By David Hesselmeyer Abstract Little training is given to new emergency managers as it relates to the different types of documents or plans that are the foundation of preparedness and response. Over time this has led to confusion and problems in our profession. There are three main types of plans per the Federal Emergency Management…
Posts Tagged with Emergency Management
Responder To Emergency Manager: How Do The Skills Translate?
By Bradley Hubbard Abstract What happens if the emergency responder wants to expand their skills to focus on preparedness, mitigation, or recovery? Perhaps it is time to consider a career shift to become an Emergency Manager. The expanded scope of the emergency management profession will require the new emergency manager to build and maintain a…
Data, Policy and the Disaster of Misrepresentation and Mistrust
By Monica Sanders Abstract Using big data and current technology is increasingly becoming part of the practice of emergency and disaster management. With respect to marginalized populations, there are flaws in the way technologies are designed and how data is collected that have negative, disparate impacts on these groups. The organizations that produce the tools…
Implementing Space Technology and Innovations into Homeland Security and Emergency Management Operations and Activities
By Arthur Simental, Tina Bynum and John Holst Abstract Space capabilities, technology, applications, and services represent the forefront of technological development for the homeland security enterprise. Space capabilities and technological innovations are emerging technologies that are shaping and redefining homeland security, emergency management and response operations. These technologies are redefining how we approach emergency operations…
Assumption and Adaptation in Emergency Response: Evaluating the Strategic Guidance of the National Incident Management System
Charles Chapman EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This thesis presents a qualitative analysis of the current state of guidance provided by the federal government to state and local emergency response jurisdictions. The federal government drives a national incident management strategy by defining several categories that address response expectations for stakeholders: incident management, legal authority, funding, recovery, plans, policies,…
Avoiding the Cassandra Complex: Improving Warnings and Notifications for People with Functional and Access Needs
Sean Miller EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Emergency management and public safety practitioners cannot foretell the future, but they are often the first to know about impending hazards that require a public response to ensure safety. Thus, they possess information about present or future hazards that the public does not likely have, yet information must be communicated rapidly…
An Effective Funding Strategy for Washington State Emergency Management Programs
Amy Gillespie EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Emergency management programs in Washington State are vulnerable because they do not have a sustainable and stable funding source. In 2004, the Washington State Emergency Management Council assessed its emergency management system. The resulting report stated, “Reliance on funding sources that are sometimes insufficient, inaccessible, or restricted is increasing the administrative…
Beyond The First 48: Incorporating Nontraditional Stakeholders into Incident Response
Emily McLaughlin EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Cyber-attacks will create grave homeland security consequences in the coming years: power outages that last for weeks, drinking water supplies tainted with bacteria, and other destructive outcomes that are likely to result in the loss of human life and the destruction of property. At the local government level, a wide variety…
The Case for Adaptive SOPs in Complex Crises and Unpredictable Operating Environments
By Shawn Harwood and Wayne Porter, Ph.D. Abstract Standard operating procedures (SOPs) guide emergency responders in a crisis, providing predetermined steps to manage anticipated events. Modern disasters, however, often manifest as complex systems—susceptible to nonlinear interactions and feedback in the environment that produce unanticipated outcomes. As a consequence, the application of prediction-dependent SOPs to prediction-defiant…
Reading From The Same Map: Towards A New Situational Awareness Model For Emergency Management
Erik Rau EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Situational awareness (SA) is a critical issue for public safety disciplines, including emergency management, law enforcement, and the fire service. These fields operate substantially differently from each other, but share a common model for SA, based on John Boyd’s OODA loop. Boyd’s model, though applied widely, is heavily shaped by artefacts…