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Emergency Management, Emergency Services, & Disaster Spox

Hello to January 2017!

Posted on January 1, 2017 by rusnivek

December was relatively busy but say hello to January 2017!

In the first week, its paperwork mania! As usual, we have yearly update classes that needs to be completed and mandatory inservice training.

Second week, I’ll be headed to the State of New Mexico’s Department of Heath to teach Social media. For my friends in Region-6, I also need to figure out if I’m a green or red. Hmmm.

Third week, I’ll be presenting at the huge PIO Conference in Franklin County (Columbus), Ohio. Working the PIO magic with Jennifer Ciaccia and Erica Creech. It’s a huge conference with tons of participants. Do you want to attend? Just email Xenia (xeniapalus@franklincountyohio.gov ) for more deets.

Fourth week, I head back to St. Clair County Michigan to teach social media. If you remember, these are my peeps who participated in the big Cause IV experiment with the Department of Homeland Security Federal Emergency Management Agency, and Canada’s Public Safety on a cross-border full scale exercise in 2016. Excited to see my peeps again!

2017 is here. Bring it!

@rusnivek

Day-3 Ohio EMA ICS 300 course with 911 PSAP & Belmont County EMA EOC

Posted on October 6, 2016 by rusnivek

Third and final day of the Ohio EMA ICS-300 course at Belmont College.

PhotoCredit: @BelmontCollege

Mid morning, we had lots of great discussion for formal demobilization plans as well priority release procedures.

Our class had some serious discussion on cost vs expectations on resources. If you’ve ever been deployed to a disaster, you know exactly what I’m talking about.

Rounding out to the last module, almost test time!

After the class was over, I was able to score a visit to Belmont County 911 dispatch center for our class. So I invited the whole class to attend too!

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Special thanks to Mr. Hudak for the tour and detailed explanation on normal operations in their Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) / 911 call center.

Our class then moved over to the Belmont County Emergency Management Agency where our class was given a formal tour of their Emergency Operation Center (EOC).

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They just happen to be monitoring Hurricane Matthew – so that made it even better for all participants to see how this EOC can monitor any situation in real time. Thank you Belmont County EMA!

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Positions ready…Executive Policy Room ready…ARES Comms center ready…fully operational…who could ask for anything more?!!?!? Even the bonus resources they have were great to see how they could support operations and paint a better picture to increase situational awareness / common operating picture (SA/COP).

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Gah, I see this EOC being a great resource for many all hazards partners in public safety.

Great to showcase the efforts of local emergency management professionals and how they pair with Ohio Emergency Management Agency (OEMA).

Special thanks to Glenn Trudo and Belmont College for being such gracious hosts for the OEMA ICS-300 class.

@rusnivek

Social Media Day-2 at the Oklahoma State Department of Health

Posted on August 26, 2016 by rusnivek

Strong classroom engagement yesterday with many military personnel attending including a Lieutenant Colonel. But today’s class? They are asking some serious deep social media questions too!

Including FacebookLive! So, like any hands-on PIO instructor, I decided to grab one of them and do a live demo. Say hello to USAF OK ANG PAO Brigette Waltermire!

Showcasing some social media live streaming magic to the class.

During the break, I was able to demo how we do the behind the scenes stuff so that the PIOs/PAOs in the audience can see how much work goes into a two-minute interview.

Special mahalos to my friend Amber for the invite to Oklahoma again.

I am fortunate to have so much fun teaching in Region-6 with great peeps!

@rusnivek

Newly revised Social Media course in OK

Posted on August 25, 2016 by rusnivek

Breaking open the seal on the newly revised DHS / FEMA / NDPTC Social Media for Natural Disasters Response and Recovery course.

Break out all my best #octothorp jokes now…

…cause it’s going to be a fun day in the OSDH Situation Room!

Reporting live from OK…

@rusnivek

Top notch peeps from across the country in Texas

Posted on January 21, 2016 by rusnivek

My social media class today…

Definitely one of the most diverse All-Hazard classes I had in a long while. Participants represented Emergency Management, Fusion Center, Public Works, Land & Natural Resources, Fire, Health Department, EMS, Private sector, HAZMAT, Police, Veteran’s Affairs, Intelligence, US Coast Guard PIAT, National Weather Service, CERT, and PIOs / PAOs.

Top notch peeps from across the country this week!

Special thanks to my old friend Houston Office of Emergency Management Melanie Manville for hosting this new #NDPTC class.

Many Mahalos.

@rusnivek

JIS – JIC planning class for Tribal State and local PIOs

Posted on July 17, 2015 by rusnivek

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!

@rusnivek

Monday schedule here in DC #WHSMEM #SURINDC

Posted on July 28, 2014 by rusnivek

Hello busy week in DC!

First up a meeting w/ old friends from DoD at the Pentagon.

Then I head to DHS to chat about social media to OHA/BioWatch leadership.

Then dinner with all the social media and disaster peeps from across the county. Lots of pretty important and influential peeps to meet up tonight.

Tomorrow is the White House workshops and events.

Still, totes excited.

@rusnivek<

Soooo, I’ll be in Washington DC next week…

Posted on July 25, 2014 by rusnivek

A quick update on next week’s trip to Washington DC aka my official invite to the White House…

I have been invited by The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), and The National Security Council (NSC) to attend the White House Innovation for Disaster Response and Recovery Initiative on Tuesday July 29, 2014. Workshops in the morning and the event in the afternoon (Social Media, User-Centered Designs, and Predictive Analytics).

Additionally, I’ll be taking in a few other meetings with response and preparedness agencies including DoD, DHS, and FEMA. Alphabet soup gang huh?

Am I nervous? Yep. I’m just hoping I don’t throw up on important people.

I’m totes excited.

Suit up!

…

Event: White House Innovation for Disaster Response and Recovery Initiative on Tuesday July 29, 2014

This event will bring together technologists, entrepreneurs, and members of the disaster response community to showcase tools that will make a tangible impact in the lives of survivors of large-scale emergencies. The White House Innovation for Disaster Response and Recovery Initiative was first launched by the Administration in the wake of Hurricane Sandy to find the most effective ways technology can empower survivors, first responders, and local, state, tribal, territorial, and Federal government with critical information and resources.

My notes from the webinar today #PrepPartners

Posted on October 23, 2013 by rusnivek

I had an hour this afternoon to listen/participate in a Webinar.

What did I learn?

Physical equipment/barriers are great attention-getters for attendees.
Teach your participants to use simple objects to enact the most change (use during evacuation).
“See Something, Say Something” or “See Something, Do Something”.
Once temperatures reach certain thresholds, offer free cup water to anyone at any concession stand.
Buy-in from various All-Hazard agencies is key to working together. Even more important, having them attend your in-person briefings.
During a disaster: Safety agencies meeting for the first time = not so good.
During a disaster: Radio/phone to Radio/phone = OK.
During a disaster: Working together Face-to-face in the EOC = priceless.
Despite funny looking, Water Monsters (ie cooling stations) are VERY important.
At least 4 redundant radio communications needed for large scale pre-planned events. Amateur Radio is 5th line backup for regional comms.
No tailgaiting drinking at OSU games…I guess that’s why Browns fans don’t often attend OSU games early.
The timing of exercises is key and public perception and should always be considered.

Use the tips above to keep you and your peeps safe.

Special thanks to Columbus Public Health and Ohio State University for hosting.

@rusnivek