-hour days of workshops where participants will work on various projects related to the operations of emergency animal shelters. The operations level will help qualify participants for new roles during a disaster, including Team Lead roles. This course level expands on the learnings of the level 1 course and challenges experienced shelter staff with scenarios of emergency sheltering during a disaster.

The following prerequisites are required to take the Operations Level (Level 2) course:

• Certificate of completion for the FL SARC Awareness Level (Level 1) Small Animal Emergency Sheltering Course OR SART Online Pet-Friendly Sheltering course: https://flsart.org/petfriendly/*

*Participants may still register for this course before completing Level 1 but must provide proof of completion before class.

• Certificate of completion of FEMA ICS-100 (current version). Go to https://training.fema.gov to take the latest course.
• Participants must be 18 years of age or older. **

**Students 16-18 years of age may register as long as a parent or guardian is registered and in attendance with the student.

If the above certificates are not part of the participant's volunteer profile with FLSARC, or if participants do not have a current profile, please submit these certificates to scarriere@spcaflorida.org before class. A volunteer profile for the FL SARC can be created online at www.flsarc.org/volunteers.

Students who do not submit proof of both prerequisites may still attend the course but will receive a certificate of attendance instead of a certificate of completion. Once pre-requisites are confirmed and submitted, a certificate of completion will be issued.

For questions or concerns regarding the courses, contact Steve Carriere, MGR, at 863-577-4602 or scarriere@spcaflorida.org.

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About Florida State Animal Response Coalition:

Florida State Animal Response Coalition (FL SARC) is a coalition of various groups and individuals working within the state of Florida to plan for and assist animals impacted by disasters. Coalition members have the combined knowledge and skills gained over many years of experience responding to both natural and man-made disasters. Pooling that experience, knowledge and talent has created a preeminent team of professional disaster animal responders who have responded to both local and national disaster events.