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Emergency Management, Emergency Services, & Disaster Spox

September 11th 2020 – 19 years later.

Posted on September 11, 2020 by rusnivek

As we reflect on one of the darkest days in our country’s history, we remain thankful for the sacrifices and determination of everyone involved.

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2001 was almost two decades ago. Whoa.

Many have asked what I was doing on September 11th. You can read about it here.

Proud to have worked to support FDNY after the attacks primarily serving at 44 Engine in Midtown Manhattan.

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We dug at the pit but sad that our crew didn’t find a body to return to the families that lost everything.

Regardless of time, all Firefighters are proud to honor each of the fallen.

My 343 Brother Firefighters who died in the line of duty will never be forgotten.

Sign at FDNY Engine 10 Ladder 10 house "FDNY WAY, WAY BEYOND THE CALL OF DUTY"

Tacked on the wall at 10s house

Fast forward to 2020, and we’re all having a rough year. But we as a nation must come together.

While it seems bad right now, we will persevere and overcome these challenges.

We will recover and rebuild because we’ve done it before. Trust me, I’ve been in One World Trade and it’s wonderful in there. Special thanks to my friends at FEMA Region II.

Thanks to Delia and the crew at FEMA Region-2!

…and the views was spectacular.

View of the Hudson River looking east from One World Trade Center

Statue of Liberty (south view) from One World Trade.

The view of West Street (north view) from One World Trade.

However, we will never forget the sacrifices heroes have paid for these freedoms we enjoy. At the base, of One World Trade sits the daily reminder – two incredible tributes to the victims of the September 11th attacks from the former WTCs.

Part of the September 11th Memorial in NYC.

Our colors don’t run. Our fight for freedom will will never waiver.

We has never been shy about being in front and fighting for what’s right. As you know, our nation has gone to the ends of the earth to ensure safety…and we hope to continue this Herculean effort to protect freedoms for decades to come.

“…and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity…”

America the beautiful, my home of the brave.

@rusnivek

Happy New Year! #HNY 2020

Posted on January 1, 2020 by rusnivek

Happy new year peeps!

Keep it safe all evening long please.

@rusnivek

Rolling out the brand new 2019 ICS-400: Advanced ICS at the Illinois Air National Guard

Posted on July 25, 2019 by rusnivek

Goooooood morning all! Reporting live from the Illinois Air National Guard base for the new 2019 ICS-400 course!

Proud to partner with our Department of Defense assets from the US Air Force.

Outstanding kickoff from Chief Otto this morning as we continue to enhance the skills of everyone from across the State of Illinois.

As we kick off the class, it’s great to see participation from various agencies. Lots to discuss as logistical challenges between DHS vs DoD that clearly extend beyond resources and cost funding allocation.

Learning through realistic training helps concrete concepts presented…esp scenarios on area command.

Love seeing the familiar faces as we continue preparing our disaster responses pros from across the State of Illinois

Group work allows for all parties to contribute and openly discuss challenges they have seen with disaster operations.

It’s rare that locals get to partner and train with regional assets. In fact, in our new training, we get to showcase the skills of other larger national assets who focus on logistical support…like the Illinois Air National Guard – 182nd AirWing.

We close out the day talking about the importance of the EOC and how it supports the roles of Unified Command (UC) or Area Command and all the Incident Command Posts (ICPs) in the field.

Sharing the importance of good situational awareness and a common operating picture is critical in the success of any emergency response and the recovery of the community.

We often find that communities successfully recovery after a disaster much quicker if they are better prepared and exercise their plans…..yep, that’s called community resilience.

Proud to share our response successes with all of our participants from across the State of Illinois.

More tomorrow!

@rusnivek

Popping the brand new ICS-400 class for the Illinois Air National Guard – 182 Airlift Wing

Posted on June 4, 2019 by rusnivek

Looks like I’ll get to teach the new ICS-400 course at the Illinois Air National Guard – 182nd Airlift Wing base. Whohoooooooo!

Who’s in???

Alex, I’ll take the C-130 for $400!

@rusnivek

Run? Hide? Fight? Here’s a few better ones

Posted on May 28, 2019 by rusnivek

Tuesday morning hit hard after a long holiday weekend. On the ride in, I was thinking more about the new terminology that will be rolled out shortly to replace the “Run! Hide! Fight!” – for active shooter situations.

At last week’s National Preparedness Symposium, one of the FEMA Consortium partners brought up the newly revamped procedures.

1. Lock or block it.

2. Become invisible.

3. Silence your phone.

4. Silence yourself.

5. When you come out, ask “Is it OK?”

Lots of discussion on review of actions too. While heroic in practice/training, we are seeing that people are more reserve when it comes to actual emergencies.

Same as before, contemplate a counter-attack strategy with others who are stuck with you. “I go high and you go low” type conversations will help coordinate your immediate response if a threat presents itself.

Having good communications skills as well as non-verbal communications skills are critical esp in a dangerous situation.

Get to know your co-workers and your neighbors.

@rusnivek

Brand new FEMA Region V COOP class Day-1

Posted on April 25, 2019 by rusnivek

Kicking off the new FEMA Region 5 Continuity of Operations class here at the DuPage County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.

Proud to have Northwestern Medicine’s Continuity Manager Sam Boyle and DuPage County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management Operations Supervisor Joe Joseph with us to share some of the changes with FCD-1, FCD-2, CC-1, HSPD5, PPD-8, NSPD-51, HSPD-20, and of course the NIMS update.

Mid-day discussion with Joe on the Continuity planning process with the new FEMA course materials for COOP focused around essential functions.

Look at those smiles!

All made to enhance the skills of our public safety partners.

Shout out to all the leadership and participants who took the time away from their desks to enhance their program’s ability to function beyond catastrophic incidents.

Also, for those that were paying attention on the day? Is it really the perfect date?

Hmmmm…

Boom.

COOP? Operations? Social Media? Public Information? Pop culture? Everything is a calculated because even in a FEMA class, we don’t miss a beat!

Welcome to my program. This is how we do things at our house.

@rusnivek

New ICS 300 and ICS 400 debut tomorrow

Posted on April 22, 2019 by rusnivek

Pretty excited to hear about the changes to ICS 300 and ICS 400 tomorrow. I know FEMA EMI has been working hard on these fundamental changes with the ICS structure and command and control.

The last update was really October 2013 so we are totes due for a refresh.

Yeah 2013-2019. Six years isn’t the typical cycle.

This refresh is going to be special as they embody the changes that DHS/FEMA Director of National Integration Doc Lumpkins has set forth in his NIMS refresh.