Rose State Hosts Emergency Management Speaker Series on April 12th: The Murrah Building Disaster Published April 9, 2018

Albert Ashwood, Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management Director to Share Experiences

Midwest City, Okla. – It was the worst domestic terrorist attack on U.S. soil, the April 19, 1995, bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City.

The death of 168 people, some of whom were children, touched lives around the globe. One of the responders to the tragedy was Albert Ashwood who served as the state coordinating officer for the disaster.

On scene from day one, Ashwood has unprecedented insight and will share the lessons learned from one of the state’s worst disaster on Thursday, April 12^th at 6:30 pm at the Rose State Community Learning Center.

Around the nation, governments have sought Ashwood’s expertise. New York Governor George Pataki asked Ashwood to assist with the recovery work following the September 11, 2001, World Trade Center attack.

Ashwood has been serving as director of the State Department of Emergency Management since August 1997. He has spearheaded many of the state’s response/recovery efforts including the May 3, 1999, tornadoes; Interstate-40 bridge collapse; the May 8-9, 2003 tornado outbreak and Oklahoma’s response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

His presentation is in coordination with the Rose State College’s Emergency Management program’s 4-month long speaker series. Each speaker providing the community with tips on how to stay safe in any situation and provides perspective into Oklahoma’s past incidents.

The speaker series began on February 22^nd and will run through June 7^th. Each discussion will take place at 6:30 pm at the Rose State College Community Learning Center on the campus.

Upcoming event dates and topics include:

• April 12, 2018         The Oklahoma City Bombing:  Measures Taken Since 1995
• April 26, 2018         When Tornadoes Strike
• May 10, 2018          I-40 Bridge Collapse: This is Not the First Time its Happened
• May 24, 2018          9/11, From Ground Zero
• June 7, 2018           Killer Hurricanes

The hour-and-a-half long speaker sessions will be FREE to the public. Community members, students and emergency management experts are welcome to attend. No registration is required.

The goal of the speaker series to create a more informed community about how to the experts prepare for disasters and what each citizen can do to better protect themselves in an emergency.

Rose State will live stream the event and announce all details on the Rose State College Facebook page. 

Rose State is partnering with the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management to host the speaker series.