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In our on going efforts to educate and train our community and participating partners, we have selected a portion of the FEMA training for "Emergency Manager, An Orientation to the Posiiton" also referred to as "IS-1".
Here are excerpts from the FEMA IS-1 Emergency Manager course:
Emergency Management grew from the efforts and responsibility of the United States Government to address growing threats of fire and disease in the 1800's. Today it focuses on protecting people, environment, and property from the destructive forces of natural and man-made disasters through a comprehensive program of mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery.
When the threat vulnerabilities grew past fires and disease to include all types of disasters and hazards such as hurricanes, tornados, floods, earthquakes, tsunamis, wind/ice/snow storms, hazardous materials spills, major transportation accidents, explosions, terrorists acts and others, the institution of Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was created in 1979 and the concept became Comprehensive Emergency Management (CEM). This approach in dealing with incidents consists of three parts:
1. All Types of Hazards - the same emergency management strategy will apply to all types of man-made and natural disasters.
2. An Emergency Management Partnership - the burden of disaster management along with the resources to deal with it require a close working partnership among all levels of government (federal, tribal, regional, state, county, local) and the private sector (business, industry, non-government organizations, and the general public.
3. An Emergency Lifecycle - a series of management phases that include strategies to mitigate hazards and prepare for, respond to, and recover from emergencies and their effects.
A process is established to comprehensively assess communities' vulnerabilities that continues with a capabilities analysis to identify the shortfalls of resources which in turn is maintained as the Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan (CEMP).
The Emergency Manager is the Director of Emergency Management. His or her job is that of a "conductor" that is orchestrating all the instruments of governments, agencies, jurisdictions, organizations, volunteers, and resources throughout the performance and continuosly prepares and practices for the next one.
The Emergency Manager must continuosly ask:
1. How does my work relate to public safety from all hazards?
2. How does Emergency Management integrate into overall community planning, sustainability, and resilience?
3. How does Emergency Management implement the full partnerships of governments and the private sector?
An Emergency Manager must balance his/her job with the legal duties and obligations to protect and preserve the safety of citizens and their way of life in the jurisdiction. Mediation, negotiation, understanding, and compassion are some of the needed skills to balance conflicting challenges in "Doing the greatest good for the greatest number".
By definition, the Emergency Manager should be the chief of staff for the executive body during an emergency who reports directly to them and coordinates the functions of government emergency response with the needs of the communities. Emergency Management becomes a group effort of all government departments and agencies within a jurisdiction. The Emergency Manager activities include making equipment purchases, establishing training programs and disaster exercises followed by after action critiques and presentations. County Emergency Managers are the main point of contact below the county level in times of a disaster and in preparation for potential emergencies.
Functions of an effective Emergency Manger include:
1. Quickly mobilizing emergency personnel and resources
2. Warning the public
3. Taking protective action
4. Caring for victims
5. Damage assessment - continues well after the danger
6. Restoring essential public services
7. Keeping the public informed
8. Record keeping - for lessons learned and receiving financial assistance
9. Planning for recovery - before another disaster hits and maintain constant contact with personnel and agencies throughout the recovery
10. Effective coordination of all emergency management activities
For the complete course click here for the IS-1 Emergency Manager training from FEMA.
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