2017 St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Cleveland is in full swing today.
Always remember to check in at the start of your shift at the EOC!
As part of our all-hazards plan, we have coordinated services with so many other agencies. Obviously the Cleveland EOC Manager wrote an IAP for all of us (Incident Action Plan).
This coordinated document addresses issues that could/likely arise during the operational period. Briefings and discussion completed by leadership as well as the Incident Commander (IC) help all C&GSF successfully complete their tasks. Additionally, understanding each other’s roles as well as the overarching SMART objectives, mission, and goals contribute to the success of the event.
Reporting into my ESF-15: External Affairs – Spox work today!
Planned ESF-1 (Transportation) routes look fairly open so sharing this kind of info with the general public is important because the less impaired drivers we have on the roadways, the better.
That’s why we encourage building partnerships before an event or large disaster. In this case, partnerships between all providers and the Greater Cleveland Rapid Transit Authority (@GCRTA) was key in sharing the message.
Once we field deployed, we planned on a few specific events and locations. Showcasing the skills of local bomb teams and K9 teams is an important part to share with the general public. Security is always important as we must ensure that everyone has a safe St. Patrick’s Day.
We used both Facebook Live, Twitter, Facebook, and Periscope to broadcast directly from the parade staging area on Superior Ave.
To aid in movement, we opted for a few bikes courtesy of the Cleveland Police Bike Unit.
You may have seen these bikes deployed out before during the RNC – they are NICE!!! By being mobile, PIOs have the ability to get anywhere in the response area (Note: This was the first time we have deployed PIOs on bikes for an event).
We even saw many of the reporters we regularly work with – like Fox 8 Cleveland‘s Jessica Dill who decided to do a live spot with us.
Great to have great relationships with local media.
We were able to showcase a few behind the scenes things like the lineup and start of the parade and spot interviews with VIPs in the parade lineup.
Cold day, but it seems like everyone heeded our cold weather warnings. NICE!
We reported back to the EOC to reorient ourselves as the parade had over 120 vehicles/floats.
This gave us a chance to brief w/ leadership and Incident Command (IC). As we continued to push out critical messages, it was imperative that we confirm with the Incident Commander that we are pushing out the right information.
Salient ICS point of reference: PIOs do not operate independently from the IC – they work to push the coordinated messages/information that is approved by the Incident Commander.
As emergency calls come in, the spread of mis-information is rampant. We as PIOs and official Spokespersons (Spox) must ensure that we get the right message out.
As we head back out to into the field, we are able to share traffic patterns and push that information out to the general public. This will help them depart safely and quicker after the parade from downtown Cleveland.
Additionally, Cleveland Police was out ensuring peace for all who attended the parade.
Not only local, but there are so many partners involved like the Cuyahoga County Sheriff…
…County Emergency Management…
(Acting) Cuyahoga County Office of Emergency Management Agency Administrator Mark Christie and @rusnivek
…and even several Federal agencies too.
Great to see solid working relationships with all parties involved.
As PIOs we had a great day reporting from the field. We really enjoyed highlighting the efforts of so many pros working today.
Live broadcast from field PIOs = success for the #CLEStPats Parade!
From your favorite PIOs…
…Have a safe St. Patrick’s Day everyone!
@rusnivek
Where is @rusnivek? 