Tag Archives: Operations

FEMA basic Social Media for Disaster Response and Recovery #Arizona

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Good morning Arizonaaaaaaaaaa!

Welcome to the Pima County Emergency Management Agency as we kick off another basic Social Media for Disaster Response and Recovery class. Welcome intros from Training Manager Sandra Espinoza.

Glad to see so many agencies from across the state represented here in class today. Additionally, also good to be teaching with fellow Tier-1 Instructor Mary Jo Flynn.

As you know, MaryJo is a Region 9er too (Sacramento, CA).

Like a good Emergency Manager, I’m always looking at what other agencies have and how they do business. And yes, I esp look at what kind of creature comforts they have in their EOC. And without a doubt, I’d swipe right for this amenity in my EOC.

The folks at Pima County EMA are most definitely proud to have this amenity. #TotesJelly.

As a basic class, we are constantly talking about new apps and features. Here’s MaryJo talking about the FEMA App and their Disaster Reporter feature.

And you know that privacy is a huge concern so we spend a bit on making sure your settings as a government agency as well as personal settings are up to date.

Yes, make sure all your social media stuff is in order before a disaster…or else.

Most seasoned pros know that real Emergency Managers can adapt to most any situations. Big or small, tough or easy, we are flexible and can adapt to anything.

For those are worried about MaryJo and little old me? No worries. We are assimilating in here just fine.

Giddup – reporting live from our stagecoach!

@rusnivek

Day-2 of the new FEMA Region V COOP Course

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Starting off day–2 of the new FEMA COOP class.

Solid discussion lead by Northwestern Medicine’s Continuity Manager Sam with our all-hazards pros on alternate locations including cold, warm, and hot EOCs.

Not only locations, but also triggers on when to move emergency operations centers. These kinds of discussions also spark debate on levels of activation as well as essential personnel. We openly discuss triggers and standards that help make it easy for COOP Managers and leadership to roll out their continuity plan.

As we identify specific incidents and actions needed, we can also assess viability of personnel and staff….ESSENTIAL staff to these secure national COOP locations like

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Additionally, we focus in on the importance of not only writing a plan, but also exercising a plan. Good dialog w/ Joe on the city of Aurora’s exercise plans.

While not as sexy as response or even preparedness, these kinds of continuity exercises test recovery. Can’t begin to tell you how important that is to your constituents esp when things are going to 💩. Catastrophic planning is only as good as your last exercise – trust me, when faced with crisis, people will not always do the most common sense thing.

Why is our agency leaning in on the COOP stuff? Well, if all goes according to my plan, we should have at five (5) Master Continuity Practitioners on our staff. Awwwww yeah!

As we close up, Sam leads the post test wrap up to evaluate that level II retention that FEMA EMI loves.

In the end, when you see the participants smiling and hearing their responses in how they are going to directly implement these new rollouts and changes to the plans….is so gratifying.

I am proud of the work we do in Emergency Management. As an instructor I expect a lot out of you. And your students most definitely do too.

As an instructor, your influence to your participants can generate enthusiasm beyond expectation. Dedication is critical to the success of your mission. I am thankful for all the smiles in our FEMA Region 5 COOP class on this #AlohaFriday.

@rusnivek

Debut the new FEMA COOP course in Illinois

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Pretty excited. Starting tomorrow, we get to deliver the brand new FEMA COOP course.

With all the changes from FCD-2 and other national doctrine (including NIMS) – I am proud to be the first one to bring this course with FEMA Region V.

Totes #excited for Continuity of Operations!

@rusnivek

Day-2 of the FEMA EOC Management and Operations course (G775)

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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.

@rusnivek

 

Day-1 of the FEMA G775 EOC Management & Operations Course at DuPage County OHSEM

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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…

@rusnivek

 

FEMA EOC Management and Operations Course tomorrow

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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.

@rusnivek

As we prep for the extreme cold weather #EOC

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As we prep for the upcoming extreme cold weather, I am so proud of our staff at DuPage County OHSEM.

So proud to see our EOC readiness levels all blued out as we continue to serve our communities through incredibly cold winter weather.

Yep, we’re all in.

Keeping our partners informed and working the Emergency Management coordination is the magic behind the scenes we hope not to have to use.

While we are prepared to handle anything, I hope we have to handle nothing.

@rusnivek

 

Monday = Debris Management!

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Starting out this week talking about Debris Management and the importance of Public Works and Logistics!

Yeah, doesn’t seem like a fun topic right? But if you look at the real deal, this is how Emergency Managers earn their keep. Cause it’s not in the response phase.

Emergency Managers work the magic in the recovery phase.

Collaboration in class means that we hash out a few issues prior to the actual disaster.

Working closely with all factions in government will ensure a smooth response from everyone involved.

The faster you get your community back on track, the better your community will be. Building resilient communities is critical!

You should address 10 major factors as part of your debris plan.

Is this difficult? Most definitely. Here’s a picture from the USVI in 2017.

Here’s a picture from the USVI in November 2018.

Can you think of any planning challenges? Any logistical issues? Any major environmental issues?

If you said a million yeseseses to the above three questions, you need to address your debris management plan with your Emergency Management official.

Special mahalos to my Co-instructor Ben.

Sharing a few stories about counter intelligence, we realize it’s a really small world.

@rusnviek