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NDPC News 2015 Summer edition is here.
NDPC News 2015 Summer edition
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Tag Archives: FEMA
Final FEMA review of the new social media courses #NDPTC
I popped back-to-back-to-back social media classes last week in Sacramento, California.
Participants from all over the west coast attended. Specifically for Thursday and Friday, FEMA reviewed our new curriculum courses. Yep, straight up evaluation. Not going to lie, I was pretty nervous.
Ongoing for course design, I will make a few more additions/changes before courses are sent to the National Training and Exercise Division (NTED) for certification. Hoping for final approval in November 2015. Hope to hear the magical words “Federally published” as my course is listed in the DHS / FEMA Training catalog. Whoa Nellie!
For the classes? We had great interaction from all participants.
Solid discussions during the breakout sessions included professionals from all Emergency Support Functions (ESFs) as well as experts from the National Weather Service (NWS), Critical Infrastructure, and Volunteer Organizations Active in Disasters (VOADs), etc… Diverse groups make for the best discussions for sure!
As part of our continued efforts in Emergency Management, it is imperative that we address issues from the All-Hazards approach and incorporate the support of our stakeholders in solutions.
With heavy discussion, class participants had a great time engaging with others and using tools/techniques that are specific to the Preparedness, Response, Recovery, and Mitigation Directorates. Obviously, I showcased the importance of a good Public Information Officer (PIO) / Public Affairs Officer (PAO) and how their interaction in the Emergency Operation Center (EOC) or the Joint Information Center/System (JIC/JIS) is imperative to a successful emergency or disaster.
Also, starting to build an online learning library that can be easily accessed from anywhere using the #NDPTC is always good reference. Free. My favorite F-word.
Special mahalos to fellow Instructors Cheryl and MaryJo in the delivery of these courses.
Also the solid smiles from fellow #SMEM Jennifer and Scott was crucial support on this delivery.
Glad to be working with partners like the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), National Domestic Preparedness Consortium (NDPC), and the National Disaster Preparedness Training Center (NDPTC). Truly great to see everyone working collaboratively. Thanks to the Sacramento County Emergency Management for hosting these courses.
Looking forward to the next class at the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM) conference in Clark County, Nevada. See you there!
See, government does have a sense of humor!
My friends at @FEMA –
See, government DOES have a sense of humor.
Bonus points for the fed emoticons in the twitter reply too. #Nooice
Most nervous for my August 2015
Since July was almost all planning, August will be almost all operations.
First week: I’ll be headed to FEMA Region-9 Sacramento to deliver and (hope to) certify the brand new FEMA/NDPTC Social Media presentations at the State of California’s Emergency Operations Center. This is a huge project that I have been working on in conjunction with NDPTC development and FEMA course designers. During these classes, a panel of Federal types will be evaluating…aka totes judging it. Yikes. Why am I so nervous? It’s my presentation. I created it. I designed it. It’s all me. I better not eff this up. As you know, I’m pretty passionate about my work so for sure I’m excited, but still WAY NERVOUS (rubbing my ears, whispering “FEMA-NTED-CATALOG-AUTHORED”).
Second week: I might be curled in the fetal position…most likely finalizing the California updates from the FEMA evaluation.
Third week: I’ll be doing some advanced tactical rifle “stuff” with the lads from Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE). As the pros say, PEW-PEW-PEW!
Fourth week: I’ll be doing my civic duty as I serve my county for jury duty. Yikes.
And the Fifth week: I’ll be headed back to OEMA in Columbus for an Advanced Event Planning Course. Hmmm, do you know of any big events upcoming in 2016?
Overall, this will likely be the most challenging month ever because of the FEMA review/certification. Gah! I hope all goes well.
I gotta go throw up now. #nervous
JIS – JIC planning class for Tribal State and local PIOs
A fine day to teach the Ohio Emergency Management Agency’s JIS / JIC Planning for Tribal, State, and Local PIOs (G-291) course in Medina County!
A classic start with The Who.
One of the big points emphasized in this class is the differences between a Joint Information Center (JIC) and a Joint Information System (JIS). Both have merits in daily operations and each have strengths and weaknesses in disaster operations.
Sometimes PIOs don’t understand that a JIC or JIS activation is just like a normal activation. If you can’t figure out the differences between the two, take the class from those who have actually worked a JIC or a JIS.
On Tuesday/Wednesday in the Basic Public Information Officers’ Course (G-290), we talked about training and readiness efforts for any PIO. Go Kits were a hot button topic as everyone’s PIO kit would most likely be different. Resource manuals are great to have, but difficult to keep updated. Just maintaining a PIO contact list is a tedious task.
Much discussion about food in the kit. This was obviously NOT a good example of what you should be eating during an JIC activation.
Prob not the best lunch.
Healthy body = Healthy mind. Period.
As the day progressed, we facilitated several in-depth discussions on teamwork, joint efforts in responses as well as some pre-scripted messages that can be used by everyone. Planning now will reduce the amount of white hair during an incident.
Establish relationships now with local health departments, local and regional hospitals, local Hazardous Materials (HAZMAT) Teams, Special Technical Rescue Teams. Easily rely on your state staff and resources to support your actions. A great wealth of information is available to bring to the table. Just establish that connection before that awkward 0300 hit.
Additionally, tapping into local resources from other Federal Agencies like the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives(ATF), National Weather Service (NWS), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Customs Border Patrol (CBP), National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), etc…so many options to establish relationships!
“Building relationships now can only increase our response effectiveness during a disaster.” – K. Sur
Looking outside government agencies, public and private partnerships can support our safety and response initiatives – so we need to make a concerted effort to make those connections now. Build relationships before a disaster!
Sur and Mo!
So how can you bring all these resources together? Consider these actions to explore in your jurisdiction:
- Train. Train. Train.
- Open discussions with various providers.
- Invite your all-hazards partners to meetings.
- Meet regularly. Maintain contact.
- Take classes together.
- Share resource lists and contacts.
- Support each other during operations.
- Review After Action Reviews / Improvement Plans (AARs/IPs) together.
And if you were wondering, class participants did well on their post-tests.
Psssst…the answer is “C” #not
We had a great time teaching this week. Much thanks to the Medina County Emergency Management Agency and EM Director Christine Fozio for their hospitality. Super fun time.
So much ducking fun (duck face reference)
Special thanks to the Ohio Emergency Management Agency for sponsoring this all-hazards class for our partners in public safety.
(L to R): PIO Instructor Kevin Sur, Medina County Emergency Management Director Christine Fozio, and PIO Instructor Monique Witherspoon.
If you are looking to attend OEMA’s free PIO courses:
- Public Information Officers Awareness course (G-289)
- Basic Public Information Officers’ course (G-290)
- JIS / JIC Planning for Tribal, State, and Local PIOs course (G-291)
**coordinate through OEMA State Training Officer Susan Traylor.
As always, I’m looking forward to the JIC / JIS activation calls. I am excited for these new PIOs to put their new acquired PIO skillz in place. And yes, I said skillz with a Z.
Time is short so do good stuff!
Final day of instructing Ohio EMA’s Basic Public Information Officers Course
Final day of the Ohio Emergency Management Agency’s Basic Public Information Officer Course (G-290). Kaboom!
Before class started, we pumped a little Billy Joel through the ECC&C speakers.
We talked about what kind of information needs to be disseminated including categorizing messages by priority. Obviously, we discussed various social media platforms and a few publishing options to maximize visibility.
Basically, it still comes down to maximizing our efforts during a disaster or emergency.
Working in groups, all participants formulated action items to implement at their agencies. Incidentally, this is truly the reason why so many ICS classes exercise in groups…is to help facilitate open dialogue. Building relationships is easier in an open classroom setting.
And yes, 0300 is NOT the time to be meeting fellow public safety professionals for the first time in the EOC.
As a group, we evaluated everyone’s TV PIO interview.
Everyone shared constructive recommendations with the entire class. Everyone.
In fact, the private industry crew really enjoyed the training and wanted to work/train more closely with various public safety agencies (Hmmmm, I sense this could be the start of a public-private-partnerships-EEEK).
In the end, more group work and a secondary interview helped participants to become more comfortable in front of the camera.
Additionally, non-verbal actions including certain physical cues were shared to help PIOs take back control from an aggressive reporter and take control of the interview.
Remember, the important point to remember is….
Reporting live from FEMA Region-5, at the Medina County Emergency Coordination Center & Classroom…
Teaching Ohio EMA’s Basic Public Information Officers Course
First day of the Ohio Emergency Management Agency’s Public Information Officer Course (G-290). Whohoo!!!!
Welcome and intros today by OEMA NE Region Supervisor Bob Zehentbauer.
Bob Z kicking off today’s Ohio EMA Basic PIO course.
(Bob-Mahalos for the kind words)
Special thanks to Medina County Emergency Management Agency and Director Christina Fozio for hosting this great all-hazards class.
Medina County EMA Director Christine Fozio with the best hospitality in the EOC!
This class, our participants hail from various disciplines including Fire, EMS, Law Enforcement, Emergency Management, Hospitals, Prison officials, Private Industry, Health Department, and Higher Education.
So many experiences to share especially with all the EOC activations we had in the past 5 years here in NE Ohio. Castro case, Ebola, Pepper Pike Tornado, Flooding, Operations Barclay, Hurricane Sandy, etc…all are great experiences that we as instructors can share our experiences with our participants.
I believe the best part about the G-290 course? The on-camera interviews for everyone.
One camera for face, one camera for body language, and a tricky “reporter” asking questions.
Many instructors shy away from this task because they don’t have the time, experience, or even the equipment. However, I believe that it is imperative we have these tools that simulate real-life situations. We as instructors should provide the most realistic examples of in-field experiences for all participants.
For those attending, we will never compromise. We will always provide the best class.
Period.
Spent my day with my hometown CERT
Spent my day volunteering with my hometown Community Emergency Response Team (CERT).
On arrival, I thought I was going to get assigned a different task, but logistics and parking was the identified main concern and safety was an issue.
After I got briefed on the event, I discussed our situation with all the participants. As CERT, we coordinated our efforts so that our actions/tactics could best match the safety of our personnel as well as others who were there attending the event.
I briefed the Mayor on our ongoing operations and even looked at a few alternate plans.
Of course we continued to assess our event and think about other safety measures.
And of course we had a few moments to share a smile.
Fun fact, our Council President and Safety Chair is also a proud founding member of my awesome CERT Team. Booya!
Seriously, I love it when elected members of local government give back to their community.
We identified a few issues that will need to be made for the 2016 event (like a formal all-hazards traffic plan with maps, uniformed vests, pre-event plan dissemination/distribution, more participation, etc…). Maybe a formal Incident Action Plan (IAP). Fairly easy stuff that we would be happy to share w/ our constituents.
Wait….What? You have never heard of FEMA’s CERT program before? Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Program educates people about disaster preparedness for hazards that may impact their area and trains them in basic disaster response skills, such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization, and disaster medical operations. Using the training learned in the classroom and during exercises, CERT members can assist others in their neighborhood or workplace following an event when professional responders are not immediately available to help. CERT members also are encouraged to support emergency response agencies by taking a more active role in emergency preparedness projects in their community.
More info can be found on FEMA’s website here.
Want to volunteer within your own community? Want to make a difference in your community? Click here to locate the closest CERT Team to you!
As always, I believe I can make a difference in my community. Fun fact: I’ve been volunteering with my CERT since 2007.
I hope you will do the same.
Easy 4th of July safety tips #FireworksSafety
Safety tips? You bet!
Here’s some basic 4th of July Fireworks safety tips:
- Safety tip: Make sure fireworks are legal in your area before buying or using them.
- Safety tip: Keep a bucket of water or a garden hose handy in case of fire or other mishap.
- Safety tip: Never allow young children to play with or ignite fireworks.
- Safety tip: Always have an adult supervise fireworks activities.
- Safety tip: Sparklers burn at temperatures of about 2,000 degrees – hot enough to melt some metals.
Thanks @Readygov #FireworksSafety
Happy safe 4th of July week/weekend everyone!
Another brand new social media engagement presentation at FSU
Also had a chance to be one of the first instructors to deliver the new social media engagement presentation for FEMA/NDPTC.
Florida State University uses social media heavily to engage and inform their entire student body, faculty, as well as alumni of events ongoing on campus at Tallahassee.
FSU have a great social media presence. Consider following them @KeepFSUSafe @FSUAlerts @FloridaState #LifeAtFSU
Not only on a computer but from various mobile platforms and public warning systems too! Well done FSU!
A very special thanks to my awesome co-instructor Jennifer aka call sign: “other”.
Such a great adventure! Very proud of the work I’ve been assigned.
Reporting live from FEMA Region-4!
Where is @rusnivek? 