HQ, I copy the demob orders from Texas and Puerto Rico.
I also copy the new deployment orders for Florida.
HQ, I copy the demob orders from Texas and Puerto Rico.
I also copy the new deployment orders for Florida.
FEMA Administrator Brock Long made a poignant statement about his employees today in the NY Times:
“…this is what we train for” – FEMA Administrator Brock Long

Brock Long, center, at a briefing on Hurricane Harvey relief efforts with President Trump and local organizations in Corpus Christi, Tex., last week. Credit Doug Mills/The New York Times
Yes sir, we train all the time.

Many instructors across this nation can attest the long hours we spend providing training for hundreds of thousands of our all-hazards public safety professionals from all walks of life.
This is truly what we train for.
Welp, Saturday plans will have to look slightly different now.

Better mount up as I *think this is for Texas.

Well, I don’t *think I’m going to need my tie, but definitely my best pair of boots.
Incident Management: External Affairs Media Relations Spc…aka PIO!
Along with #Harvey – I spy with my right eye, #Hurricane #Irma
Packed State of Ohio EMA Joint Information Center / Joint Information System course today!

Started everyone into group work as well as ongoing discussion on the role of SMEs at a press conference.

Just in case, we also tasked participants to start thinking about a policy/protocol for their agency on sneak attack aka ambush interviews.

We found as we leverages our strengths and capitalize on our skills, we as JIC Managers can better meet the needs of any situation – we just gotta find the right PIOs for the job.

As our groups collaborated, we found that despite crossing state lines, we still have the same problems as other areas – thus proving our point that we need to consistently train together and exercise our plans together.

Many of our participants enjoyed working in the JIC setting and were excited to work in a JIC during the next activation. Most excellent as we build a strong cadre of PIOs across this great state.

My Ohio Peeps!
Reporting live from Medina County’s Emergency Operations Center….
Day-2 of Ohio EMA’s Basic Public Information Officer’s course here in Medina County EMA welcoming participants from two different FEMA Regions to our class!

We have representation from almost every ESF – outstanding to see that kind of participation in our state class.

It’s going to be a packed two days of training including classroom discussion…

…complex in-class activities…
…on-camera interviews…

…engaging (and crazy reporter) type questions…

…and of course we had several contentious mock press conferences.

Train like you fight right? We also discussed how our varied experiences lends a ton of expertise to our ongoing operations in any community across this great nation.
Looking forward to tomorrow’s JIC/JIS course!

Kicking off another great Ohio Emergency Management Agency (OEMA) G-290 Basic Public Information Officer’s Course in Medina County’s Emergency Operations Center.

Photo credit: Erika Moran
Glad to see so many new PIOs from Ohio and West Virginia in class.
Now, the important point to remember is….
I talk about it all the time in class – Emergency Support Function-3 (ESF-3) is an important part of our RESPONSE effort in a disaster.
Why do I talk about this all the time? Public works isn’t considered the traditional Fire or EMS or Law Enforcement….but when faced with this….

Photo credit: Gabe Hernandez (@callergabe) from Hurricane Harvey in Port Arkansas, TX – 08-26-17
Public Works’ efforts with so many various resources allow all public safety to get to affected areas.

Photo credit: Gabe Hernandez (@callergabe) from Hurricane Harvey in Port Arkansas, TX – 08-26-17
Often times, people believe public works is only for recovery and clean up. That is not true. As you can see, we clearly need them during the response phase – just to get to affected areas.

Photo credit: Gabe Hernandez (@callergabe) from Hurricane Harvey in Port Arkansas, TX – 08-26-17
Get to know your public works professionals now. They are an invaluable resource for the response phase.