Category: Emergency Management

Should Private Sector Adopt NIMS?

After absorbing readings on protecting the information infrastructure (Platt), and a lecture and commentary (Miora) on physical security and government directives (to private sector), I’m left with that uneasy feeling that comes from government acronym overload and bureaucracy. We know that the National Incident Management System-NIMS (DHS 2004), has been declared by the DHS as [...]

Saturday September 25th, 2010 in Emergency Management, Information Systems - Disaster Recovery | Comments Off

Fourmile Canyon Fire Boulder CO

Fire began mid morning on Labor Day 6-Sept10 and continues with devastating impact on Boulder County Colorado community. Latest information on donations, fire status etc can be found at some of the following websites: www.boulderOEM.org A bank account and a text donation have been set up to benefit the firefighters who lost their homes while [...]

Thursday September 9th, 2010 in Emergency Management | Comments Off

Use of Social Media During an Emergency

I think there is a good place for the use of social media in emergencies, however, we should acknowledge that there will be a large number of people who simply won’t be able to get the message due to obstacles. Some of the obstacles include, as Ms Wagner says blocking or inaccessibility in the work [...]

Tuesday August 24th, 2010 in Emergency Management, Tools, Templates, Software | Comments Off

Crisis Leaders – Make the Decision – Now!

Of the wide variety of attributes that make a good crisis leader (communicator) I like integrity, trust, and accountability. The ‘cool head’ during times of trouble can also be a great asset. The concept of leaders having a willingness to make decisions and not waiver is another important talent. I don’t watch TV, just can’t [...]

Thursday April 1st, 2010 in Emergency Management, Organizational Resilience | Comments Off

Emergency Operations Center

What is an EOC? An Emergency Operations Center-EOC is a concept , designated location, and a function which “…brings together essential personnel involved in overseeing the response to and mitigation of [an] emergency”. [1] EOCs differ from the Incident Command System-ICS. ICS can be considered the ‘on the ground’ leadership, management, and control of an [...]

Sunday February 7th, 2010 in Emergency Management | Comments Off

Emergency Plans Should Contain How to Communicate Effectively

Timely, accurate and honest information is vital to manage the emergency response to any incident. Even when responding to a small crisis, data is necessary to be translated into useful information. This information can help decision-makers save lives and property, convey reassurance to victims, citizens, and other stakeholders, and when documented, serve as a foundation [...]

Saturday February 6th, 2010 in Emergency Management | Comments Off

CEO Needs Crisis Communications Planning

The CEO or president is quite often the spokesperson for a company or organization, even in times of crisis. That is confirmed in a recent study by Forrester Research and the Disaster Recovery Journal regarding crisis communications where senior executives being very involved or leading the effort accounted for more than half. [1] Are these [...]

Saturday February 6th, 2010 in Emergency Management, Training and Exercises | Comments Off

Training Helpful for Crisis Communications

Becoming trained to stand in front of a reporter’s camera is very handy and I highly recommend it. It’s five minutes before the live interview. As you walk up to the microphone, you wonder if you have the messages clear and ready. You wonder if there will be too many tough questions or questions worded [...]

Wednesday February 3rd, 2010 in Emergency Management | Comments Off

Disaster Response Ends and Recovery Begins

Most experts agree that there is no definitive line between when disaster response ends and recovery begins. The importance of making this distinction may sound academic, however, it does influence people’s attitudes, outlook of the future (hope), and in many cases, funding source availability. Lindell, Prater, and Perry [1] suggest that at the point in [...]

Wednesday February 3rd, 2010 in Emergency Management | Comments Off

Shoe on the Other Foot: Wildland Fire Evacuation

Event On Halloween evening in 2001, a small wildland fire spread to 1200 acres before being contained and controlled. It occurred near my home in the country west of Berthoud, Colorado.  We were notified via reverse 9-1-1 to evacuate, and we did (partly) by sending my mother-in-law, the kids, and animals off premise into town [...]

Saturday January 30th, 2010 in Emergency Management | Comments Off

Government’s Role in Business Disaster Recovery

Most of us would probably agree that disasters are managed locally, that is, local citizens, first responders, and government entities help in the early stages of a disaster. Sometimes large business lend specialty resources. Dozens of volunteer agencies [1] across the nation provide untold numbers of volunteer hours and resources. Most, if not all of [...]

Friday January 29th, 2010 in Emergency Management | Comments Off

Water Supply, A Critical Infrastructure to Protect

According to government sources, there about 1,800 federal reservoirs and 1,600 municipal waste water facilities [1]. As I mentioned in the other post, I believe that damage to our water supply is our biggest exposure because of the impact it has on human life. Amy Simonne writing for the University of Florida extension program guides [...]

Tuesday January 26th, 2010 in Emergency Management | Comments Off

What is Information Sharing Analysis Center-ISAC?

Shared responsibility for any mission or charter takes a concerted effort by all participants to ‘think’ and ‘be’ collaborative. I think the critical infrastructure protection plans for each sector are best served and will be most effective when both the public and private sectors work jointly toward common goals. I find when I research topics [...]

Friday January 22nd, 2010 in Emergency Management | Comments Off

Protecting Critical Infrastructure

To protect our water is a shared responsibility, as is protection of all of our critical sectors. I believe in today’s age of terrorism, it is incumbent upon private sector companies to be held accountable in fair ways for actively participating in this protection. The government can act as enabler by providing awareness, education, guidance, [...]

Wednesday January 20th, 2010 in Emergency Management | Comments Off

Plan for Crisis Commications

The Colorado Non Profit Association defines the purpose of a crisis communications plan “To effectively manage communications through a formal, clearly defined channel in order to mitigate crisis, or serious negative repercussions for the Association or the sector, and maintain a reputation of leadership and transparency on vital issues and breaking news.”[1] Crisis communication systems [...]

Saturday January 16th, 2010 in Emergency Management | Comments Off

Crisis Communications

People communicate in different ways, that’s part of the nature of being ‘individual’.  Knowing something about those different ways, particularly during a crisis, can help the spokesperson deliver useful messages.[1] It’s often said that good communication is a two-way street requiring an exchange of information, feelings, thoughts, and not just a unidirectional push of data. [...]

Friday January 15th, 2010 in Emergency Management | Comments Off

Consistently Inconsistent Leadership?

I am fascinated by the complex nature of the Goldstein [1] and his theoretical treatise. What caught my attention is the discussion about leaders and groups and the [anacoluthian] “…consistently inconsistent…” [1] nature of emergent leadership. Over the years I’ve observed (as I’m sure many of us have) different people in the role of leader [...]

Thursday December 31st, 2009 in Emergency Management | Comments Off

Leadership Before, During and After a Disaster

The cultural attitude of any organization can often be attributed to its leadership. Many would agree that during times of crisis, solid, clear and decisive leadership can make the difference between a successful and not so successful outcome. [1] I believe there to be a direct correlation between cultural attitude of proactive readiness and how [...]

Tuesday December 29th, 2009 in Business Continuity Management, Emergency Management | Comments Off

Why Have a Comprehensive Emergency Plan?

An emergency management plan is a good idea for any size company or organization. Taking an example from the basics of pre-hospital emergency care, we often teach a simple concept about the A, B,C’s of first aid. The concept is that even if the patient is breathing, awake and talking, an EMT should still go [...]

Tuesday December 29th, 2009 in Emergency Management | Comments Off

ICS for Disaster Management in a Hospital

Hospital preparedness and response to disasters can be greatly enhanced through the use of the Incident Command System-ICS [1]. ICS is a widely accepted organization structure most suited for managing a major event, incident, or crisis. Hospitals prepare for disasters with planning, education and drills. During those activities, ICS is used for the successful management [...]

Sunday December 27th, 2009 in Emergency Management | Comments Off

Natural Hazards Front-Range Colorado

I live and work in the front range of Colorado approximately 40 miles northwest of Denver. Just wanted to share a few thoughts that barely scratch the surface about natural hazards on this area. I’ll focus specifically on the area within 10 miles of the foothills and not in the foothills or mountains and not [...]

Friday December 25th, 2009 in Emergency Management | Comments Off

Account for People Safety During Disasters

As we know from search and rescue experience, accountability systems are for people safety and are used to keep track of personnel involved in an emergency response. Accountability is popular in emergency services however, not as likely to be found in the corporate setting. But, it is catching on. A very comprehensive study was contracted [...]

Monday December 21st, 2009 in Emergency Management | Comments Off

ICS and Managing Incidents

Managing a major disaster or incident of any kind, regardless of cause, is always a challenge.  For the past 30 years or so, the concept of Incident Command System has been proven to increase the likelihood that lives are saved, property damage is reduced, and normal life is restored. [1] Command and communications difficulties can [...]

Thursday December 17th, 2009 in Emergency Management | Comments Off

Public/Private Sector Collaboration During Emergencies

Problems can arise between public and private sector interactions when mitigating, preparing, responding, and recovering from disasters. The private sector can be the organization which has been impacted by the disaster and also can include private companies and vendors partnering with the impacted client or local agencies responding to the disaster. Some of these problems [...]

Thursday December 17th, 2009 in Emergency Management | Comments Off

ICS and NIMS in the Corporate World

As “…the model tool for command, control, and coordination of a response…” [1] to any incident, the Incident Command System-(ICS) plays a vital role in improved outcomes of major disasters. “The National Incident Management System (NIMS) provides a systematic, proactive approach to guide departments and agencies at all levels of government, nongovernmental organizations, and the [...]

Thursday December 17th, 2009 in Emergency Management | Comments Off

Actions by Emergency Managers Affect Citizens

An emergency manager is “A person who manages a comprehensive program for hazards and disasters…responsible for mitigation, preparation, response, and recovery”. [1] A recent example of emergency management in action occurred on January 2009 when a set of two simultaneous wildland fires impacted Boulder County Colorado.[Old Stage Fire Boulder CO Jan09] [2]. These type fires are [...]

Sunday December 13th, 2009 in Emergency Management | Comments Off

“Rainy Day” Contingency Funds for Disaster

Contingency funds are an important part of any budget. Businesses, non-profits, and public-sector entities often use a contingency fund as a placeholder of monies to be used to handle unexpected events during a fiscal budget year. However, not all entities have contingency funds, nor are they always required. Some counties seem to rely on escalation [...]

Sunday December 13th, 2009 in Emergency Management | Comments Off

Emergency Response Teams: Duty and Family Concerns

Emergency Response Teams-ERTs [1][2] are a very necessary part of any business continuity program. While there is concern that people may be more interested in self-preservation and family security during the crisis, that fact should not stop us from creating a qualified and responsible team of responders who are ready and able to help at [...]

Wednesday October 14th, 2009 in Emergency Management | Comments Off

Communication Challenges During Disasters

Communication during and after a disaster is a vitally important element of business continuity planning. Helping employees be aware of a company’s standard operating procedure-SOP[1] for communications is a good first step. In my experience, practicing disaster drills and offering annual reminders of what and how two-way communication will occur during major disruptions will help [...]

Wednesday October 14th, 2009 in Emergency Management | Comments Off
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