Quick stop on a fire Wednesday morning with the teams from FEMA Region V Chicago office.
Great to catch up – lotsa good things coming up!
Meetings with FEMA Region V office peeps
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Tag Archives: Management
FEMA Basic PIO Day-1 at Summit County (OH) Public Health
Another fine start to the FEMA Basic Public Information Officer class here in Summit County, Ohio!
Many thanks to the pros at the Summit County Health Department who are hosting this week’s class.
Outstanding hospitality as always!
And of course special thanks to Jena Beckett and the team from Summit County EMA for enhancing their team’s knowledge on the fun of being a Public Information Officer!
We are in the command room this week so you know it’s serious!
As always, we lay the groundwork for successful operations for any PIO.
But we also share real-world experiences that could help in their daily routines to better their visibility. And yes, of course we still do all the media mock interviews.
Public health is a great partner when it comes to outbreaks and opioid intervention tactics so many of our participants opted to test their media skills on an outbreak and response.
Also great to have former Columbus newsies Rachel Feeley on our PIO side (now with Ohio Department of Health) as we continue our mock interviews for everyone.
See, deep down inside, some reporters want to be public safety PIOs. 🤣
For those newly assigned PIOs, we get them on camera as soon as possible!
The whole idea is that we expose new PIOs to this kind of media interview(s) so they aren’t shocked the first time they do it in real life. It’s always a bit more nerve racking when you are n00b PIO and have a bunch of mics and high intensity lights shoved in your face during the start of a major disaster or crisis.
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaand finally, a big shout out to my team across this great nation as FEMA turns 40 this week!
Here’s a quick video that External Affairs put together.
Proud to work along side all of you through countless disasters.
@rusnivek
Day-2 of the FEMA EOC Management and Operations course (G775)
Day-2 of the FEMA EOC Management & Operations course here at DuPage County OHSEM.
Bonus points, I got to introduce our new Ops Chief to everyone today. Welcome Joe Jones!
We also talked a bunch about responder safety and how to bring a few moments of zen to the pros working your EOC. I think these comfort/therapy dogs are the best.
Timely post from FEMA on the work these dogs do for responders.
Trust me, they were a very welcome sight in the midst of chaos of a national disaster.
Glad to have so many pros from across Illinois for attending our class.
And yes, without a doubt, it is #AlohaFriday.
Day-1 of the FEMA G775 EOC Management & Operations Course at DuPage County OHSEM
Starting out the official FEMA G775 EOC Management and Operations course today.
And if you didn’t know what EOC was…..
And now you know.
In this class, we are fortunate to talk about our fine partners in public safety represented in 15 different ESFs. As an example, the biggest nerd….I mean guru on radios is everyone’s favorite Comms guy, ladies and gents, put your hands together for John Neeeeeeeeeeeebl!!!!!!
Happy to give the floor to him to share the efforts of the ITECS trailers and the COML function with everyone.
We also discussed a ton on positions and what is done to serve the EOC. We talked a bit on plans and how they drive the train along using the planning P as a guide to the formulation of the IAP.
Now, your EOC is waaaay more than just getting a few computers. 
Yikes. That’s right, you can’t have everything on computer, you need ACTUAL human beings running the show.
Not only a warm body, but also highly trained individual and pros that possess knowledge and experience to make critical decisions to support operations as well as support the ongoing operational periods. So basically we need peeps that know how to work a disaster.
So to help put things into perspective, we showcased our own EOC too.
Honestly, we hope that you know our EOC because if we spin up, we want you to know our setup so that we can all function well TOGETHER. Again, the EOC should be used as a coordination center for our all-hazards partners.
Solid first day as we talk about the benefits of the EOC. Glad to have so many partners here in class with us.
Reporting live from the DuPage County OHSEM FEMA EOC Ops class…
FEMA EOC Management and Operations Course tomorrow
Teaching FEMA’s Emergency Operations Center Management & Operations course tomorrow.
Looking forward to sharing some EOC tips w/ Emergency Management pros from across the state of #Illinois.
Crisis Comms meetings at ARC Chicago
Afternoon meetings with the Communications team with the Red Cross of Chicago!
Case studies? Social media? Response training? Media training? Yeppers, all of that stuff for for the L-team to boots-on-the-ground staff.
Looking forward to some upcoming Crisis Comms training with all their staff.
JIC/JIS Course here at DuPage County OHSEM
Outstanding day to start the FEMA G0291: JIC/JIS Course here at DuPage County OHSEM.
And a solid Miley way to start the day is a party in the USA!
Awwwwwww yeah.
As always, a fine safety brief from John on class including info on 24/7 PIO support from both of us.
With the upcoming exercises, we wanted to give the participants an opportunity to share their experiences as well as how much training has helped them increase their output and network with others.
In class activities concrete key points so that we can all function well with each other. In the end, we hope that nothing happens…but the reality is that it is only a matter of time before we have to work together.
Train like you fight right?
How is DuPage County OHSEM doing it? We are fostering a workspace for collaboration not only in this area, but statewide. Here’s an example.
As stated before, a rising tide raises all ships.
We will learn/train together and we will enjoy our successes together.
And when a crisis hits or a disaster just happens, it will no doubt be a challenging work environment. But thanks to training and exercises, we as PIOs will be able to function well together and shine.
Reminds me of a quote: “When it rains, we roar.” – PIO Ryan S.
Looking forward to seeing all of you at the next big one….in the JIC!
FEMA Basic PIO Day-1
Starting off another FEMA G0290: Basic PIO course with our public safety pros from across the state!
I am fortunate to grab a few other PIOs for class today – suit up!
Aside from sharing concepts and theory, we also focused on interview skills…
…you know we did the oncamera interviews.
No bones about it, our mantra is to provide the best real-world training out there.
Lots of discussion on staging as well as single role PIOs and what they can do to get the ball rolling.
We also integrated a few activities and exercises into the mix too.
Don’t worry, we took some time to discuss communications strategies. We shared the 8-step communications model and introduced StratComms!
Planning ahead is always a good thing – esp for PIOs. Preparedness is essential in being a good PIO.
Successful first day with everyone. Looking forward to a solid day-2!
More EM staff IntraOp Radio Comms training
Concreting our IntraOp radio comms training today with our staff.
Enhancing the message and now assuring our partners get the right message in a timely fashion is so important.
Train like you fight right?
“Air Branch from Ops Section Chief: I”m going to need four type two rotor-wing assets to arrive at the helistop at 1800. How do copy?”
You know our staff – we ain’t messing around.
ICS for Executives/Senior Officials
What a morning as we kick off the FEMA ICS-402: ICS for Executives/Senior Officials!
Even got a rare class visit from Director Snow on the start today.
Suit up as we continue to explain the need for ICS and share the values a coordinated response. And yes, if you are going to ask, I once created an IAP thiiiiiiis big… 
Proud to have leadership from various organizations including our own DuPage County Board Members Dawn DeSart and Sheila Rutledge.
Great class and looking forward to more with our partners.
Where is @rusnivek? 