Tag Archives: DHS

Day-1 of ICS-300 at Elmhurst Hospital

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Day-1 of our ICS-300 class at Elmhurst Hospital!

However, I am not sure about us teaching the childbirth part of the class.

I guess if you wanted to account for all resources, we would need a new T-card and check in process for the new kiddos. HA!

Great welcome message from the Elmhurst Fire Deputy Fire Chief and the Elmhurst EM Coordinator.

Great discussion from all agencies here including Fire, EMS, Police, Public Works, Hospital, EMS, Health Department, National Guard, and countless other agencies here.

Great partnerships from everyone as we discuss ongoing response and recovery efforts from various activities and incidents. Working together will increase our preparedness level and help our coordination esp when we spin up the county EOC.

Glad to see everyone here for class. And yes, don’t forget that #OnWednesdaysWeWearPink

Yeah yeah, suit up baby!

Reporting live from Elmhurst Hospital talking about NIMS and ICS~!

@rusnivek

 

Starting the January ICS-300 course at our house!

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Another great start to our ICS-300 course! Welcome to my house – DuPage County OHSEM!

Packed class with sooooo many public safety partners here.

This class has a bunch of activities so our participants can apply what they are learning immediately to the fictitious town of Central City.

Note: Central city is a fictitious town that we use in almost all of our classes. It’s not a real place. However, if it was, I would definitely not want to live there. Or eat the Coho salmon from there. Just sayin…

Great engagement from everyone here.

Proud to be hosting this course at our house.

Looking forward to class tomorrow!

@rusnivek

Reporting live from the ABC7 studios in downtown Chicago!

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Good afternoon from the floor of the ABC7 studio here in Chicago!

A much more compact location, ABC7 does an excellent job in maximizing space in their main studio area.

Also got a chance to chat w/ a few reporters in the bullpen as we took the time to see how the TV magic (aka sausage) is made.

It was satisfying to see all the TVs and monitors in one of the control rooms. Soooooo many buttons to push….

I doubt they would let me touch anything in here.

It honestly intrigues me…isn’t the news room kinda similar to the EOC? Desk assignment is kinda like the Operations Section Chief (OSC) right?

As an example, the OSC assigns tasks to the single resources (reporters aka MMJs) and then they do stuff. The desk assignment editors listen and find out what’s going on around the area (aka situational awareness) right?

Then they send the appropriate amount of resources needed to cover their story. DUH! It IS a good example of ICS. And you know I was closely looking at what they were watching and listen into right?

Obvs!

Special thanks to the entire team at ABC7 for the tour of their crib! Great to see so many different pros at work and major kudos to those who take the time to create a great story and maintain the integrity of a journalist.

Looking forward to working together!

@rusnivek

Class comments – Yassssss!

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In reviewing my comments from yesterday’s class, I am reminded how much our impact and influence we have as instructors.

This is the reason why we as instructors, educators, and leaders share our experiences.

Without a doubt, there are clear differences between people who read the slides vs instructors who are passionate about improving our field.

It is imperative that we continue to push the envelope as we train and exercise our nation’s public safety professionals. During an emergency or disaster, there is no second chance. The community’s safety is of the utmost importance.

Our dedication to our public safety constituents is neverending and we must strive to be ready for any situation.

This is what we train for…this is what we do.

@rusnivek

Preparedness efforts – continuing to build a Culture of Preparedness

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Day-2 teaching at the Effingham County (Illinois) Emergency Operations Center on Preparedness for senior caregivers.

Great discussion from participants from all over the State of Illinois including various Emergency Management, Health Departments, Public Information Officers, Non-governmental organizations (NGOs), public works, communications, law enforcement, fire departments, hospitals, and emergency medical services.

Great to share and continue to enhance the capabilities of communities across this great nation which include DHS/FEMA, but also our local/state partners, private sector, and all citizens.

As usual, we are all proud to continue build our Culture of Preparedness.

@rusnivek

Instructing FEMA NDPTC Winter Weather Hazards at Effingham County EOC #Illinois

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Starting out the morning in Illinois at the Effingham County Emergency Operations Center!

Glad to see sooooo many smiling faces here to learn about preparedness and science with our efforts to better prepare our public safety partners on winter weather hazards.

And sharing how critical the National Weather Service is to our daily response and every single Emergency Operations Center is essential for all professionals in any emergency. No matter where you are in the US, there is a NWS office to support your daily operations.

Sharing important information on the science of weather including how to discern these crazy charts, graphs, and data make it easier to understand how tough meteorologists have it when trying to forecast the weather.

And sharing real case studies and discussion the evolution of how response officials work together is critical for any community across this great nation.

Teaching at Effingham County helped me realize they got some really cool stuff here (aka Emergency Management toys resources!)

Special shout out to Pam and the entire crew at Effingham County EMA as well as everyone in Illinois Region-9.

Looking forward to seeing all of you at the next big one!

@rusnivek

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

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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

#MediaMinutes interview w/ WISHTV-8 Emily Kinzer

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As part of our ongoing efforts to help enhance the skills of the PIO, here’s another #MediaMinutes interview w/ WISHTV-8 Emily Kinzer!

For more information on Emily-

@Twitter: https://twitter.com/EmilyKinzer8

@Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emilykinzer8/

@Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EKinzerReports

Happy AlohaFriday everyone!

@rusnivek

 

JIC/JIS Course at IFD HQ – Day-3!

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Day-3 of the Joint Information Center/Joint Information System course here at the Indianapolis Fire Headquarters.

This place is super nice…

…and a bonus welcome by the Chief of the department – Fire Chief Malone!

Outstanding to see that kind of engagement of a large metro fire department stop by to say hi. And of course the IFD PIO BC Rita Reith working the PIO magic too!

Great discussion on when situations get worse…ie disaster declarations and how as situations start to grow, how we as a nation respond to help assist others.

You know we had lots of discussion on JIC/JIS operations and needs.

Also discussed how the executive policy room could affect actions of the field PIOs as well as the JIC – which stresses the need for solid, one voice communications from the Emergency Operations Center.

I know, I know, coordination again huh? But it’s the truth! If we don’t work together, we will likely fail our constituents. We must work together to support our ongoing efforts of safety with all our partners.

Great dialog on mutual aid partnerships. Regardless of the situation, we can all work closely with each other and share ideas.

Me? I am very proud of the work from everyone in the class this week.

Looking forward to working with all of you during the next big one.

Until then, go forth and tweet good stuff!

@rusnivek

Day-2 of the DHS/FEMA G0290 Basic PIO Course!

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Day-2 of the DHS/FEMA G0290 Basic PIO Course!

We had time to discuss a myriad of topics including the importance of press releases.

While antiquated, there is some value. I think.

Lots of group work as we continue to move to support our agencies’ goals and mission.

As usual, we were fortunate to have excellent coordination with local and national media for this class.

Good Morning America Elyna Niles-Carnes (@encproducer)

WISHTV-8 Emily Kinzer (@EmilyKinzer8)

RTV6 Paris Lewbel (@PLewbel)

and Indiana State Police PIO Sgt John Perrine (@ISPIndianapolis).

So glad to have this candid media panel to discuss ongoing PIO operations with everyone.

Got a chance to facilitate this panel discussion as we had spirited discussion on “no comment”, realistic expectations, favoritism, “off the record” vs truth. Outstanding discussion from everyone from Ohio, Kentucky, Illinois, Florida, and of course Indiana.

And if you were wondering, no doubt, we did review all in-class interviews.

Solid discussion on tips/tricks to use during oncamera interviews as well as some great techniques to use during a crisis.

Looking forward to tomorrow – final day as we form Voltron and move into JIC/JIS!!

@rusnivek