Blueprint for Disaster Planning
STRATEGY AND TACTICS
Every agency in the district must be involved in the creation of a jurisdiction’s disaster plan if it’s to be effective in time of crisis.
Disaster planning. The awesome task that faces every fire manager.
Why is it that when these two words are mentioned most managers go from a logical thought process into utter panic?
Disaster plans must be tailor-made to fit each jurisdiction’s individual needs, be it a city, county, or state. One cannot borrow a disaster plan and expect to have instant success when the unexpected occurs.
Input from and communication with all emergency response agencies (police, fire, public works, the Environmental Protection Agency, etc.) is essential, otherwise disaster planning is doomed to fail. Research must be done in formulating a disaster plan; and plans created by other jurisdictions must be examined. This allows for understanding, evaluating, and reflecting on the numerous roles that the various agencies will play in the complete, overall, disaster plan.
The manager must stay calm, keep an open mind, and reduce the sense of urgency. He must also have support from the jurisdiction’s administrating body (i.e., city manager, mayor, city council, etc.) if a workable plan is to be the result. Participation by all emergency response officials is necessary in this planning process.
Disaster committee
Following the planning process, a disaster committee comprised of representatives from every emergency response agency must be formed. This committee will become the foundation of the disaster plan and serve as a medium for communication and input from the various agencies.
The input process is essential to interface the knowledge, skills, expertise, and resources that will create a team approach when disaster strikes. Without this, the plan will fail. This input process also alleviates the “one author” concept and allows for a multi-faceted view of disaster planning, giving the plan depth and meaning. It’s important that each department feel it has contributed to the creation of the disaster plan otherwise the plan will not be effective.
The disaster committee’s initial functions are to establish a goal and to set objectives to effectively reach that goal. The goal should be broad in scope to provide a uniform method of handling emergency situations beyond the capacity of one’s own immediate resources. The objectives should be incremental stepping stones or checkpoints that lead to the ultimate goal—a valid disaster plan.
Designate areas of responsibility
Once the goal and objectives are identified, a blueprint should be drawn up to allow for a systematic approach to disaster planning. Agency responsibilities, too, are now ready to be assigned, and brainstorming can often prove a valuable method to help identify various responsibilities.
Let’s create a mock city of 25,000 people, land area of 10 square miles, and an assessment value of $1 billion. What type of agencies would we expect to find in a city of this size? A city council, city manager’s office, finance, public facilities, parks and recreation, public works, community development, library, police, fire, and ambulance services. These departments will need to be assigned job responsibilities that will be put into effect during a disaster. Each department’s duties will usually fall in the same area as its expertise, since it’s necessary to match the job with the department having the resources to complete it.
Of course, there will be times when unfamiliar job assignments must be made. An example is the location of temporary morgues. Areas that may be utilized as a temporary morgue are refrigeration lockers or refrigeration vehicles. If these are available, contracts for use should be drawn up ahead of time with the facilities’ owners.
Few disaster plans ever go beyond the job assignment phase. The next step in disaster planning, however, is the action plan phase. This is the step-by-step process of implementing what has been assigned to the different agencies. What value is there in assigning responsibilities if personnel do not know how to implement the plan? Has there ever been a disaster in which all key personnel were at work or on the scene? It’s for this reason that the action plan must be developed—to aid personnel in initiating action when disaster occurs.
In preparing an action plan, the disaster committee must devise a format compatible with their jurisdiction. Most departments within jurisdictions are quite diversified in their methods of managing equipment, personnel, and resources. It’s the disaster committee’s responsibility to devise a format that will interface departmental resources into a uniform action plan. For example, some of the common resources shared by each department and the action plans each department must identify are:
- Personnel. Determine the methods of recalling personnel, the reporting area location, the work schedules, employee/family safety, etc.
- Facilities. Determine what facilities are available for personnel, housing, relocation centers, emergency operating centers, etc.
- Equipment. Identify available equipment and the person responsible for allocating equipment and supplies. Identify mutual aid agreements, location of staging areas, emergency food and water supplies, sanitation, first aid, etc.
- Operations. Identify the chain of command and responsibilities by title, not by name. Be familiar with and use standard operating procedures for continuity, etc.
An appendix should be incorporated into the disaster plan as a reference section, not as part of the action plan phase, which is to remain simple, not more than three pages. The appendix should identify:
- Legal considerations, including pre-drawn contracts, ordinances, legal documentation, etc.
- Blank forms that will be needed during the disaster, such as purchase agreements, declarations of emergency, contract blanks, etc.
- Inventory lists of equipment and emergency supplies on hand, personnel recall lists, etc.
As the disaster committee continues to meet, it will become apparent that the jurisdiction does not have sufficient resources available to meet all situations. Plan to have the private sector become part of this disaster plan to provide manpower for support services. It is important to compile a catalog giving the locations of all valuable resources that can be utilized by the jurisdiction. When possible, pre-drawn contracts should be signed, authorizing the use of resources from the private sector.
Plan evaluation and testing
Once the disaster committee has put together a draft of the disaster plan, a tabletop exercise will be necessary to test the plan for effectiveness. This exercise should be hired out to a group of experts knowledgeable in disaster planning. This will provide a nonbiased evaluation of the basic disaster plan and point out any voids or flaws in the plan. In most cases, refinements and readjustments will have to be made. Overloads will exist in some agency assignments and other agencies will not have enough duties assigned to them. This is normal, and one must not get frustrated. Keep in mind the ultimate goal is a workable disaster plan, not just another manual on the shelf.
After revisions and modifications are made to the basic plan, job assignments, and action plans, a mock drill must be held to test the disaster plan. This will add validity to the plan when and if disaster hits. The disaster drill must be conducted by the expert group that will create a scenario to fit your jurisdiction’s potential problems. It is imperative that all executive and public safety managers take part in this mock exercise.
When this mock drill has been completed, refinements and readjustments once again may be necessary. This testing and revision procedure allows the jurisdictional managers an opportunity to manage personnel and resources to the best possible advantage to mitigate disaster.
The disaster plan must constantly be updated, and periodic tabletop exercises with occasional mock drills should be conducted to keep personnel sharp and well-versed in the smooth operation of the disaster plan.
