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Emergency Management, Emergency Services, & Disaster Spox

Sharing preparedness tips with PIOs across the country #NatlPrep #PrepareAthon

Posted on September 2, 2016 by rusnivek

I frequently present to Public Information Officers / Public Affairs Officers (PIOs & PAOs) across the country and talk extensively about preparedness.

For those that were wondering about the class attire, many of my classes get scheduled on a Friday aka #AlohaFriday

Proud to say that so many of them love the job and enjoy sharing ways to increase safety in all communities with FEMA’s Ready.Gov Program.

Your local Fire, EMS, Law Enforcement, and Emergency Management agencies are a great starting point for preparedness activities. Then all state safety agencies and Federal partners cooperate top down with many key organizations across the country.

That’s right. Local works with state works with regional works with national.

Happy #AlohaFriday peeps!

“Don’t Wait. Communicate. Make Your Emergency Plan Today.”

@rusnivek

PIO-ing Cleveland’s Public Square during #PrideInTheCLE #ClevelandPride

Posted on August 14, 2016 by rusnivek

Yesterday, I supported Cleveland Police on the #PrideInTheCLE #ClevelandPride event in Public Square.

Much different from the Republican National Convention.

Lots of families out and about (and enjoying) the new cool fountain in downtown Cleveland.

Everyone was having a great time.

Lots of speculation and talk about public safety not being around to support the LGBT community – all totally false. Public Safety will be there to support any community.

Trust me, lots of public safety was on hand to support our entire community.

Cleveland Police Bomb Squad and K9 teams…

Cleveland EMS…

..even the Cleveland Police bike patrol was out supporting the day’s events.

Lots of areas to cover.

Partnerships with the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Department and Cleveland Police Department are key in providing safety for everyone who attended the event.

It was a relatively hot day so I am glad that many of the participants dressed appropriately for the event.

Some not so much.

Fun entertainment and friendly people staying cool out in Public Square.

While waiting around, we had some time for a quick PIO selfie…

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Also had time for a few interviews with local media.

Also happy to run into a long time good friend Mark Zinni who is the anchor for the Channel 3 Eyewitness News in Hartford, Connecticut. Great to see him again.

Thanks for the picture Zinni!

Can’t wait to see him again in Cleveland.

While out there, we even made a few new peeps into Junior Police Officers.

Thanks Ken!

We were fortunate enough to do a few live interviews on Periscope from Public Square.

We highlighted the event and gave a status report of the operations using Periscope.

Ever wonder what it’s like to hang with onscene PIOs? Here’s a behind the scenes shot of us doing some live interviews on Periscope.

Thanks for the action shot Zinni!

Trust me, it’s harder than it looks.

Overall, it was great to see so many people out on a Saturday afternoon in Cleveland.

As always, I had a great time working the PIO magic with Jen!

We make a pretty good team huh?

Hope everyone stayed dry while the rain hit.

Great safe event everyone!

Have a great weekend!

@rusnivek

Retrofitted military aircraft to support wildfire operations

Posted on October 8, 2015 by rusnivek

One of my friends in California just emailed me this picture.

National Guard members have retrofitted various aircraft including this C-130 with alternate equipment for wildfire operations.

I am really impressed with how local, state, Federal, and military assets are working together to control the wildfires. All-Hazards indeed!

Nice work everyone!

@rusnivek

Today is National Preparedness Day! #NatlPrep

Posted on September 30, 2015 by rusnivek

Ahhhhh, the last day of 2015 National Preparedness Month – THAT MEANS TODAY IS NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS DAY!!!!

Oh Yeah – You did it!

I know many of you have shared your tips and preparedness efforts with countless others. I am confident that your shared knowledge will pay off as we better prepare our fellow Americans for any disaster or emergency.

Thanks to all of our active partners in public safety. From the Locals to State to Federal partners who have made this month so successful – thank you!

Thank you to my agencies who have allowed me to share my preparedness tips with you.

I only wonder what will 2016 preparedness bring? Hmmm. Here’s a hint…

…and a little of this…

…and definitely more of this.

Who’s excited? <SQUIRREL!>

Don’t wait. Communicate. Make your emergency plan today.

Whew-I am so glad that many of you have decided to participate in this month’s activities. Keep in mind that you have 11 more months to address your public in finding ways to be better prepared in a disaster. Planning for the 2016 National Preparedness Month will begin shortly.

As always, start your peeps off right by sending them here.

@rusnivek

Building new relationships on a Tuesday #NatlPrep

Posted on September 29, 2015 by rusnivek

The last Tuesday in the 2015 National Preparedness Month!

Today, look to building new relationships.

Normally, we don’t look outside the realm of daily public safety. It’s easy to talk to Fire/EMS, Law Enforcement, or Public Works Professionals. However, new discussion needs to happen between individuals who can support our mission goals or some unmet needs.

Faith-based organizations are great groups to explore new activities to support your community. In varying degrees, faith-based organizations have the capabilities to support disaster response and recovery operations with food, shelter, and supportive measures. But again, the key is to open discussions BEFORE a disaster so you can evaluate their capability.

Additionally, talk to your local politicians…esp if they are an active part of your Community Emergency Response Team (CERT). These civic-minded individuals have most likely gone through additional preparedness training and can be a great resource for anyone.

Trust me, these are the kinds of people you want to be in close contact with before, during, or after an emergency/disaster.

Don’t wait. Communicate. Make your emergency plan today.

Get to know some new local peeps!

Tuesday is here – so get prepared by clicking here.

@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

Spent my day with my hometown CERT

Posted on July 12, 2015 by rusnivek

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.

@rusnivek

Teaching CERT stuff. Are you a part of your local CERT?

Posted on April 21, 2015 by rusnivek

Teaching CERT stuff tonight. Shout out to all the volunteer agencies across the U.S.!

Many Americans give back to the community every single day. In fact the bulk of the fire service in the United States are made up of volunteer firefighters.

It is incumbent upon us to be good stewards of local preparedness efforts.

I encourage everyone to participate in their local Community Emergency Response Team (CERT).

Find yours local CERT here: http://www.citizencorps.fema.gov/cc/CertIndex.do?submitByState
@rusnivek

Well….that was fun

Posted on October 24, 2014 by rusnivek

Well…that was fun.

Giving a few tips on Ebola safety/preparedness was quite…interesting.

I decided I couldn’t respond to the entire world’s Ebola concerns, but responding to those in the general vicinity would be more social because I’m local to the area in the geocode.

I did a simple geolocation on all the tweets, using DT Cleveland as center (N: 41.502715 x W: -81.695709) in a 62 mile circular radius that specifically used the term “ebola” in tweets/responses.

Easy Cheesey huh?

Wash your hands peeps.

@rusnivek

All-Hazardy participation and collaboration for flooding

Posted on August 13, 2014 by rusnivek

Great first day in our flood course here at Ohio EMA in Columbus.

I am fortunate that the participants in this class have outstanding stories from previous declarations and experiences from local, state, and regional responses during emergency flooding.

Some have shared their 500 year flooding stories from just the past 7 years (and clearly, it’s time to revisit the categorization and re-term these floods).

Here, FEMA staff, Ohio EMA staff, Ohio National Guard, and local Fire/Rescue services collectively discuss creative options to better serve numerous vulnerable population communities during an emergency evacuation during flooding.

IMHO, I really enjoy seeing this type of All-Hazardy professionals at the table.

Collaborating early can only strengthen joint response during any disaster.

@rusnivek