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Emergency Management, Emergency Services, & Disaster Spox

The new 2019 ICS-400 this week!

Posted on August 6, 2019 by rusnivek

Good morning peeps – welcome to the new 2019 ICS-400: Advanced ICS!

Proud to be one of the first instructors to roll this course out to our public safety partners that popped in late July. This week’s class? We have a bunch of pros from all backgrounds including Fire, EMS, Police, Healthcare, Public Works, Communications, Health Department, National Guard, Civil Support Teams, State, VA, Intelligence, and Tribal nations. I’m proud to serve all these pros.

Lots of discussion on preparedness efforts esp with some of the projected large disasters from across the country. In fact, discussion on preparedness for Cascadia Rising, New Madrid Fault, and national infrastructure failures were consistently discussed through the day. Related note: Proud to hear of sooo many prepared pros in class this week.

Classically, lots to share as Emergency Management pros continues to coordinate response through training and exercises. Train like you fight right?

Aside from powerpoints, the new ICS-400 has a bunch of in class activities that talk about complex incidents, Unified Command, and area command. Productively discussing issues in class BEFORE a disaster can only help to understand challenges that many agencies face…which could be exacerbated during crisis/emergency.

Glad to have engaged professionals in class this week.

Get your ICS on!

@rusnivek

What does the term “Heat Index” really mean? #HOT

Posted on June 26, 2018 by rusnivek

Ever wonder what “Heat Index” means?

The Heat Index is a measure of how hot it really feels when relative humidity is factored in with the actual air temperature. To find the Heat Index temperature, look at the Heat Index Chart above or check our Heat Index Calculator. As an example, if the air temperature is 96°F and the relative humidity is 65%, the heat index–how hot it feels–is 121°F. The red area without numbers indicates extreme danger. The National Weather Service will initiate alert procedures when the Heat Index is expected to exceed 105°-110°F (depending on local climate) for at least 2 consecutive days.

NWS also offers a Heat Index chart for area with high heat but low relative humidity. Since heat index values were devised for shady, light wind conditions, exposure to full sunshine can increase heat index values by up to 15°F. Also, strong winds, particularly with very hot, dry air, can be extremely hazardous.

Information provided by the NWS – the official source of weather related information.

@rusnivek

Brand new Social Media Engagement Strategies course debut at SAC EOC #NDPTC

Posted on April 24, 2017 by rusnivek

Solid start to the week being able to deliver the brand new FEMA NDPTC Social Media Engagement Strategies course.

Numerous pros from across the state of California attending today.

Special thanks to the Sacramento County Office of Emergency Services in hosting this fun class in their Emergency Operations Center.

Super special shoutout goes to MayJo!

Talked specifically about addressing audiences and their appropriate platforms. Mediums like static posts are great however we need to explore outside of your comfort zone and try new avenues to communicate. FacebookLive, Periscope, InstagramLive, YouTubeLive, etc…..these new emerging live broadcast tools can allow agencies to be creative in their broadcast of messages.

Solid afternoon facilitation on the formulation of a strategic communications specifically focusing in on social media and audience engagement.

And of course the standard shout out to our friend Cheryl.

Overall, the intent of this class is really to be a catalyst to start a meaningful conversation about engaging your constituents on various social media platforms.

Obviously, you would be taking FEMA NDPTC PER-344 Social Media Tools & Techniques first – which gives you a heavy dose of the currrent tools/platforms that are out there as well as a bunch of tactics and techniques that you could use in your EOC or JIC.

Both courses provide a different take on social media actions esp during disasters / crisis.

Keep on learning peeps. Much more to digest and figure out.

We all must do better to support our local communities, county coordinators, and state officials to work and communicate together before, during, and after the disaster.

We the people right? #Merica

@rusnivek

Great first day of Basic Public Information Officer #PIO Course in Athens County Ohio

Posted on February 15, 2017 by rusnivek

Kicking off another solid FEMA / Ohio EMA Basic Public Information Officer’s course.

We have participants from across the state of Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia!

So Region-5 and Region-3 are well represented.

Proud to have a diverse class this week in Athens County, Ohio.

Lots of class engagement with several opening activities assessing preparedness levels as well as gaps in PIO responses.

Addressing difficult situations (aka anticipating media questions) with PIOs or agency heads before they happen is a critical skill that every PIO should master.

Deep discussion on how all-hazards PIOs could support various operations with public safety. Also dissecting how Strategic Communications play a crucial role in planning.

#StratComms4Lyfe

On camera mock media interviews in the afternoon with focus on answering questions, talking points, redirects, and of course preparedness. Great time to hone the skills of every PIO and agency head.

Show and tell on preparedness kits and PIO go readiness kits.

PC: E. Creech

Including my famous “PIO stick”

PC: J. Beckett

Looking forward to day-2!

@rusnivek

Teaching in the NM DOC – Social Media Tools and Techniques

Posted on January 11, 2017 by rusnivek

Hello Wednesday! Getting a chance to teach my favorite advanced class – PER-344: Social Media Tools and Techniques at the State of New Mexico Department of Public Health.

Whohoo!

The engaging in-class activity in the afternoon is a great way to get you to think outside of the box…

…and force you to #totes enhance your social media game.

So happy to see numerous peeps attending today’s class.

This course is also very valuable to support upcoming Full Scale Exercise Vigilant Guard with the National Guard too.

@rusnivek

SURprise visit to my favorite Social Media class #NDPTC

Posted on November 5, 2016 by rusnivek

Who just shows up at a brand new social media class?!?

Glad to see the newly FEMA certified, NDPTC Social Media Tools and Techniques Course (PER-344) to Cuyahoga County, Ohio.

Also glad to see so many fellow peeps as well as public safety professionals who are willing to utilize technology to better their agencies.

Great engagement especially during classroom activities by instructors too.

Seriously, I’m proud to see that this class can help shape the way government and public safety agencies use social media in planned events as well as before, during, and after a disaster.

Super proud.

@rusnivek

State of Ohio EMA new Joint Information Center class in #SummitCounty #JIC #JIS #PIO #ESF15

Posted on May 5, 2016 by rusnivek

Rolling out the State of Ohio Emergency Management Agency‘s new G0291: Joint Information Centers (JIC) / Joint Information System (JIS) Planning for Tribal, state, and Local PIOs. Luckily, we were in the Command and Control room at the Summit County Health Department.

Command Control room…aka DOC

As always, its great teaching with Sister Michael Marie. Outstanding experiences and great stories from her international work in challenging areas of the world.

Even OEMA was checking in on our progress!

#truelove for us Emergency Management Instructors.

Sister Michael showcased the importance of all-hazard PIO involvement in emergency response to a natural hazard.

Everyone was able to share experiences and help each other improve – esp thinking outside the box on various scenarios.

By the end of this in-class activity, our participants realized that there are so many parts to a “simple disaster” that it pays to build partnerships early.

It’s all hands working in an emergency – so build your relationships early before a disaster.

Remember: At 0300, you ugly, you smell, you stink – and clearly that’s not the best time to meet new people and to function in an emergency at 110%.

“As Emergency Management, we must continue to nurture solid working relationships and common response/recovery objectives with our all-hazards partners in public safety.” – @rusnivek

Best part? At the end of the class, they all applauded.

slow-clap