WEEK ENDING SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2012

A fisherman rescuing a dog demonstrates how news is made today (Emergency Management Magazine) http://ow.ly/8xaX6

New Satellite Technology a Possible ‘Game Changer’ for Communications (Emergency Management Magazine) http://ow.ly/8xbbP

A Culture of Planning: How to Know if the Shoe Fits (Emergency Management Magazine) http://ow.ly/8xbgN

Global Economy at Risk From Disasters (Emergency Management Magazine) http://ow.ly/8xblB

The Whole Community Approach (Emergency Management Magazine) http://ow.ly/8xbM4

9-1-1 Dispatchers Can Save More Lives by Coaching Bystanders in CPR (9-1-1 Magazine) http://ow.ly/8zJYO

Inventions Offer Tools to Endure Future Disasters (NYTimes.com) http://ow.ly/8GIPb

Most and least disaster-ready cities (MSN Money) http://ow.ly/8GITy

2011′s Weather Is a Precursor of Things to Come, says NOAA Assistant Administrator (Emergency Management Magazine) http://ow.ly/8Ns6D

WEEK ENDING SUNDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2011

How 9/11 Has Changed Law Enforcement Intelligence Analysis (9-1-1 Magazine) http://ow.ly/7Sgiw

County emergency response team earns FEMA award (San Marcos Mercury) http://ow.ly/7TcTM

NYC Jewish Women Want to Join All-Male EMT Group (JEMS.com) http://ow.ly/7Tx1v

NTSB Seeks Complete Cell Phone Ban While Driving (JEMS.com) http://ow.ly/80Tht

Tips for Creating a Plan that Addresses the 3 Key Phases of Business Continuity (Emergency Management) http://ow.ly/86PQ7

See how the San Francisco Department of Emergency Management uses SMART Board interactive whiteboards to improve situational awareness in its Emergency Operations center (Emergency Management) (Video) http://ow.ly/86Q3P

Is Antiterrorism Training Keeping Up With the Diverging Threat? (Emergency Management) http://ow.ly/86Qkz

In Countryside, Stricken Haiti Seeks Both Food and Rebirth (NYTimes.com) http://ow.ly/8atDX

WEEK ENDING SUNDAY, DECEMBER 04, 2011

Homeland Security and the Dark Side of Mother Nature http://ow.ly/7rcbE

Salem County among four to receive specialized Flood Response Utility Trailers | NJ.com http://ow.ly/7wX5e

Nationwide Emergency Alert System Test Not Without Glitches (Emergency Management) http://ow.ly/7CqrB

Survey Shows Disconnect Between Professional, Citizen Views of Terrorism (Emergency Management) http://ow.ly/7Crf0

This Ain’t The Same CERT That Got Started In The 1980′s (Emergency Management) http://ow.ly/7Fa0m

Twilight Film’s Birth Scene Gives Viewers Seizures (JEMS.com) http://ow.ly/7K9Eu

Disaster Go-Bags of the Famous (NYTimes.com) http://ow.ly/7NdEI

CERT volunteers pose with their NYPD trainers.

CERT volunteers are always polishing their skills. This past Saturday, it was Traffic Training, conducted by the NYC Office of Emergency Management (OEM) in conjunction with the NYPD. The exercise in rerouting and managing vehicular traffic took place on First Avenue between East 19 and 21 Streets in Manhattan. Twenty-two CERT volunteers from around the city participated.

CERT trainees practice their traffic management skills.

The day-long training began with a classroom component, after which the trainees were allowed to practice their newly acquired skills in Saturday morning traffic. In the event of an emergency, like a major road closing or emergency evacuation, trained CERT volunteers would be available to assist the city’s first responders.

WEEK ENDING SUNDAY, OCTOBER 02, 2011

Rift between B.P.C. C.E.R.T. and city (Downtown Express) http://www.downtownexpress.com/?p=3698

Will County teams take first, third in emergency response competition (TribLocal.com) http://ow.ly/72nyY

Learning the ropes: Haitian rescuer gets advanced training (Farmington Daily Times) http://ow.ly/7cULW

Opportunity Knocking: Coordinate with Nontraditional Response Organizations (Emergency Management) http://ow.ly/7dDUv

San Francisco Taps Social Gaming to Boost Preparedness (Emergency Management) http://ow.ly/7dE2N

Millions of Californians Set Preparedness Example in Earthquake Drill (Emergency Management) http://ow.ly/7dE5p

How Emergency Management Is Changing (For the Better) (Emergency Management) http://ow.ly/7dEfw

How Ready Are We for Bioterrorism? (NYTimes.com) http://ow.ly/7dycv

Remember: A Nationwide Test of the Emergency Alert System Will Occur November 9th (9-1-1 Magazine) http://ow.ly/7dCXD

Analytics – Good Business For Public Safety (9-1-1 Magazine) http://ow.ly/7dD7e

OEM moulage artists turn their CERT volunteers into disaster victims.

The photos in the slide below show the “moulage” process that turned the group of CERT actors into dead and injured passengers, who were then staged throughout the train and the station platform. FDNY and USMC personnel arrived in full protective gear, assessed and evacuated the scene, triaged and decontaminated the “victims” on the street outside the station, and removed the injured to waiting ambulances.

The exercise was coordinated by the NYC Office of Emergency Management.

WEEK ENDING SUNDAY, OCTOBER 02, 2011

In Irene’s Wake, Are New Developments High and Dry Enough? (NYTimes.com) http://ow.ly/6KVc2

For Winter’s Storms, a Stay Bag (NYTimes.com) http://ow.ly/6IFf0

First Responders Practice Crisis Management (JEMS.com) http://ow.ly/6ITO4

FEMA & FCC Unveil New Tip Sheet for Consumers on How to Communicate during Disasters (PDF) http://ow.ly/6CoBP

One man’s 9/11 idea to rescue people from high-rise buildings (CSMonitor.com) http://ow.ly/6sV4p

Local CERT Member Saves Husband’s Life (Lake Zurich Patch) http://ow.ly/6vaRa

National Disaster Search Dog Foundation Raising Funds for National Training Center (FDNN-TV) http://ow.ly/6wnID

Reno air races crash: Emergency crews were waiting — and ready (latimes.com) http://ow.ly/6xFSN

WEEK ENDING SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2011

JEMS SPECIAL REPORT

EMS Providers Recall 9/11 (JEMS.com) http://ow.ly/6rtCz

MCI Management Has Evolved Since 9/11 (JEMS.com) http://ow.ly/6rtEr

Lessons Learned From 9/11 (JEMS.com) http://ow.ly/6rtGI

FDNY Fathers and Sons: Interview, Part 1 (JEMS.com) http://ow.ly/6rtgj

Virginia Hospital Staff Recall 9-11 Attacks (JEMS.com) http://ow.ly/6rti5

EMS Responders Share Untold Stories of 9/11 (JEMS.com) http://ow.ly/6rtjx

Aftermath – Administration and Leadership (JEMS.com) http://ow.ly/6rtmk

Crushed – Major Incidents (JEMS.com) http://ow.ly/6rtws

Audio Files Reveal 9/11 Horror for Air Traffic Controllers (JEMS.com) http://ow.ly/6rtpP

U.S. Lawmakers Want Cancer Added to WTC Disease List (JEMS.com) http://ow.ly/6rtrn

OTHER OUTLETS

RAND Review: Summe 9/11, Terrorism, Military Families (RAND corporation) http://ow.ly/6l6DD

Civil Defense: CERT Training Starts Today (Pacific News Center) http://ow.ly/6p0qT

New York Learns Lessons From the Storm the Hard Way (NYTimes.com) http://ow.ly/6p3zr

WEEK ENDING SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 03, 2011

No Seinfeldian glee at the temporary storm shelter at John Jay (Capital New York) http://ow.ly/6kFUY

Quake a disaster ‘drill’ D.C. flunked (CNN.com) http://ow.ly/6gGsb

Island MCI Challenges Small Group of Providers (JEMS.com) http://ow.ly/6h0Ey

Are You Prepared to Respond to a Natural Disaster? (JEMS.com) http://ow.ly/6h0KR

More Than 30 Dead After Hurricane Irene Hits East Coast (JEMS.com) http://ow.ly/6h0Sh

FEMA puts long-term rebuilding on hold after Irene (Yahoo! Finance) http://ow.ly/6hPOw

Emergency Communications V2.0 – The Next Generation And Beyond (9-1-1 Magazine) http://ow.ly/6ie8I

ICS, Incident Command System (9-1-1 Magazine) http://ow.ly/6ieek *Highly recommended for CERT members

“In an Emergency, Twitter 9-1-1″ (9-1-1 Magazine) http://ow.ly/6iepH

ROBERT BRILL, ESQ. – The Value of Good Protocols

Nan (Nan A. Canter) was great as the leader of our group. We were particularly blessed, I thought, to have an excellent school custodian and janitor who both were instrumental in assisting with the utilization of IS 118, where we set up one of three Upper West Side emergency shelters. There were a number of other city employees and volunteers that were very, very helpful.

The more I am involved with CERT the more I appreciate the value of operations manuals. “The Book” is an excellent device to save time, and lives, and to permit on-the-spot adapting to unforeseen circumstances. Arguably, you can’t teach someone to be a leader, but you can have in place basic, simple routines and organizational processes that a CERT team can implement, whether they are commanded well or not at all.

NAN A. CANTER – Team Loyalty Makes It Work

The reason everything worked so well was because of the folks — both city employees and neighborhood people — who turned up to volunteer. Robert is exactly right: it was fortunate that throughout the event our shelter never had lines or lacked for spontaneous volunteers.

There was one American Red Cross volunteer, Linda, who, like me, had worked in a developing country and was used to having not much more at her disposal than the will to make things work. Working with meager resources was probably the best training I could have had for setting up a shelter.

CERT volunteers at I.S. 118, with Councilmember Gale Brewer (right) and group leader Nan Canter (2nd from right).

We used plenty of elbow grease that night: three male school teachers plus Linda and I unloaded the entire tractor trailer. Seriously!

Because we were beginning with no instructions on how the physical plant should look, Linda researched that while I tried to see what paperwork might be available. A woman who stopped by to see if she could help thankfully had some computer savvy — at least more than I — and was able to set up the Sahana (disaster management) registration system.

The major problem the first day was that we didn’t know that there were four POD (storage unit) bins in the school until the late evening when the relief custodian asked why we weren’t using them. Thankfully he knew where to look and stayed with us to help  to set up the administrative function of the shelter. By the way, these POD bins have all kinds of booklets about how to set up a POD. Thanks a lot!

But this is the big picture: As the ad hoc manager of our shelter at IS118, I saw something happen that I have always sensed. When volunteers first show up to work they come for the cause. They remain — sometimes through all kinds of physical discomfort, difficult clients, and long, often overnight hours — because of the other volunteers they meet, and a sense of loyalty to the team they’re now a part of.

The unbelievable team loyalty I felt during the last difficult hours gave me the strength to remain at my station until the emergency was over. Every single volunteer was willing to stay another night. In fact, in the end, I had to kick everyone out!

Team loyalty cannot be taught, but it’s a large part of what makes the team a success.

IAN ALTERMAN – My Frustrating but Interesting Irene Experience

Frustrating, because I could not join my CERT colleagues at hurricane evacuation centers or do anything of real value since I had to work during the weekend.  Arghh!

However, I took my CDS (CityWide Disaster Services) radio to work with me on Saturday, along with a fully stocked Go Bag, knowing I would not be coming home until Monday, since mass transit had already been shut down when I left. I had decided to monitor the radio, both to stay informed and to see how CDS functions during a real emergency. It really was an interesting and instructive experience.

I kept the radio on the entire time I was awake (two 12-hour shifts over Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, from 4pm to 4am, plus any other awake time), so I heard everything. It was fascinating to have all the newest information, even before Notify NYC, much less the media. For example, I heard the switch from hurricane watch to hurricane warning about ten minutes before my phone rang with a text from Notify NYC.

Similarly, I heard a tornado warning about ten minutes before Notify NYC sent it out. The tornado had touched down in Delaware, damaging 15 buildings, destroying one, and causing some injuries.

I also heard every single new announcement about closings of bridges, highways, etc., in real time, and at least half an hour before the media picked it up. (I was also monitoring CNN.com, The New York Times, and NY1 online.) I heard each new comment about wind speeds in and around NYC, flood encroachments in the outer boroughs, and actual emergencies, including a boater in distress in Brooklyn, and a (truly foolish!) windsurfer, blown almost 100 yards out from the beach, who fell off his board and had to be rescued. These emergencies, of course, brought in the Coast Guard. There was also a fire in the basement of a 25-story residential building in the Financial District that did not make the news at all.

I was most impressed by how absolutely calm and professional everyone was on the air — CDS, NYPD, FDNY, Coast Guard, et al — and the efficiency with which they made their reports. Those of us who took the radio training were taught to think about what we say, and try to use as few words as possible to convey the information.  I could see why this is absolutely critical in an emergency.  Sometimes things are happening so quickly or are so urgent that it is crucial to speak quickly, release and listen, speak quickly again, and so on. I also got to see the importance of using words like “over” or “out”: even among these professionals, when someone forgot to do that (which was not very often, but it did happen), the other person would get back on the radio and request a response. And having to do this took valuable time.

Although the only thing I could do with all the information I heard was to keep the residents of the building updated (I work as a residential concierge at a new rental building in Chelsea), it felt good to be able to do so, particularly when I could update them with respect to things getting back up and running.

And although I was frustrated not to be doing something truly active as a CERT member, it felt really good to be continuously informed (and actually made me feel closer to all of you — no joke!), and to be able to use at least some of that information for the benefit of the residents of the building. Indeed, many of them asked about the radio, and when I told them what it was, they said they felt safer just knowing I had it there.

LINDA LOPEZ – Tweeting through It All

One of my jobs as an UWS CERT leader and the team’s marcomm person is to maintain the Web site and Twitter feed. When we knew that the New York area was going to take a hit from Hurricane Irene, I took to the Internet to begin gathering and disseminating tips and information to our 400-plus Twitter followers and Facebook friends, and to monitor the conversations of those we follow.

I was also available by my phone to deal with any unforeseen snags in the UWS CERT deployment, should the team leader become unavailable.

Good communication is key in an emergency, and our team used all the tools at its disposal — the Internet, CDS radios, mobile technology, and the OEM bank of information, as well as more traditional information channels — to stay and keep each other informed.

I was cheered by the responses we got from our Twitter followers and friends to the information we shared in the days leading up to Irene, and during the torrential battering we took from Saturday night to early Sunday morning. We were re-tweeted by several people, including @agreatbigcity (twice to their 614 followers), @CitizenCorps (to 5,440 followers) — they also favorited one of our tweets, @1800Prepare (to 869 followers), and @Northlandfox (to 4,994 followers). We got mentions and shout-outs from many more. That kind of exposure is priceless when you’re trying to spread the preparedness gospel.

Now that Irene has passed, our team will proceed to leverage what we’ve learned, not only to improve our value on the ground as an emergency response team, but also to continue fine-tuning our communications, so that we can quickly and efficiently share our knowledge with others — and be ready for next time.

OTHER TEAM NOTES

Team member George Contreras was a guest on the Brian Lehrer Show (WNYC) on Friday, the morning before the hurricane hit. He appeared as a spokesperson for the MPA Program in Emergency and Disaster Management at the Metropolitan College of New York.

Team member Lance Dashefsky was the evacuation and shelter center manager at the Coney Island location; he’s wearing a green CERT vest and can be seen in the NY1 clip walking with Mayor Bloomberg, and in a photo in the mayor’s photostream on Flickr.