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Emergency Management, Emergency Services, & Disaster Spox

Already December 2018? Are you serious?!?!?

Posted on December 1, 2018 by rusnivek

How in the world is it December already!

First week will be several NIMS/ICS courses for our County ESF-3 partners, few other Emergency Management courses for IL Region-9, and a Emergency Management/Health Department functional exercise w/ our CERT Teams for medication POD distribution.

Second week our office is hosting another FEMA G0289: PIO Awareness course and then a fun PIO Workshop at ABC7-Chicago on Friday.

Third week will be the FEMA G0290/G0291: Basic PIO Course and JIC/JIS course. Without a doubt a full class w/ wait list. Glad to finally nail this one for all of our partners in public safety, Cheers for Murray and Corey for championing this for everyone too.

Fourth week appears to be Christmas so likely yearly closeouts and wrap ups.

Yeowza. Honestly, I can’t believe 2019 is right around the corner.

@rusnivek

Blizzard Warning in effect – NWS

Posted on November 26, 2018 by rusnivek

Yep, I was right.

aka the official Blizzard Warning

@NWSChicago: As has been emphasized, we urge you to postpone all non-emergency travel tonight. However, if you absolutely must travel, for IL road conditions via @IDOT_Illinois, call 1-800-452-4368 or go to: http://www.gettingaroundillinois.com/winterconditions/ … Keep this phone no. & link handy for Mon AM commute. #ilwx

*Sigh*

I had a sinking feeling that no one was going to show up for class this morning.

No pun intended.

@rusnivek

Who ordered the white stuff?

Posted on November 25, 2018 by rusnivek

What’s all this white stuff?

I didn’t order any of this!

Aaaaaarrrrrrrrrruuuuuuuuugggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!

@rusnivek

Deep frying my turkey – I’m gonna die #DFT2018

Posted on November 22, 2018 by rusnivek

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I’m about to die.

Glug glug glug – I measured it w/ water and turkey in the pot.

So it’s a calculated amount of peanut oil in there.

Just to be on the safe side, I’ll leave a little room for turkey expansion.

Maybe my camera puts on more pounds. HA!

OK, my propane tank is as far away as I can get it.

Don’t think I want an explosion.

Then, in case things go bad, I got some protective gear.

Awww yeah baby! Warm AND protected!

And maybe, if things go bad, I can Hong Kong Phooey kick it into the grass away from the building right?

Time to gear up!

Thinking back, this was probably a good idea to wear my turnout coat and gloves.

Yeah, I think Chicago has had a big fire before.

Yikes.

Buuuuuuuuuuut why does my turkey look like its on a cross?!?!?!??!?!?

But first, lemme take a selfie…

…for proof of life.

Fire is on. Waaaaaaaaaaaaay hot.

What? Did you say drop it like it’s hot?!?!

Awwwww yeah, time to get crazy-let’s drop this sucker in.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

HHOOLLEEEYYYYY MOOOOOOOLEEEYYYYY!

DDDDDDDDDAAAAAAAAYYYUUUUUUUMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Am I at the bottom yet?!?!!??! OMG! Why is this soooooo frickin hot!!!!!

Well, so far so good! I haven’t burned anything….yet.

I also took the time to clear away any brush and debris from the area. Also notice the brick non-wood sprinklered building next to me?

Additional information, I also had backup from a retired Fire Chief from the State of Ohio Fire Marshall’s Office right next to me. Despite a whole bunch of white helmets, it was definitely worth having a backup!

Did I have a backup plan? You know I did. First off, I would NOT have done this.

Second, if things got bad, I would have definitely called 9-1-1.

The last thing I need is my friends from CFD getting pissed. Tho, TBH, they would have made me fill out the NIFRS report.

And third, this was the backup plan.

Yeah, the IMT PSC and FEMA MCP comes out more often than you think.

So in the end, everything turned out great. Turkey was awesome and soooo delicious.

Few deep frying turkey tips for you:

Measure your peanut oil level (water + bird in pot)
A little less on the fill line with peanut oil is good
SLOWLY drop your bird in the oil
Use gloves and protective clothing as hot oil splashes everywhere
Test bird doneness via internal temperature (not time)
Have multiple fire extinguishers available
Have a rapid dump site available away from building
In case things go bad, have a cell phone to call 9-1-1 quickly

This year, our family invited a few new Navy family and friends over for dinner.

Glad to spend Thanksgiving with those who protect our freedoms 24-7.

We all have much to be thankful for this year.

@rusnivek

Tuesday at FEMA Region-5

Posted on October 30, 2018 by rusnivek

Spending the day at FEMA Region-5 (Chicago).

If you were wondering, FEMA breaks the nation into 10 different regions.

Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois and Minnesota – the heart of Region-5 is Chicago! So basically I’ve been in Region-5 for several decades now – whoa!

Glad to see a few disaster faces I haven’t seen since Hurricane Irma. Hiya Katie!

Katie was part of our plans section in response to the direct hit Category 4 Hurricane Irma in Florida for Branch 5 Division A.

Happy Tuesday all!

@rusnivek

FEMA launches Prepare with Pedro at the 2018 Youth Preparedness Council

Posted on July 18, 2018 by rusnivek

FEMA Region V Administrator James Joseph was in Washington DC today for the Youth Preparedness Council at Red Cross HQ.

Great to see Ready.Gov partnering with everyone on today’s events.

Additionally, download the free Prepare with Pedro workbook for kids here.

@rusnivek

Hi Unique you dropped your phone #PIO #SocialMedia

Posted on July 7, 2018 by rusnivek

Law enforcement has been in some tough situations. Most recently, social media has been credited with engaging the public.

In fact, some agencies have used social media to engage suspects who may leave items behind on a scene of a crime. Oooooo, evidence!

But this is not one of those cases.

On 07-04-18, this image was initially shared on Facebook then across various social media platforms.

The image with caption inferring that local law enforcement agency was pursuing the suspect and that the suspect dropped his/her cell phone while eluding law enforcement. Then, in order to reach out to the suspect and friends of the suspect, local law enforcement uses the suspect’s social media account to reach out and taunt.

While funny for public safety, we as trusting public safety pros need to take time to dispel rumors and verify facts. PIOs should be at the front line of this issue.

And yes, this post was actually fake. What the whut?

Here’s Chicago Police PIO Anthony Guglielmi’s response to this post gone viral.

Sooooooo, to recap:

The initial Facebook post was not associated to incident.
Image was borrowed from unrelated event.
LEOs were not involved in pursuit of suspect.
Law enforcement agencies are usually professional.
PIO was on it and addressed concern once information was vetted w/ 7th District.
Squashed viral post with real information. #truth

Well done CPD PIO!

Again, as PIOs we are the shepherds of our agency when it comes to reporting the facts and dispelling the rumors.

We as PIOs must remain vigilant and dispel rumors as soon as they appear. This is your job. The agency’s reputation is on the line so ensure the longevity and be cognizant of your agency’s image 24/7.

@rusnivek