When I was deployed this summer with FEMA for the disaster response in Nebraska, I totally missed the State of Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) awarding me my official Illinois Professional Emergency Manager certification/designation.
Whohooooooooo – IPEM!
Special thanks to DHS/FEMA, the Illinois Emergency Management Agency, and the DuPage County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management for their support in this process.
Reporting live from Illinois…
@MEPIrusnivek 😆
Can”t believe it’s already December as we pack in these full classes to count in 2019.
First week we have ICS-300: Intermediate Incident Command for Expanding Incidents at Darien Woodridge Fire Department (DWFD). Glad to continue to build the foundation of Emergency Management with our partners in public safety.
Second week we are doing the ICS-400: Advanced ICS course at DWFD as we continue to support our locals and others from across the country. Additionally, I will be popping a FEMA G0291 Joint Information Center course at the City of Chicago Office of Emergency Management and Communications (OEMC). Looking forward to the completely full course.
Third week with another downtown bunch of meetings and of course we got inventory of stuff. All the stuff.
Fourth week as we close out 2019 with lots to recap and summarize for our leadership. Soooooooooo basically, it’s all about my TPS reports here.
In short, I’m just glad to have my training plan laid out for 2020.
Hope to see you in a disaster…I mean in the classroom soon.
Happy Thanksgiving all!
Today, I could die…because I am deep frying a turkey!
Yeah yeah, I know there are some dangers with deep frying a turkey. So let’s give this a whirl. Esp keeping in mind that we will NOT be deep frying a frozen turkey.
Yeah, I saw a few redic YouTube videos.
I don’t want to be that kind of famous.
I decided to break out my turnout gear as some personal protective gear because it’s kinda hard to predict a vat of bubbling oil.
I also bought peanut oil and ONLY peanut oil for the fryer.
Not going to lie, starting the fryer, I got excited.
As I dunked the turkey in, I dropped it in very slowly. If you decide to make a three point dunk, your turkey will likely splash all the super hot peanut oil all over the place, and hot oil isn’t good for your Thanksgiving look.
And a few options if things get too hot thanks to my handy halligan tool.
Yep, one of my favorite tools. (The other favorite tool is the Talon hook). Forcible entry AND turkey prep FTW!
Our turkey turned out awesome so here’s some easy tips that you can use to ensure your family’s safety when deep frying a turkey.
Tip-1: Dunk your turkey in and out slooooooooooly. Allowed less splashing and spillage.
Tip-2: Use 100% real peanut oil for deep frying. If you have a blend, the smoke point of the oil mixture may change. Translated, it could go kaboom at various temperatures. Pure oil allows for a stable and predictable and higher smoke point (than other commonly used oils).
Tip-3: Use proper personal protective equipment (PPE) for turkey safety. No matter the situation, always be prepared – including fire gloves!
Tip-4: I had my favorite halligan and charged hose line (water hose) – just in case things got out of hand.
Tip-5: Heed all safety warnings and watch plenty of YouTube videos because you should be 100% dedicated to this deep frying event. PAY ATTENTION!
Tip-6: Make sure you are a tad late for Thanksgiving turkey dinner time. Grand entrance AND everyone is TOTES hungry.
Tip-7: Thaw and dry your turkey dayzzzzzzzz before you drop it into the boiling hot peanut oil starting at 375.
Tip-8: Have a battle turkey buddy that can help you out with your 🦃 drying and frying tactics. Extra set of eyes and hands with gloves is a huge help. Additionally, huge bonus points if your battle turkey buddy is a board certified residency trained Emergency Medicine Physician and EMS Medical Director.
Follow these tips to ensure your deep fried turkey actions go well.
Successful #DFT2019 – Happy thanksgiving everyone.
We all have much to be thankful for this year.
With the International Great ShakeOut Exercise tomorrow, I wanted to share a single thing that we tend to do…esp DURING an earthquake. That is freeze!
And since we as human beings are often occupied with our phones and social media, an earthquake can cause us to freak out/freeze and ultimately NOT do what we are trained to do.
If you don’t think/train on earthquakes, this could be you.
Ya know, maybe consider doing the things we tell you about every year. Just remember:
That’s right, train like you fight. And in this situation, your actions could actually save your life.
Be safe. Looking forward to seeing you taking cover tomorrow at 10:17am.
The International ShakeOut Day is October 17! That’s just t-minus two days away!
To prepare for tomorrow’s earthquake exercise, I wanted to push the preferred infographic that you can use and share with all your constituents.
Hey PIO! Don’t forget that your messaging needs to address all audiences.
Do I practice what I preach? Yep.
And to boot, I also encourage and exercise WITH my fellow class attendees to participate in our class activities too.
Awwww yeah!
Shout out to my friends in San Jose, CA for the great example of earthquake preparedness!
So get yourself ready for some shake-shake action!
October will be busy with a tight schedule between classes.
First week
Second week I’ll be heading back to Jacksonville, Florida to teach social media including my favorite social media courses. Hope to catch up to a few folks that I worked with during the 2017 Hurricane Irma response. Region-4 baby!
Third week we will be finalizing our plans for the 2020 training schedule and laying out the ground work for the 2021 schedules. If my plan works, I got some SURprises up my sleeve for my constituents. Also, don’t forget about the International #ShakeOut day on 10-17-19 at 10:17.
Fourth week I’ll get to spend at FEMA HQ for a brand new Pilot COOP Program. That’s right, I’ll get to hang w/ Rolandoooooooooooooooooooooo! All week in a suit = typical Washington, DC.
Fifth week, I’ll pop a quick ICS-300 and if protesters continue, maybe some other stuff. And on Aloha Friday (11-01-19), we will be doing another FEMA PIO Awareness course at Bensenville Police/EMA.
Lots to do as we start out 2019’s 4Q. Hope to see you out there.
Can’t believe it’s August already. Seems like summer just got here!
First week: COOP class and functional exercises as we prep for upcoming activations. COOP-a-Roop baby!
Second week we got another ICS-400 class then an activation for the BMW Classic PGA tournament. My position? Deputy Intelligence Branch Chief and PIO (I know, you are shocked huh?)
Third week will be back-to-back-to-back with a debris class, Basic PIO class, and JIC/JIS class.
Fourth week, I’ll finally get to take that NDPTC flooding Course at our office. Lord knows how much flooding we’ve had across the country including Illinois.
A busy month indeed with tight schedules in 5, 10, and 4. Not much room for error but hoping to make the magic happen for our public safety partners.
Hope to see you out there.
Oh yeah, it is 2019 #SharkWeek!
So sink your teeth into some #disaster #preparedness w/ a simple first-aid kit and/or a tourniquet. 🦈
More details can be found on FEMA’s Ready.Gov or DuPage County OHSEM’s ProtectDuPage.org.
Yeah, I know…I’m jaw-some.
Goooooood morning all! Reporting live from the Illinois Air National Guard base for the new 2019 ICS-400 course!
Proud to partner with our Department of Defense assets from the US Air Force.
Outstanding kickoff from Chief Otto this morning as we continue to enhance the skills of everyone from across the State of Illinois.
As we kick off the class, it’s great to see participation from various agencies. Lots to discuss as logistical challenges between DHS vs DoD that clearly extend beyond resources and cost funding allocation.
Learning through realistic training helps concrete concepts presented…esp scenarios on area command.
Love seeing the familiar faces as we continue preparing our disaster responses pros from across the State of Illinois
Group work allows for all parties to contribute and openly discuss challenges they have seen with disaster operations.
It’s rare that locals get to partner and train with regional assets. In fact, in our new training, we get to showcase the skills of other larger national assets who focus on logistical support…like the Illinois Air National Guard – 182nd AirWing.
We close out the day talking about the importance of the EOC and how it supports the roles of Unified Command (UC) or Area Command and all the Incident Command Posts (ICPs) in the field.
Sharing the importance of good situational awareness and a common operating picture is critical in the success of any emergency response and the recovery of the community.
We often find that communities successfully recovery after a disaster much quicker if they are better prepared and exercise their plans…..yep, that’s called community resilience.
Proud to share our response successes with all of our participants from across the State of Illinois.
More tomorrow!
July!!! 3Q and the start of the second half of the year is rolling! July will definitely be a busy one as
First week, lotsa planning including the IPEM and ICS re-certification process.
Second week popping a FEMA PIO Awareness course with my new friends at Mundelein Fire (Lake County, IL).
Third week is vacation. First one all year. Don’t bother me.
Fourth week, we got more on the ICS refresher and then a few more ICS classes including an ICS-400 course for our DoD partners and the Illinois Air National Guard.
Fifth week, we got more planning and fun with ICS, EM Courses, and the ramp up to a few brand new courses debuting with my office.
To recap, it’ll be an intense two region month with 5 and 9.
Hope to see you out there.
Where is @rusnivek? 