A seminar to educate elected local officials on emergency preparedness on Thursday had poor attendance.

The program, held at the Carbon County Emergency Management Agency headquarters in Nesquehoning, was conducted by Gregory Doyle, emergency management specialist for the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency.Assisting Doyle was Mark Nalesnik, Carbon County Emergency Management Agency director.Nalesnik said he was disappointed with the turnout, noting that there are 23 municipalities in Carbon County."This room should be standing room only," he said.He said, "The purpose is to acquaint elected officials and refresh officials with thing dealing with emergency management."There are certain legal statutes which make elected officials responsible for the public safety of their community in the event of an emergency, he said.In attendance were Lynnette Moyer and Linda Schoenberger, representing Weissport; Larry Diehl of Franklin Township Emergency Management Agency; Sam Kitchko, Nesquehoning mayor; Jared Soto of Lansford Borough Council, Thomas Newman of Towamensing Township, and Robert Miller, Carbon County coroner.Nalesnik said, "The information provided at this seminar is invaluable for all municipal government personnel, not just elected officials."Doyle said the emergency management overview has five missions: mitigation, prevention, preparedness, response and recovery.He explainedthe National Incident Management System, which is a consistent nationwide approach for federal, state and local governments to manage disasters and all levels of incidents.One of the most important aspects of NIMS is coordinated incident command systems.Nalesnik explained how important this was last year when the two largest woodland fires in the state occurred in Carbon County. In both fires, the flames spread across county lines, resulting in unified command.During the 90-minute program,Doyle told the officials their responsibilities in an emergency, how they can assist their respective residents during and after emergencies, and how they can coordinate efforts with the Emergency Management Agency.Doyle said only the governor can order mandatory evacuations. Any other evacuations must be voluntary, although emergency officials can tell residents that a situation is very dangerous and if they don't leave immediately, no one might be back to rescue them.The speaker talked about the importance of disaster declarations.He also spoke briefly about the EMA's role in terrorism, and that the federal Homeland Security Agency handles these investigations.The reason is, "When talking about terrorism, you're usually talking about some form of criminal activity."