EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS— EVERYBODY MUST BE INVOLVED
MANAGEMENT
Heightened awareness, planning development and interagency cooperation are the main focal points of an Emergency Management Course offered by the National Emergency Training Center in Emmitsburg, Md.
photo by John Layton, IMR corporation
Today, more than ever, major emergencies are a much greater threat to the entire nation. The dangers are not only larger but more complex, taxing response resources. Many major emergencies and disasters are man-made, brought about by modern everyday needs and new technologies. Yet, natural disasters are also on the increase, causing great loss of life and property.
Responsibility to respond to any and all emergencies and disasters lies, initially at least, with local government. The resources of such jurisdictions are normally the ones closest at hand and, therefore, can be activated almost immediately. With this activation, there must be an assurance of the ability of key agencies to respond effectively.
Sometimes problems arise during an emergency situation because agencies/ departments are not aware of all of the resources, both human and material, available to supplement the traditional ones. Other times the awareness is present but a lack of communication between agencies/departments prevents the development of a plan on how to share those resources. And, in the ultimate case, it takes a major emergency in a community to cause the emergency managers to realize that being aware and having developed plans are not sufficient actions in themselves.
To prepare for disasters and emergencies, education, training and testing of systems are essential. Emergency management teams must include the widest possible range of participants, key policymakers along with those responsible for coordination and operational activities. This broad spectrum, so vital to the safety of life and property, extends to the fire service, law enforcement, emergency medical service, public works, military support, volunteer agencies, private sector and the public at large. Their quick response and effectiveness can only be guaranteed by outstanding emergency management programs.
An Emergency Management Course (EMC), sponsored by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and developed at the Emergency Management Institute under the National Emergency Training Center, offers just such a program. The EMC, structured and designed for a multiagency audience, provides a foundation for efficient and effective emergency management.
The central concept of the EMC is an exercising format, designed sequentially to coincide with day-to-day operations (classroom, discussion, workshop planning sessions) and emergency situations (exercise scenarios). These scenario-related events, initiated subtly during the early hours of the course, increase in complexity, threat, and pressure and are interspersed throughout classroom/workshop sessions dealing with generic emergency management subjects.
These scenarios culminate in a full-blown emergency situation designed to test the skills, knowledge, awareness and responsiveness of the participants under pressure.
The purpose of the course is to enable a community to rehearse, exercise and test emergency management capacities. The course also points out potential weaknesses in existing plans, preparations and responses to an array of emergencies, both natural and man-made, peacetime and wartime.
Every department/agency of an emergency management team is involved in all four phases of emergency management: mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery. A challenging management process at the department/agency level becomes even more complex when the attempt is macfe to join all of the emergency management disciplines together into one overall approach to managing emergencies.
The EMC participants are divided into three groups, policy, coordination and operations, with their assigned roles comparable to those they hold in real life. The members of these groups work together to fulfill their functional responsibilities with the same realism and challenges that they face in actual situations. Limitations are placed on the interaction between the groups to simulate actual management conditions.
The policy group
The policy group is a flexible collection of senior public officials. On the city level, members of this group include the mayor and council, city manager, public works director, health director, city attorney, police chief and fire chief. Participating in this group may also be representatives of other levels of government, such as the county sheriff, a state police representative and a national guard liaison officer The policy group meets to develop emergency management policies As necessitated by the emergency situation, they may discuss the economic, political, legal and social implications of both the threat and the response. The mission of this group is to determine the best general approach to the situation.
The policy group prepares a policy statement and submits it in writing to the entire class. The policies developed shape the approach to be taken by the other groups as the course proceeds.
The coordination group
The membership of this group consists of the assistants, deputies, and staff of the agencies and departments represented in the policy group. This team performs a staff function by coordinating the types and amounts of personnel and material resources deployed, providing logistical support to field units, arranging for the relief of forces, and monitoring the immediate emergency situation and potential developments. Leadership in this group is provided by an emergency program manager. It is emphasized that this group s function is one of coordination, not command of field forces.
The coordination group meets to develop plans to respond to emergencies, based on the policies developed by their superiors (the policy group). An oral presentation of the results of their work is made to the entire class, and a written copy furnished to the operations group.
Members of this group are the people usually responsible for direct response to emergencies. They are the operational supervisors of the agencies and departments responsible for managing the emergency situation.
Each agency/department is expected to efficiently utilize available resources to respond to scenario-produced demands. While they have flexibility, the members of this group must coordinate closely with their peers. Resource availability is controlled by the coordination group within the guidelines established by the policy group.
The operations group meets to formulate procedures, and provide the class with both an oral and written presentation of the operational procedures.
In real life, a fourth group is active, the field response group, comprised of the front-line units that would be out in the field. This group’s role is played by faculty and staff members serving as the exercise control group. This level does not become active until the practical exercise. At that time, they interact with the operations group, simulating field response to both problems and directions received.
Course topics include public policy perspectives, media relations, principles of emergency management, emergency management organization, executive command and control, and the roles played by the state, federal and military organizations. Also discussed are emergency evacuations, resource management and stress. Orientation briefings are held to acquaint all participants with emergency program management, emergency medical services, fire service, law enforcement and public works.
The course exercises are as close to real-life emergencies as possible. Stress generated during exercises makes everyone cognizant of how important teamwork is in reaching the ultimate emergency management goal-better response by proper preparation brought about through education, training and testing.
Obviously, in the brief time available, it is not possible to make the participants complete experts in all areas of emergency management, but subjects important to each profession are presented, increasing the individual’s awareness at the emergency management level.
Most important of all, however, is the major emergency scenario exercise that tests response, stress handling, prescribed policy and planning, and decision-making. All subjects lead to this, but course participants react as they must some day in the real world.
