Great afternoon talking to Holly and the American Red Cross Communications Team in Chicago! 
More training for our partners!
Looking forward to the fun classes upcoming with the entire Red Cross branch that serves Illinois for emergencies and disasters
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!
Morning meetings today with all the Chicago Police Department Communications Team at HQ!
Sharing some tips and news in workshop format about ongoing public safety operations as well as coordinated efforts will help all of us as PIOs. #PIAT
All the coordination enhances our ability to be a more prepared deployable asset to support other agencies of the like.
And for those wondering, the world of PIOs, PAOs, and ESF15 is very small. No matter the size of the disaster or hurricane, every good PIO knows other good PIOs.
Great to meet the team from CPD and looking forward to working with each other to support the mission of public safety for municipalities across this great country.
Special shout out to the CPD team Anthony, Tom, Michael, and Luis.
Me? Yep-proud to continue to serve so many great communities.
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!
Starting out this week talking about Debris Management and the importance of Public Works and Logistics!
Yeah, doesn’t seem like a fun topic right? But if you look at the real deal, this is how Emergency Managers earn their keep. Cause it’s not in the response phase.
Emergency Managers work the magic in the recovery phase.
Collaboration in class means that we hash out a few issues prior to the actual disaster.
Working closely with all factions in government will ensure a smooth response from everyone involved.
The faster you get your community back on track, the better your community will be. Building resilient communities is critical!
You should address 10 major factors as part of your debris plan.
Is this difficult? Most definitely. Here’s a picture from the USVI in 2017.
Here’s a picture from the USVI in November 2018.
Can you think of any planning challenges? Any logistical issues? Any major environmental issues?
If you said a million yeseseses to the above three questions, you need to address your debris management plan with your Emergency Management official.
Special mahalos to my Co-instructor Ben.
Sharing a few stories about counter intelligence, we realize it’s a really small world.
@rusnviek
Hey North Carolina friends!
Florence is bearing down to you now. Here’s the current forecast from our friends at the NHC.
What to do? How to prep? Check out the North Carolina Emergency Management website for great tips on hurricane prep.
Easy to find preparedness stuff and, if you want, download their mobile app too!
Always be prepared peeps!
And for the second disaster trick, this picture….
IT AIN’T REAL!!!
Don’t be a dingbat, stop sharing this fake picture during disasters and/or flooding.
Aaaaaand yes, an easy twofer here too: TURN AROUND, DON’T DROWN!!!
Be a good steward of social media information.
Since it’s the start of 2018’s Shark Week, I wanted to share with you one of my more favorite shark pictures.
Again, this isn’t real.
Don’t be a chump, during disasters or flooding, stop sharing this picture.
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.
Volunteer and Donations Management class today.
Lots of discussion was sparked by spontaneous volunteers.
While easy to handle, complex to handle without a tested and easy system to categories skills and personnel.
Additionally, lots focused on resource and supplies. A casual remark in class is that volunteers can house all kinds of stuff and be able to distribute everything accordingly.
Let me be very honest, I love people that want to help. But if you dump this task on an untrained and unfamiliar set of volunteers, it will not go smoothly. You have to train them, set them in a direction, and of course be as organized and coordinated as you can be. Make them part of your team EARLY!
So to share a perfect example of serving in disaster recovery, I’ll again share the AmeriCorps package we put together while deployed out for Hurricane Maria on the US Virgin Islands St. Thomas.
Outstanding crew to work with and solid bunch of dedicated individuals to the mission at hand. More info about AmeriCorps, click here and AmeriCorp Blue-6 (<—That team is SOLID).
A few takeaways for participants in today’s class:
Train your volunteers frequently as they should be a valuable part of our community’s recovery process.
Where is @rusnivek? 