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Emergency Management, Emergency Services, & Disaster Spox

Winter Weather Hazards class at DuPage OHSEM in December!

Posted on December 18, 2019 by rusnivek

A fine start to this crisp morning as the DuPage County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management starting the FEMA NDPTC Winter Weather Hazards course!

Welcome intros by Director Murray Snow to our participants from across the state!

Glad to see so many of our most trusted partners here today with almost all Emergency Support Functions represented.

Great to have NDPTC Instructor Rob Dale here again from Michigan where we know the weather there is more worserer than here.

His insight from a small EM agency and weather perspective allows us to see how to increase our ability to address and target specific audiences.

Outstanding to have John Scala. I love his teaching style and ability to share critical points in class is critical because science is…well…hard.

John’s ability to answer questions and explain complex weather issues is so important esp to those of us who are not trained as a MET. Additionally, several of our participants recognize him from his time as a broadcast meteorologist days.

With this class stacked w/ legit meteorologists, I am proud that these classes are a big hit with our peeps!

Just in time because the weather outside is frightful…

Stay warm peeps!

@rusnivek

Downburst with Thunderstorm at the EOC

Posted on July 3, 2019 by rusnivek

Sometimes Mother Nature just wants to remind you of her power. Work this morning was a bit different as we saw the true power of how powerful a simple downburst can be.

As you can see, these gigantic trees were no match for the winds in excess of 50mph.

Like a pair of sticks, this thicc tree was split at the base, the thickest strongest point.

Dayum.

To give you some perspective of the size, take a look at this picture. See that Chief wearing the white shirt behind the tree? Yeah, that’s a big tree.

Keep in mind, there are two gigantic trees that instantly fell within seconds.

As you can see, our top notch ESF-03: Public Works pros are already at it with their chainsaw gang clearing priority paths for critical access.

For more detailed information on this downburst with severe thunderstorms, here’s the direct link to NWS-Chicago’s report: https://www.weather.gov/lot/2019Jul02_Severe

Stay safe and heed all the warnings of local public safety agencies.

@rusnivek

DuPage County partners w/ OHSEM to lead the way with Outdoor Weather Event & Planning TableTop Exercise

Posted on June 5, 2019 by rusnivek

As our office continues to work the magic for all of our partners in public safety, today we continue to rollout the new Event Ready Weather Decision toolkit that helps any agency with critical command decisions.

Our office has worked closely with the National Weather Service Chicago in developing this process.

And of course to pair with the class, we have a Outdoor Event Planning TableTop to help concrete the points to all participating agencies.

Not only developing, but making sure that the information is compliant….

…like HSEEP compliant TableTop exercise compliant.

That’s right – welcome to the #EmergencyManagement pros!

Success? Does it work? Hellz yeah it works! Just ask Lombard’s PIO Avis Meade who used this planning guide for their 2019 Lilac Parade.

Their actions based on NWS Chicago data and critical command decisions likely saved lives as severe weather rolled into the area with an exposed and completely vulnerable population.

Let me say that again, the planning and preparedness efforts from everyone in Lombard saved lives.

Let me translate that for you (think FEMA Core Capability): Sharing good info (Intelligence and Information Sharing), working closely with local, county, and state partnerships (Operational Coordination), and known trusted information (Public Information and Warning)

Decisions made in advance with partnerships with the local National Weather Service can save lives?!?!? YES IT CAN!

In Emergency Management, our decisions are collaborative and based on a combination of historical data and past industry practice. This is what Emergency Management is all about. Repeat after me: Planning and Coordination. Planning and Coordination.Planning and Coordination.Planning and Coordination.

I am proud to be a small part of many agencies doing the right thing for communities across this county and this great country.