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Emergency Management, Emergency Services, & Disaster Spox

Everyone’s doing it! #Winter #Weather #Preparedness

Posted on January 29, 2019 by rusnivek

Initiate #Disaster #preparedness!!!!

Yep, that’s the ever popular and infamous #bread #milk #eggs 🤣

Now what the heck am I supposed to make with this stuff?!?!?

❄️

@rusnivek

NEVER touch a down power line! #blizzardof2015 #NEblizzard #Icezilla

Posted on January 26, 2015 by rusnivek

#blizzardof2015 Power or not – NEVER TOUCH A DOWN POWER LINE!

Keep away from loose or dangling power lines and report them immediately to the power company.

@rusnivek

We got a #FacebookDown-Safety-PIO-SM-14-009

Posted on November 7, 2014 by rusnivek

14-009: We got a FacebookDown
Agency: Los Angeles Sheriff’s Dept.	Topic(s): Non-related current event messages
Date: Fall 2014	Platform: Facebook and Twitter

Just like any other service, social media platforms are bound to go down. And when that happens, a small amount of the population does NOT know how to react appropriately. Some residents of California decided that calling 9-1-1 was their only resort to getting logged back into Facebook.

Ahem. Clearly, this is NOT an emergency. Sgt Brink is right in making it very clear to his audience (on Twitter) that Facebook’s non-service is not a Law Enforcement issue. Common sense right?

Most agencies should have an easy contingency plan when this type of situation happens. Social Media postings and engagement will help decrease calls to various public safety agencies…including during non-emergency times. So having this type of canned responses ready to push out when a major social media platform has the hiccups, might help your constituents navigate their (loss of) digital life. Additional use of a trending hashtag will bring more visibility to your post by informing others of actions, or in this case, non-actions.

A more effective tweet could have read:

#Facebook is NOT a law enforcement issue. Pls don’t call us about it being down, we don’t know when FB will be back up #facebookdown

By phrasing it this way:

You sternly address that this social media platform is NOT a law enforcement matter (duh).
You use a hashtags that is trending (#Facebookdown) that will help increase visibility in your tweets.
You highlight the importance of being current and active on recent news/events.
You stress the importance of engaging with your social media users on various social media platforms.

Time is valuable, so tweet good stuff.

@rusnivek

***To download this as a single-page printable format, click this file:

WeGotAFacebookDown-Safety-PIO-SM-14-009

Press amenities…because they are our partners in safety right? #PIO

Posted on April 1, 2014 by rusnivek

Media considerations: Press amenities.

Aside from giving the media the juicy story they crave…we should do a better job in considering their needs during a disaster.

However, in this day/age of media involvement and constant interaction, it would behoove us PIOs to better meet the needs of our partners (that’s right, I said partners) in safety.

For prolonged incidents, it would be nice if your agency:

Provided a bunch of plugs and/or outlets to use. Power seems to be a mandatory necessity during every day life. Just look at any airport with weirdos hunched around an open power plug.
Setting up a separate WiFi for media use only so they can meet their timely deadlines or push valuable info via social media. They are data hogs just like the rest of us. It has been proven for humans to exist, we need WiFi.
Held up white cards for white balance during setup…or better yet warm cards to help the videographers get their color scheme setup right. It does make you look like you just got back from someplace warm and now have a nice tan.
A simple cup of coffee would be a welcome olive branch in the midst of disaster/emergency. First informal rule of any disaster or emergency? A cup of coffee regularly ranks high on the scale of requests and necessities from everyone. Available 24/7.

Since we are breaking down barriers, we need to explore a few options to support our partners in safety. Look at this setup…

…no seriously, look closer.

What do you see?

Build your relationships before a disaster and strengthen them as you continue to train exercise your skills. Partners in safety.

Let’s work together to better our response and enhance communications skills with just some basic needs for the press. Trust me, a little goes along way.

After all, the old adage goes: you can attract more friends with honey than vinegar…right?

@rusnivek

Thank goodness, I did NOT burn my house down… #DFT2013

Posted on November 28, 2013 by rusnivek

Say hello to my little friend…

…his name is Deep Fried Turkey #DFT2013

Boom – SUCCESS!

Much to the dismay of my fellow Firefighters, Emergency Management Professionals, Paramedics, EMTs, and Police Officers – I didn’t burn my house down.

But it IS time to chow down with the family.

Hope these tweets and posts have helped you out in your turkey adventures today.

Remember:

Be safe and do NOT compromise for your safety.
Deep frying turkey is NO joke. This is serious business.
Make sure your fryer is at least 30 ft away from any house or structure.
Do NOT deep fry your turkey on your deck.
No kids outside.
Stay with your turkey fryer all the time. Do NOT go inside to warm up.
Have your cell phone ready and know how to call 9-1-1.
Have a fire extinguisher ready to go close by.
And of course, no adult beverages while cooking.

Note: For cleanup? I’m going to let the oil cool down for about 6 hours. And regardless if there is no fire, I’m still keeping my extinguisher on the ready.

Keep all of these safety tips handy as you finish your bird this joyous holiday season.

I have much to be thankful for…like you folks as well as my solid family and friends.

Enjoy your evening everyone!

@rusnivek