Chevy Chase Patch: What You Need to Know About West Nile Virus

31 Friday Aug 2012

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Every month I have an emergency preparedness article in the local newspaper (ChevyChase.Patch.com). Here’s the link to my August article. I’ve also copied it below:

Although most people infected with the virus never know it, West Nile Virus can potentially be life threatening. This week, Maryland suffered its first fatality from the virus.

 

The virus is spread by mosquitoes that first bite infected birds, then bite a human–which  spreads the West Nile Virus to humans. According to the Mayo Clinic, symptoms can resemble influenza (typical symptoms include high fever, rash, vomiting, and body aches). However, signs of severe West Nile Virus infection include severe headache, stiff neck, disorientation, tremors, or lack of coordination and partial paralysis. Any signs of severe infection require immediate medical attention.

 

This year, the Washington Post reports, officials say that “an early spring and hot summer” led to a particularly high number of mosquitoes, which has led to increased numbers of infections. For a map of current infection rates, the US Geological Survey (USGS) maintains a website of reported WNV infections in Maryland.

 

As Montgomery County’s Department of Health and Human Services outreach materials explain, the best way to prevent WNV is to eliminate breeding grounds/conditions of mosquitoes. To reduce mosquitoes:

 

  • Eliminate standing water (such as in discarded tires, buckets, garbage can lids, wheelbarrows, and wading pools)
  • Clean roof gutters to remove standing water
  • Ensure that tarps and other surfaces that may trap water are able to drain water rather than collect moisture

 

To protect yourself and your family, the following preventative measures can help:

 

  • Limit outdoor activities from dawn to dusk (when mosquitoes are most likely to be active)
  • Use screens on all open windows and doors; repair tears as necessary
  • Wear light-colored, loose-fitting, long-sleeved shirts and long pants
  • Use insect repellant when outdoors (make sure to spray clothes with repellant before dressing)
  • Never handle dead birds (as if that wasn’t self-explanatory to begin with)–call 311 if you need to dispose of a dead bird

 

There is currently no vaccine or treatment for WNV and the virus has shown a greater impact on individuals with compromised immune systems, infants, the elderly, and pregnant women. The protective and preventative measures mentioned above are crucial in the fight to stop the spread of WNV. Please do your part and contain the spread of West Nile Virus by eliminating standing water and spraying insecticides around your property to prevent mosquitoes from reproducing. It just might save a life.

 

Todd Jasper is a federal emergency manager and has been happy to call Chevy Chase home since 2008. His emergency management blog is www.toddjasper.com.

IAEM Bulletin: Emerging Tech School of Hard Knocks

08 Wednesday Aug 2012

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An Excerpt from the August 2012 Bulletin of the
International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM)

Here’s a plain text version as well:

Emerging Tech School of Hard Knocks

By Todd J. Jasper

Responding to disasters and emergencies is hard work. It is even worse when technology fails. Don’t let your agency fall victim to the following five technology blunders.

1. Updates Don’t Take Vacations…

The worst time to discover that you need to update your software is during an emergency. When seconds count, the last thing you need to see on the screen is an operating system warning box, the infamous swirling hourglass, or an error screen. For those of us that routinely defer downloading updates, the consequences can be lead to unexpected delays.

Recently, I heard of an agency that arrived at their continuity of operations facility only to discover that none of the continuity personnel could log onto any of the computers at the hot site. All the computers had to go through an extensive update process before the continuity personnel could even log in!

2. Paper or Plastic?

Using online forms, databases, automated ICS forms, and sophisticated mapping and dispatching systems has revolutionized the emergency management field. Never before has the field had more automated, electronic, and interoperable solutions for managing incidents, emergencies, and disasters. The problem is that technology can fail. Whether due to utility failure, network failure, or other “technical difficulties”, all emergency management organizations must have a way of using paper documents and processes as a last resort.

3. No Single Technology is a Panacea

It seems that every week a new software package, program, suite, or other service offering is released and it is a “must have”, “all-in-one”, “state-of-the-art”, and even makes sandwiches! While it is always advisable to conduct thorough due diligence and market research, sometimes the marketing materials are just too good to be true.  Emergency managers ought to be naturally skeptical regarding marketing pitches that seem to promise too much.

4. Got Passwords?

With more IT systems being sold as “software-as-a-service” (SaaS), the need to log-in to multiple online systems using a unique username and password is becoming ubiquitous. Oftentimes, various IT systems force users to update passwords at different intervals. For many of us, if a username or a password fails to auto-complete, we would be lost or delayed while we search for a written note. Many of us keep passwords in rolodexes, sticky notes, or taped under our keyboards. But what if we need to relocate quickly? Will we have our passwords and usernames handy?

Other emergency managers use smart phone applications to keep all usernames and passwords in one secure program. Discovering that you cannot log into your emergency management software during an emergency is definitely a lesson learned the hard way.

5. Sometimes Free is Better than Paid

Finally, many of us have had to learn that sometimes free software can meet or exceed the capabilities of costly, customized, and/or proprietary software platforms. Unfortunately, many of us have had to learn that a free software platform better meets our needs than a paid version after years of paying for the expensive stuff. Emergency managers ought to evaluate IT needs against not just the expansive inventory of paid-for-use software, but also free and open-source software.

For example, at the joint field office in Texas following Hurricane Ike, I was fortunate to load a free mapping program on a FEMA laptop with a projector. The software cost nothing and our entire team could instantly view topographical maps, learn of local infrastructure, take measurements, and even overlay current weather reports. While the JFO had an extensive GIS group, the GIS team took several hours to process orders and could quickly see their operations re-prioritized due to the needs of leadership or requests from the field. With free software, we had instant maps and geographical information at our fingertips sooner than anyone else in the JFO.

Lessons Learned the Hard Way

While the field of emergency management is becoming more integrated with increasingly sophisticated and interoperable communications, it is important to be cognizant of the downsides and lessons learned the hard way from other IT blunders. As a community and field, it is important to share best practices and improve upon common IT flaws that can have a detrimental impact on emergency operations. Otherwise, your agency might just find itself using overpriced, low-performing, non-updated “all-in-one” software that is requesting a password you don’t have in the middle of a disaster–all the while a perfectly good, free version that requires no password is available online.

Review of Recently Released CERT Liability Guide

23 Monday Jul 2012

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Recently, several local agencies partnered with the national CERT program to release the CERT Liability Guide: A Risk Management Overview for Local CERT Programs. I’ve been a volunteer with the Montgomery County, MD Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) since March of this year and recently completed the CERT instructor course. I think the CERT program is one of the most proactive training and outreach programs available to local government and I firmly believe in the potential for CERT to expand and mature in the future.

As a relatively new program though, CERT is still developing infrastructure, foundational doctrine, and other best practices. The recently released CERT Liability Guide was sorely needed. I summarized the key points below:

“CERT program activities can create risk and adverse consequences; however, perceptions about liability may be a larger barrier for CERT formation, activities and partnerships than is justified by reality. There is no indication that CERT programs have any unusual liability experience.” (Page 1)

  • In other words, currently there’s no evidence that CERT programs are more prone to lawsuits or liability than other similar volunteer programs within local government.

“Unfortunately, there is no simple, complete, and uniform remedy to address liability. Various state laws provide some relief, but many laws have detailed requirements and exclusions. Liability protections differ significantly from state to state… Even the Federal Volunteer Protection Act of 1997 (VPA) provides only limited protection, which leaves much control in the hands of the states. Thus, for the present, liability protection for most CERT members is likely to remain primarily at the state level.“ (Page 2)

  • It’s probably best if the emergency management agency for each state were to conduct a review (usually with the Attorney General) of the liability implications for CERT programs and issue guidance using the specific laws, requirements, and exclusions specific to the respective state.

Benefits of Risk Management (Pages 3-4) include “confidence in the program, positive public image, reduced expenses, reduced insurance costs, preservation of the CERT program’s investment in members, increased participation in CERT”.

  • There is little doubt that having a formal risk management process is helpful to an agency–if continued conscientiously. Many times volunteer agencies can suffer lulls in operational tempo, thus it is important to ensure certain activities/processes are given high priority. I would assert that a risk management program ought to be considered a high priority within volunteer organizations active in disaster, such as CERT.

The liability guide provides “Five Steps for Managing Risk” (page 4-32)

  • Step #1: Get Leadership Support
  • Step #2: Gather Information
  • Step #3: Identify and Analyze Risk
  • Step #4: Adopt Strategies to Manage Risk
  • Step #5: Maintain the Momentum

I’ll review each step below

Step #1: Get Leadership Support

  • “Leaders who oppose the use of non-professionals–especially in operational activities — may see liability as an argument against starting or maintaining a CERT program. Not everyone understands the role and importance of CERT, therefore, it helps to begin with leaders who already support the CERT program and appreciate its value to the community.” (page 5)

Step #2: Gather Information 

  • “Gather documentation about current and past volunteers and review past claims, losses, or “near-miss” events that can help identify the CERT program’s liability exposures.” (Page 7)
  • “A CERT program that has members under the age of 18 may have to comply with child labor law and must train its personnel about special issues related to interaction with minors, adapt its procedures to protect minors, and document parental consent for their participation in the program.” (Page 7)
  • “CERT Basic Training provides forms that are designed to document operational activities and communicate necessary information. Individual CERT programs may adopt other forms as well. Consistent use of adopted forms is important, so gather a complete set.” (Page 7)
  • Are the members of a CERT program sponsored by a fire department identified as “members” in the fire department’s by-laws? Identification as members of a fire department may entitle volunteers to different protection under the law or the department’s insurance in some circumstances.” (Page 7)
  • Does CERT have a safety officer?
  • Are written training records kept for all volunteers?
  • “Does the CERT program deploy teams to other states to assist in disaster response? If yes, find out whether the program works with state emergency management officials to ensure that CERT members are designated as part of the state’s response force under the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC).” (Page 7)

Step #3: Identify and Analyze Risk

  • Civil Liability: Different types of civil liability: negligent acts or omissions, intentional acts, strict liability, liability for the acts of others
  • Non-Operational Risk: Consider the non-operational community service opportunities that are not described in CERT Basic Training, because they also have risks, for example, lifting heavy — or not so heavy — boxes of brochures, driving motor vehicles, helping to manage crowds or traffic, distributing materials from house to house…
  • Standard Operating Procedures: Standard operating procedures and rules of conduct minimize liability by instructing CERT leaders and members how to carry out their responsibilities
  • Absence of Procedures…the absence of procedures for and documentation of activation, assignment, and deactivation is also a risk.

Step #4: Adopt Strategies to Manage Risk

  • Job Descriptions: Position or job descriptions are important risk management tools for most organizations. They help the organization identify risk and ensure the best fit between applicants and jobs.
  • Managers Assume Broader Liability: Some CERT members may assume managerial responsibilities. These include the CERT leader and any section chiefs designated by that leader during an operational response. Their responsibilities require additional management, communication, documentation, and organizational skills, and their decisions may affect the safety of more people. Consequently, their liability exposures are broader than those of team members who are assigned to individual tasks.
  • Standard Application Process: Using a standard application form helps the program collect consistent information about each [CERT] applicant…Avoid including questions that could lead to actions that would be discriminatory in an employment setting (for example, questions about age, race, religion, national origin, pregnancy, disability, health problems, and prior workers’ compensation claims)
  • Written Permission for Minors to Join CERT: Programs that accept participants under the age of 18 should also require the youth to provide a parent’s or guardian’s written permission to participate.
  • Waiver of Liability: Require any participant and, if the participant is a youth, his or her parents or guardians, to sign a written waiver of liability that describes the risks of the CERT program’s activities. Waivers of liability are often not enforceable under a state’s laws, especially against minors, however, a waiver that describes the activities and associated risks shows that the volunteer (and his or her parents) knew of the risks and chose to participate.
  • Screening: To avoid claims of wrongful discrimination, screen all applicants in the same manner. Identify in advance how the program will address specific findings and equally enforce those consequences with all applicants. To avoid liability for failure to identify an applicant who poses a risk, be certain to meet state requirements for screening individuals who will work with vulnerable populations. Keep complete records of all screening results for both accepted and declined applicants, and be certain those results are addressed consistently with each applicant.
  • Written Offer Letter: The program can avoid possible misunderstandings by putting information into a written offer letter or service agreement to be signed by the member and the member’s parents, for minors.
  • Uniform: Require that CERT members wear ―uniforms‖ and carry program identification while they are participating in CERT activities.
  • Reporting Injuries/Accidents/Illness: Require CERT members to report any injuries or illnesses they believe to be related to their CERT activities
  • Statements to Media: Require that CERT members refer media representatives to a designated public relations contact.
  • Confidentiality and Privacy:Prohibit disclosure of confidential or private information about the program, its members, the sponsoring agency and its employees, members of the public, and others.
  • Wrongful Discrimination: Prohibit discrimination, including but not limited to discrimination based on race, gender, religion, color, national origin, age, marital status, disability, and sexual orientation.
  • Harassment (Sexual and Other): Prohibit all harassment as well as the display of sexually suggestive or other offensive materials.
  • Alcohol and Drug Use: Prohibit the use of alcohol, drugs, or substances that can impair physical or mental functioning while participating in CERT activities.
  • Smoking: Prohibit smoking while participating in CERT activities.
  • Carrying Weapons: Prohibit members from bringing weapons to CERT activities unless they are sworn law enforcement officers and carrying the weapon is part of their job.
  • Reporting Changes in Driving Record, Criminal Background, or Professional Licensure Status: Require members to report any change in their driving record, criminal record, professional licensure, or other record required for the position they  hold.
  • Supervision: Every CERT program should assign a supervisor for its members.
  • Discipline and Termination: A procedure for progressive discipline and termination will help the CERT program manage these situations consistently and successfully. The program should develop the procedure with the advice of an employment attorney or skilled human resources professional.
  • Self-Activation May Not Reduce Liability: Self-activation may be pursuant to a standing order, and not all that different – for liability purposes – from an order to activate issued at the time of an emergency… By accepting members and instructing them to self-activate, some might argue that the CERT program has implicitly made a decision that the members are capable of responding without supervision
  • Workers’ Compensation: Occasionally workers’ compensation protection will be available because the state’s workers’ compensation statute specifically includes emergency volunteers in its definition of ―employee.‖ Benefits for emergency volunteers may be subject to limitations or contingencies that do not apply to regular employees.
  • Volunteer Protection Laws: The federal and many state governments have adopted volunteer protection laws that provide certain volunteers with limited immunity. The protection offered by state laws can differ, so this discussion is based on the federal Volunteer Protection Act of 1997 (VPA).
  • Good Samaritan Laws: ―Good Samaritan law‖ is the popular name for statutes that provide limited immunity to individuals who, in good faith, without a duty, and without compensation, help a person who is experiencing a health emergency in a setting where there is no ready access to professional care. Protection is not limited to declared emergencies, so Good Samaritan laws can protect people who happen to be present at the scene of an emergency as well as CERT members or teams who self-activate, if they meet the other requirements of the statute
  • Interstate Mutual Aid & EMAC: Some CERT programs operate teams that are capable of responding to disasters across state lines. Activities outside the home state often raise concerns about the adequacy of liability protection in the state where the aid is being provided. These concerns can be warranted, because protection varies from state to state, and CERT members are protected outside their home state only to the extent that the other state has adopted protection for emergency management volunteers. Many states’ emergency management laws protect emergency workers from other states who are responding to an official request for assistance. It pays to be familiar with the liability protection provided by the states to which the CERT(s) responds, but this can be difficult due to variation in state laws and the speed with which response takes place in the aftermath of a disaster. The Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) is a partial remedy to this challenge, but its effect is limited. Under EMAC, a responding state and its officers and employees are protected from liability.
  • Liability Insurance: Liability insurance that covers emergency management volunteers is less likely to have some of the exclusions and limitations that leave gaps in the protection offered by immunity statutes, and, unlike immunity laws, liability insurance also provides funds to pay defense costs, settlements, and judgments.

Step #5: Maintain the Momentum

  • Working through the five steps every few years –especially with new participants – gives the program a fresh perspective on vulnerabilities and new ideas about strategies. Secondly, the five steps suggest how the organization can incorporate managing liability into its ongoing operations, ensuring that everyone from the chief to the newest volunteer thinks about liability when working.

The guide was an excellent resource for non-lawyers because it did a great job of explaining legal concepts in a way that laypersons can understand. For example, when explaining the differences between immunity and indemnity, the guide takes only a few sentences to clearly detail both concepts in an easy-to-understand way: “immunity and indemnity are complementary. Immunity limits an injured person’s legal right to recover damages from the volunteer, but does not pay any costs to defend the volunteer. Indemnity does not limit the injured person’s rights to recover, but it provides the volunteer with a legal defense and pays judgments and settlements, if necessary…”

I would definitely recommend that CERT Program Managers read this guide in full–but not stop there. Then CERT PMs ought to take this guidance to their agency’s HR department and counsel to determine how to implement a robust risk management program for their volunteers. Most importantly, the conversation can’t stop there. There must be a risk management cycle that continues so that conversations about risks are common and routine. Just because CERT is volunteer-driven doesn’t mean we can ignore the risks, the liability, or legal implications of our actions.

Everything You Wanted to Know About CMAS–But Were Too Afraid to Ask

07 Saturday Jul 2012

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An Excerpt from the July 2012 Bulletin of the
International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM)

Here’s a plain text version as well:

Everything you wanted to know about CMAS but were afraid to ask…

By Matt May and Todd Jasper

The Good

Commercial Mobile Altering System (CMAS) has been 10 years in development as an additional key part of the emergency alerting and warning system that already includes Emergency Alerting System, weather radio, phone notification systems, and outdoor warning sirens. The concept behind CMAS is that in an emergency, a 90-character text message can be sent at no cost to all cellphones connected to a pre-defined number of cellphone towers. Since many households have now chosen to use cellphones rather than a landline phone, CMAS fills the gap by sending geographically-specific messages to all mobile phones in a region.

As noted in the Bulletin article from May 2012, local and state jurisdictions can use the system as an additional element of their local warning systems. It can be particularly helpful in reaching the general public quickly–including those with no hardwired phone or when outdoors.

The Bad

Since CMAS requires jurisdictions to use an IPAWS integrator, the use of CMAS will vary by jurisdiction. The investment in a system, such as online software that is compliant with the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) standard, can be substantial. There are standalone systems as well as several of the popular crisis management tools that integrate a CMAS/IPAWS initiator into their systems–but all at a cost.

Two unique issues are the very short message length coupled with the very broad reach–including recipients who are not local residents. Emergency managers and PIOs are likely to find it challenging to condense emergency guidance down to the 90-character (not words) limitation without redacting critical elements of the warning. It will take practice to draft CMAS messages. To improve efficacy, emergency managers and PIOs should consider employing pre-scripted messages in order to deliver the best message effectively in 90 characters.

Additionally, state and local EAS and notification plans will require a significant rewrite to address the use of CMAS.

The Ugly

Unfortunately, there is no national public education campaign to inform the public about CMAS messages and what to expect. Since currently less than 10% of cell phone devices are able to receive CMAS messages, there is likely to be some confusion when a CMAS message is sent but only a few phones in a room receive the message.

In the Kansas City region, the regional EM committee and the regional PIO committee have developed a press release and flyer that can be used to educate the public. The press releases can be found at http://www.preparemetrokc.org/wea.asp.

Due to the location of cell phone towers, it is likely that warnings will be received by unintended cellphones based on geography and warning type–which might prompt public frustration with CMAS. Since it is possible for the public to opt out of receiving CMAS messages, it is incumbent upon local emergency managers and regional outreach efforts to encourage CMAS participation. Through the use of outreach, the public needs to be made to understand the benefits of CMAS and that the system will be refined over time to increase the accuracy of the reach of messaging.

Moving forward:

While there are implementation issues with any emerging technology, the CMAS program is a welcome addition to the emergency management and public warning field. With a good public education campaign and by encouraging local emergency managers to develop emergency notification protocols with pre-scripted messages, CMAS will no doubt become a trusted tool.

Chevy Chase Patch: Village of Friendship Heights Dodged the Derecho Bullet

06 Friday Jul 2012

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Every month I have an emergency preparedness article in the local newspaper (ChevyChase.Patch.com). Here’s the link to my July article. I’ve also copied it below:


As Chevy Chase Patch reported this week, “…the place to be in Chevy Chase during the derecho was the Village of Friendship Heights…all of the village’s power lines are under those streets, and village residences remained powered-up and air-conditioned throughout the derecho aftermath.”

Many will be surprised to discover that Friendship Heights, which is almost entirely occupied by high-rise residential buildings, “has the highest population density of any census designated place in the United States”. In a demographic report from Montgomery County from 1995, the County noted that in Friendship Heights:

  • One in three persons are over the age of 65
  • Nearly 60% of residents live alone
  • Nearly 40% of residents that live alone are over the age of 65
  • 15.3% of Friendship Heights is age 75 or older (compared to the County statistic of 9.3%)

 

Recognizing that we have a disproportionately large number of senior citizens in Friendship Heights means that we need to be specially prepared for emergencies–such as utility failure.

Friendship Heights can learn from past disasters. In 1995, Chicago experienced a terrible heatwave accompanied by utility failure. The result was an estimated 750 deaths in a period of five days. The majority of those that died during the Chicago heatwave were persons over the age of 65. Afterwards, the major vulnerabilities were identified as being:

  • Living alone
  • Not leaving home daily
  • Lacking access to transportation
  • Being sick or bedridden
  • Not having social contacts nearby
  • Not having access to an air conditioner

 

Without a doubt, those vulnerabilities are present in Friendship Heights. While Friendship Heights was very lucky to have power throughout the derecho and its aftermath, if power had failed and residents were stuck in high-rise buildings without being able to use the elevators, air conditioners, or even phones–the outcome could have been significantly worse.

My recommendation is that each high-rise building in Friendship Heights must have an annexed emergency operations plan with incident-specific plans and checklists for hazards such as utlity failure, hyperthermia, earthquakes, telecommunications failures and other recent hazards that the Village has experienced. The plans should be submitted to the Village Council for review annually and should include the opportunity for feedback from residents and County officials (such as Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service, Montgomery County Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security, Montgomery County Office of Aging and Disabilities).

The Village of Friendship Heights ought to consider creating a Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Committee. The committee could examine regional plans and advocate for the Village in County emergency preparedness planning efforts. The Village has too much at risk to not be vocal and active in preparing for emergencies.

While the Village recently dodged the “derecho bullet”, let’s not be lulled into complacency. The derecho should be a wake-up call for all residents in Chevy Chase to re-examine our emergency preparedness and work together as a community to avoid that 1995 Chicago heatwave tragedy.

Todd Jasper is a federal emergency manager and has been happy to call Chevy Chase home since 2008. His emergency management blog is www.toddjasper.com.

Future Tech: Imagining the Emergency Operations Center of Tomorrow

21 Thursday Jun 2012

Posted by in EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

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An Excerpt from the June 2012 Bulletin of the
International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM)

Here’s a plain text version as well:

Future Tech: Imagining the Emergency Operations Center of Tomorrow

By Alisha Griswold, Noah Reiter, and Todd Jasper, IAEM-USA Emerging Technology Caucus

Picture a spacious but naturally lit room with projectors aimed at whiteboard-coated walls. The Emergency Manager sits down to immediately brief elected officials via a camera built into a large screen. The screen displays a series of images from a complex HAZMAT incident. An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) monitors the situation from above while simultaneously transmitting remote-sensing data back to the EOC and first responders.

On-scene responders wear augmented-reality helmets, which allow the wearer to toggle between views of an interactive map with cleared pathways in glowing green, a dashboard with the status of their air filter and respirator battery, a visual reference checklist of standard operating procedures and a timer that shows elapsed time since they donned the suit, all of which displays on the inside of the face shield

In a nearby cold zone, a structural assessment team discovers a weak floor joist; they take pictures of the damage using a specialized damage assessment app on their smartphones and send it to engineers in the EOC. The engineers review the metadata from the images, which contains GPS coordinates and altitude of the damaged area, and then determine that the building is structurally unsound. The Emergency Manager relays this information to the Incident Commander, who calls for an evacuation of the building and the surrounding area.

In the EOC, a GIS specialist maps the affected area on an image projected onto an interactive smart-board and identifies potential cascading damages to surrounding infrastructure, as well as residents in the area who have indicated a need for special assistance during an evacuation. This image is then transmitted to the HAZMAT teams and displayed on the inside of their helmets, helping them anticipate additional obstacles. Simultaneously, a map indicating potentially vulnerable community members is displayed on an interactive-screen within the Incident Command Post, which is then used to determine the most effective route to evacuate the surrounding area.

Support teams from the next jurisdiction arrive on-scene and are directed to a check-in station. The Staging Area Manager verifies responder credentials by swiping their badges across a sensor on a smartphone. The phone chirps and glows green for each approved individual but emits an angry buzz and flashes red when an unapproved card is scanned.  Back at the EOC, Planning and Finance Section Chiefs use the timestamps from each approved responder to calculate time sheets and assess monetary reimbursement for the supporting agencies in real-time.

As the incident response comes to an end, responders and equipment are demobilized and the Incident Commander requests that the evacuation be rescinded. The Public Information Officer launches the public notification app on a tablet computer and pushes the “send” button, which delivers a pre-scripted message via telephone and text to smartphones within the geographic area of the incident operations, an e-mail to all agencies involved in the response, as well as a coordinated press release that is simultaneously posted on the agency’s blog and social media sites.

Conclusion

All of the aforementioned technologies may sound like fantasy, but many are currently under development and others are already deployed. In the coming months, the Emerging Technology Caucus anticipates distributing a survey to all emergency management agencies to baseline the existing technology in use, as well as to gauge interest in emerging solutions. Future articles will delve deeper into those survey results and some of the technological solutions of tomorrow.

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