Many people say that FEMA is not a good thing and should be avoided.  Some say that FEMA is a "necessary evil".

The Frontier Range position is to use good knowledge and training no matter where it comes from.  To this end, we have found several FEMA Independent Study Courses that are worthwhile for everyone who desires to be involved in preparedness, no matter if that preparedness is at the personal or community level.

To take the exams and get the Certificates, a FEMA SID must be secured.  It's no more difficult than registering for access to any website.  Answer a few questions, give them an email address, etc. and they will email an SID to use for log in and testing.  If you don't care about Certification to show that you have successfully completed the training course, the SID is not necessary and you can simply study the material without taking the final exams.

The FEMA Courses can be found at : https://training.fema.gov/is/

There are two "retired courses" that are good to study, but Certification is no longer available.  They are :

IS-022 Are You Ready? An In-depth Guide to Citizen Preparedness

https://www.fema.gov/media-library-data/20130726-1549-20490-4633/areyouready_full.pdf

IS-055.a Household Hazardous Materials – A Guide for Citizens

https://training.fema.gov/emiweb/downloads/is-comp.pdf

Among the current courses which Certification IS available for we recommend :

IS-909 Community Preparedness – Implementing Simple Activities for Everyone

IS-815 ABCs of Temporary Emergency Power

IS-271.a Anticipating Hazardous Weather and Community Risk

Next, we recommend the Professional Development Series which upon completion offers a separate Certificate of Achievement.  The courses required for the Professional Development Series are :

IS-120.a An Introduction to Exercises
IS-230 .d Fundamentals of Emergency Management
IS-235.c Emergency Planning
IS-240.b Leadership and Influence
IS-241.b Decision Making and Problem Solving
IS-242.b Effective Communication
IS-244.b Developing and Managing Volunteers

Depending on the typical and expected weather and possible emergency conditions that could affect your specific area, FEMA offers the following courses we recommend :

IS-319 Tornado Mitigation Basics for Mitigation Staff
IS-320 Wildfire Mitigation Basics for Mitigation Staff
IS-321 Hurricane Mitigation Basics for Mitigation Staff
IS-322 Flood Mitigation Basics for Mitigation Staff
IS-323 Earthquake Mitigation Basics for Mitigation Staff
IS-324.a Community Hurricane Preparedness
IS-325 Earthquake Basics: Science, Risk, and Mitigation

No matter what weather or possible emergency conditions your are could be affected by, everyone can benefit from studying these courses :

IS-405 Mass Care – Emergency Assistance Overview

IS-632.a Introduction to Debris Operations

Finally, these courses can benefit everyone no matter what their level of commitment, where they live, where they work, or what type of work they do :

IS-106.17 Workplace Violence Awareness Training 2017
IS-906 Basic Workplace Security Awareness
IS-907 Active Shooter : What You Can Do
IS-912 Retail Security Awareness : Understanding the Hidden Hazards
IS-914 Surveillance Awareness : What You Can Do

Never "throw out the baby with the bath water".  Good information is available and can be used to better your preparedness capability no matter where it originates.  Use the resources that are available as long as they are available.