ST. CHARLES COUNTY, Mo. – It’s important information everyone should know: what to do during an emergency and where to look for information? Those questions and more are being answered in the next few weeks through the St. Charles County Regional Emergency Management.

To celebrate National Preparedness Month, SCCREM is hosting its first ever emergency preparedness citizens academy. The three-week course with a weekly class will teach residents simply how to be prepared.

“There was just a lot of things and a lot of gaps in knowledge that we were seeing in the community that we wanted to address,” Jani Albright, the director of emergency management for SCCREM, said.

Tuesday’s first class teaching the full class of 31 residents how SCCREM interacts with its nearby partners like the National Weather Service and how alerts are sent out.

“These are just small steps that you can take every day to help protect your family,” Albright said.

Nights two and three on September 17 and September 24 will teach residents individual household preparedness and explain how relief organizations like FEMA work.

Albright explained that she’s planning on bringing the classes back for another session sooner rather than later.