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Emergency Management, Emergency Services, & Disaster Spox

Day-2 of ICS-300

Posted on September 24, 2025 by rusnivek

Starting off the second day with lots of convos on IAPs and critical forms that are needed for those onscene.

BTW-if you are looking for a link with all the FEMA ICS forms, you can find the most up-to-date ones here: https://training.fema.gov/icsresource/icsforms.asp.

IEMA-OHS Region-2 SDS Steve B. background from the wildfire community is outstanding and is a great example of how flexible the ICS system is all about.

We talked about specialized resources and the importance of putting supervisors in positions with background to handle the resources correctly.

We also briefed out on several scenarios that we could be put into with our public safety partners.

Sometimes, it’s awkward to pretend and use fictitious scenarios, but all the ESSD scenarios from FEMA are from real world incidents.

Yes, it’s Central City, but the State of Columbiana is always in trouble.

At the end of the day, just gotta make sure the markers are up for a fun Thursday surprise for everyone.

Always seems easy, but teaching days make for long days.

I am thankful for my staff to support these initiatives I’ve laid out to better position us for success.

Reporting live from the AHJ…

@rusnivek

The USSS has been pretty busy…

Posted on September 22, 2025 by rusnivek

I see my friends at the USSS have been pretty busy in NYC thwarting a cyber threat.

Folks-just remember, if you see something, say something.

With all the activities of the UN in NYC, this kind of disruptions would have easily caused some serious issues. Not only politics, but the safety of millions could have been affected.

My neighbor Robin always says that it takes a village. And in this case, if it looks odd, I would encourage you to err on the side of caution.

Reporting live from my faraday cage…

@rusnivek

Sat phone partay!

Posted on August 25, 2025 by rusnivek

Our 4th satellite phone came in today. Like gremlins, they are multiplying!

This Continuity of OPerations (COOP) effort is a phased plan that is imperative to everyone here.

It’s just another part of our COOP plan as Emergency Management leads the way for planning and coordination.

Think of it this way, it’s part of business continuity.

At any time, we have staff/SMEs around the world doing critical work. And we need instant communications with them and our global Exfil team that can deploy out immediately in an emergency.

In the near future, look to Argonne EM to lead the COOP effort for the area by providing high level training with our partners at FEMA.

Funny part, we are calling that part “Operation Kevins”

Reporting live from Sat phone stable…

@rusnivek

2025 Big City Emergency Manager program with our IEMA-OHS Director Alicia Tate-Nadeau

Posted on January 26, 2025 by rusnivek

Starting out the morning with all the Big City Emergency Managers at Chicago OEMC’s Emergency Operations Center.

First up, IEMA-OHS Director Alicia Tate-Nadeau.

Sharing the challenges of Emergency Management and focusing in on statewide issues. Overcoming challenges and strengthening Federal relationships is key especially in the first few hours of a disaster.

Initial response will dictate the disaster tempo. If your tempo is off and your battle rhythm is askew, you will likely become another disaster. So please make sure your efforts are coordinated.

Diving deep into overcoming resources challenges early on so that we can serve our diverse communities.

Special thanks to all the rising stars in the 2025 Big City Emergency Managers Program.

@rusnivek

DHS Secretary Mayorkas Swears in Deanna Criswell as FEMA Administrator

Posted on April 26, 2021 by rusnivek

WASHINGTON – Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas delivered the oath of office to Deanne Criswell today, her first full day as the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

“Deanne’s career is one of commitment and service to our nation,” said Secretary Mayorkas. “That commitment now rises to the next level of leading the dedicated people of FEMA as they continue working to meet unprecedented challenges. I have full confidence in her ability to lead FEMA with compassion, fairness, integrity, and respect as she works to fulfill the agency’s ever-important mission: helping people before, during, and after disasters. It is my honor to welcome Administrator Criswell to the Department of Homeland Security.”

During the ceremony, Secretary Mayorkas highlighted Ms. Criswell’s extensive career in emergency management and the multiple challenges FEMA faces, including the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change.

Ms. Criswell was joined by her partner, Patrick Murphy. Senior Official Performing the Duties of Deputy Secretary, David Pekoske, former FEMA Acting Administrator Bob Fenton, and FEMA Acting Deputy Administrator MaryAnn Tierney also attended the ceremony. Secretary Mayorkas thanked former FEMA Acting Administrator Bob Fenton for his service and leadership.

Deanne Criswell was nominated by President Biden on January 15, 2021 and confirmed by the U.S. Senate on April 22, 2021. She is the first woman to lead FEMA since its creation in 1979.

Detailed warning information on upcoming weather threats and other hazards

Posted on September 13, 2020 by rusnivek

Welcome to the third week of 2020 National Preparedness Month! This week, we will be addressing how to prepare for specific disasters.

Compared to other weeks where we talk about general topics, plans, and maybe some things in your kit, we will be talking about how you can get stuff ready for each type of emergency or disaster.

So to start out, let’s talk about information about upcoming disasters.

A solid tool that is almost indispensable is…..your cell phone!

That’s right, that little computer/smart phone in your pocket is a GREAT way that you can discern information and better respond to the emergency.

One easy way is to download the FEMA app.

See the source image

https://www.fema.gov/about/news-multimedia/app

The FEMA app has a ton of features that could be beneficial to your specific area. Specifically in the notification for five of your identified cities/county.

This feature provides the ability to see what’s going on in a certain area of the country. And since I travel, I always have the first slot in my list for home. This allows me to get any notification on stuff that could be happening at home.

The second, third, and fourth slot are for my family in Los Angles, Honolulu, and San Francisco. Gotta keep an eye on the family no matter where they are. Plus an extra set of eyes from another part of the country is beneficial esp if they are sleeping at 0300 and it’s 0800 here.

Since I travel a fair amount, I usually reserve slot #5 (the last slot) for my work travel. Even though I may not be from Central City, I will always know the latest in dangers in my travel city.

See the source image

From critical tornado warnings or immediate evacuation tsunami warnings – I know I’ll be prepared for my location(s) specific disaster or emergency.

All of the information provided to you….FREE. That’s right-all the details are available to you for free. App is free. No charge from FEMA to download the app. No monthly fee. No recurring administrative charges.

See the source image

Ahhhh, safety for free.

I got your back.

More free tips tomorrow addressing specific hazards.

Reporting live from the third week!

@rusnivek

My well labeled mugs for coffee and hydration

Posted on September 12, 2020 by rusnivek

Last and final day of 2020 National Preparedness Month. All the best time to talk about your kits and stuff you gotta have in case of an emergency/disaster.

If you’ve been following me for a while, you know that I am a staunch supporter of good travel mugs. My oldest mug is a Nissan Stainless mug from Japan that is about 25 years old and yes, it still keeps the coffee hot. However, I needed something that is spill proof as I usually keep things in my bellows pockets.

And the last thing I needed was to spill coffee in/on my pants.

See the source image

Stanley mugs that have been traveling and deploying out with me for the past 5 years. I usually carry two – one for my black coffee and the other for my water (also backup for coffee).

Best part? They have a lifetime warranty. LIFETIME BABY! I can attest that if something breaks, Stanley has committed to replacing things for free. I’ve had several tops of the travel mugs mechanically fail from normal use. Stanley has replaced each of them immediately and for free. No question from me that they definitely stand behind their product.

It is worth noting that you should consider labeling all of your stuff. ALL of your stuff. Something that is easy to spot in a large area and unique.

Stuff gets lost or acquired or stolen….so make sure your stuff is labeled and easily identified.

I can spot my things from across a large room…even in the dark.

Hope this week’s tips helped you plan out a better kit and equipment.

Reporting live with my favorite preparedness kit…

@rusnivek

Enhance your kit with these individually wrapped things

Posted on September 10, 2020 by rusnivek

Almost done with the 2nd week of 2020 National Preparedness week – so let’s enhance your preparedness kit a little more.

As you know, this week has been dedicated to your prep kits and diving into several avenues of that works and of course ways you can enhance your kit to make you more agile/nimble…give you a better chance.

Want an easy one for today?

Utensils.

In this day of trying to find better ways to be a bit more clean (thanks COVID), we need to be more aware of our hands and the things we touch. Therefore we should act like an advanced society and really use our utensils to max capacity.

Why You Should Let Your Baby Get Messy While Eating

Since all of us are doing our part and eating out a bit more (hopefully more local), take a moment and utilize those plastic utensil sets for your kits. Don’t decline or throw them away, USE THEM!

Most of them come individually wrapped and often are filled with a knife, fork, spoon, napkin, salt, and pepper. In fact, the fancier ones come with a wet-nap of some sort to help clean you up a bit.

(hint wing joints usually send their to-go orders with wet naps.

Now, let’s step up to the big leagues. Check this out from my friends at Mount Prospect Emergency Management (Illinois).

Handy dandy AND reusable. Legit sturdy utensil set that all packs up nicely in a ready to go pouch.

Look closely, you can see Mount Prospect EM subscribes to the Built a Kit – Make a Plan mantra.

Look, however you want to do it, having an extra set(s) of utensils could be a lifesaver for your preparedness kit. (FYI-the Mount Prospect EM utensil set legit lives in my preparedness kit)

Heck, if you use chopsticks, that’s totes fine with me too.

IntereSTING...: Goodbye, Mr. Miyagi

So get those extra utensils in play and enhance your kit!

Reporting live from the Village of Spork…HA!

@rusnivek

What does HumpDay have to do with your kit?

Posted on September 9, 2020 by rusnivek

As we are in the middle of the second week of 2020 National Preparedness month, we should continue to talk about your preparedness kits. While yesterday’s kit was part of my deployment loadout, there are similarities between personal preparedness kit and professional deployment kits.

How timely of a topic since today is HUMP DAY!

One such item that is replicated in all of my kits is cash.

That’s right, dolla holla yo!

And quite literally, it’s specifically dollar bills y’all. All dollar bills! Look, before you start asking about the singles that are ready to mingle, think about it like this:

During the first outsets of a disaster where infrastructure is non-existent, power is not working, and cell service is out…all your precious credit cards, debit cards, and touchless pay methods will not work. Period.

So tried and true, cash talks. I deploy out with at least $200 in cash to supplement our operations.

Additionally, businesses may not have the capability to provide change so dollar bills will allow you to provide close monetary values for most products.

My esteemed colleague MaryJo Flynn is right, $2 bills would be good because it reduces your weight by 50%…aka 6 ounces. But regardless (or irregardless-eek), small bills/denominations are critical when prepping your kit.

Most definitely, don’t carry two $100 bill and expect change.

Some parts of the country still prefer cash so take that into consideration as you plan on the safety of your family and being able to provide for them during the first 72 hours of a disaster.

Now would be an excellent time to go to the bank and get your singles.

More easy tips tomorrow on your prep kit.

Reporting live and making it rain…..

@rusnivek

Without a doubt, you want to add this to your prep kit

Posted on September 8, 2020 by rusnivek

Don’t bother looking, it’s still 2020 National Preparedness Month. As we start this work week, I realize many of you already have kits ready to go that include food for at least 72 hours.

GREAT!!!!! So proud of you.

Previous years, we’ve stressed the importance of having shelf-stable food per person for at least 3-days. And these MREs or Meals-Ready-To-Eat is a great example.

However, let’s be honest, MREs are NOT that delicious.

Well, maybe this one might be my new favorite.

(Special shout out to my Brothers from FEMA USAR Ohio Task Force-1 (OH-TF-1) on my new first out MRE)

But we also need to think about how you are going to augment that. An easy way to help support the lackluster food options in any disaster? Hot sauce.

And only one hot sauce supports weird 24-hour dietary needs with questionable shelf-stable requirements…Sriracha!

Sriracha has been supporting the palate needs of collegiate students for decades.

Here’s a quick video history on the Sriracha brand.

So this stuff is kinda magic on disasters and deployments. Basically anytime/anywhere.

How do I do it? If I am off to a stable deployment with more structure, I just take a simple bottle and throw it in my large duffel bag. Off we go!

However, if we are going into a contentious location where things may not be…the best, I will likely pack these guys.

Awwww yeah – single serving packets that help any meal anytime of the day. They can be carried on my person and discretely added to any meal. Additionally, the single serving can be helpful since carrying an entire bottle around might not be so….cool.

I see srircha as a necessity with the same importance of a can opener.

During our 2005 deployment to Hurricane Katrina/Rita, I remember food being quite terrible as our Task Force worked Louisiana’s Lower 9th Ward – St. Bernard Parish. Food was quite terrible and good hot sauce to mask bad tasting food was hard to find esp since everything was demolished there.

So get your self some hot sauce to augment your preparedness kits with your 3-days worth of shelf stable foods.

Keep it spicy folks!

Reporting live with my bag of deployment Srircha

@rusnivek