Stephen
Greetings! The winter is nearly over and we're looking forward to
a beautiful spring. I've only received a couple of comments on
whether or not we should switch to a blog format, so please let me know
what you think. Many senior folks are going to blogs and it seems
to be a good way to get a dialog going as opposed to a monologue.
You can check out Secretary Napolitano's blog here. Speaking
of Secretary Napolitano, you can see her testimony before the House
Committee on Homeland Security, "DHS: The Path Forward."
Washington, DC: DHS, February 25, 2009 at: http://www.dhs.gov/ynews/testimony/testimony_1235577134817.shtm.
We also have some stories this month about using Web 2.0 tools such as
blogs, twitter, text messaging, etc. to pass information out to the
public in an emergency. As I have been researching blogs and
additional information, I have come across a few resources that I
thought I'd pass on to you. There is an online Foreign Policy
Journal at this location: http://www.foreignpolicyjournal.com/about.htm
(not to be confused with the Foreign Policy Research Institute at FPRI.org - also a great resource.)
On a slightly different note, we're on our 3rd stimulus bill, plus
funding to assist specific programs such as mortgage relief. The
president's proposed budget will result in the highest deficit this
country has ever seen. Not only that, but the US Federal
Government has purchased a large stake in many high priority businesses
such as the auto industry and the financial sector. One of the
things that this does of course, is change the fundamental basis of the
free market in our government. While I recognize that some
industries need to be protected, a free market requires that there be
winners and losers. Removing the losers changes the rules
significantly. Many people complained about going into Iraq
without an exit strategy. I hope that people recognize the
importance of having an exit strategy for domestic policy as
well. Keep safe!
-Stephen
Stephen is taking care of the editing until
we can find a new editor. If any of you are interested, please
contact him at: stephen.melvin@oursafetowns.com.
Organizing for Homeland
Security and Counterterrorism
White House. Presidential Study Directive - 1. Organizing
for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism. Washington, DC:
February 23 2009, 3 pages. Accessed at: http://www.fas.org/irp/offdocs/psd/psd-1.pdf
Chairman Bresland's New YouTube Safety Message Urges
More Government Action, Increased Industry Vigilance to Prevent
Catastrophic Dust Explosions
Washington, DC, February 4, 2009 - Marking the first anniversary of the
Imperial Sugar explosion that killed 14 workers in February 2008, CSB
Chairman John Bresland released a new video safety message today asking
federal regulators and businesses to increase efforts to prevent
combustible dust fires and explosions.
The safety message can be viewed on the CSB's safety message channel,
www.youtube.com/safetymessages, and the text can be also read on http://safetymessages.blogspot.com,
an agency blog site.
Shattering the Illusion of FEMA's Progress:
On Feb 3, 2009, the American Federation of Government Employees Local
4060, which represents about 400 FEMA employees at the agency's
headquarters in Washington, released a report entitled, "Shattering the
Illusion of FEMA's Progress: 10 Recommendations for Rebuilding a Broken
Agency." Included on that list is pursuing the removal of FEMA from
DHS. 'Everybody thinks that FEMA has improved so much since
Hurricane Katrina,' said Leo Bosner, chief shop steward for AFGE Local
4060. 'But, in fact...[o]ur readiness has gone down....' The basic
problem, Bosner said, is that 'anti-terrorism experts are being put in
charge of rescuing flood victims - that's the core issue here of having
FEMA in DHS.' Rather than having FEMA under DHS, the union argues
the two 'should work together as co-equal partners to protect
Americans' during crises....
In making the case for a separate FEMA, Bosner equated DHS to a police
department and FEMA to a fire department. "In any large city, the
police department and the fire department naturally work together and
coordinate with each other, but neither one is part of the other
department," he said. "If they were, you would either have homicide
detectives telling people how to put out fires or you would have fire
chiefs telling people how to interrogate suspects," Bosner continued.
"We have a very high regard and respect for DHS, but our missions are
different. Therefore, we need to be partners, not one under the
other." Daniel Fowler can be reached at dfowler@cq.com.
LLIS.gov on Twitter
Lessons Learned Information Sharing (LLIS.gov)
joins the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the American Red Cross,
and many other emergency management organizations and agencies in
creating a Twitter profile. Twitter http://www.twitter.com
is an online social networking site where members can post short
updates and keep up with other members through online profiles or cell
phone text messages. The emergency management community uses Twitter
for local real-time updates and short nationwide announcements. To view
the new LLIS.gov Twitter profile, please
click here. If you have any
questions, please contact outreach@llis.dhs.gov.
Exercise Support System
Lessons
Learned Information Sharing (LLIS.gov)
joins the Federal Emergency
Management Agency, the American Red Cross, and many other emergency
As part of our ongoing
effort to better serve the needs of the exercise community, LLIS.gov is
pleased to announce the release of the National Exercise Division (NED)
Exercise Support System, an online tool that facilitates exercise
planning and conduct by providing a secure, collaborative workspace for
exercise planners and controllers. The NED Exercise Support System will
replace the functionality of the Federal Emergency Management Agency
Preparedness Portal. The Exercise Support System incorporates all of
the features of LLIS.gov Channels while
adding new capabilities to support the planning and conduct of
exercises, including chat rooms and a Public Library of key reference
documents. To request the creation of an Exercise Support Channel,
please contact NEP@dhs.gov. If
you have any other questions, please contact the LLIS.gov HelpDesk at help@llis.dhs.gov.
EMI Independent Study Program
The EMI
Independent Study Program is pleased to announce that downloadable
materials for group training are now available for IS-700.a National
Incident Management System, An Introduction. To download a copy
of these training materials, please visit our website at http://training.fema.gov/emiweb/is/is700a.asp
and choose "Downloads for Classroom" from the Additional Resources box
on the right hand side of the screen..
Group training is now available for the following NIMS courses:
IS-100.a - Introduction to the Incident Command System
IS-100.SCa - Introduction to the Incident Command System for Schools
IS-200.a - ICS for Single Resources and Initial Action Incidents
IS-700.a - National Incident Management System, An Introduction
IS-800.b - National Response Framework, An Introduction
To obtain a copy of the final exam for group training for IS-700.a,
IS-100.a, IS-100.SCa, IS-200.a or IS-800.b, you must call the
Independent Study Office at 301-447-1200 during normal business
hours. A copy of the exam will be mailed to you via US Postal
Service. Please allow adequate time for delivery of the exam
prior to your training class.
Students will need to place their answers on OpScan Answer Sheet forms (http://training.fema.gov/IS/ansreq.asp).
The instructor must complete the Independent Study Delivery Processing
Form (available at: http://training.fema.gov/IS/ansreq.asp)
and mail the forms to the IS Office for scoring. You may also request
OpScan Answer Sheets and download a copy of the IS Delivery Processing
Form by visiting http://training.fema.gov,
clicking on FEMA Independent Study and then clicking on 'OpScan Request
Form' in the Important Notices box on the right hand side of the page.
Infragard Newsletter
Please visit (http://www.infragard.net/library/pdfs/inma_newsletter_v1i5.pdf)
to view the February Issue of the "Chairman's Corner" INMA newsletter.
This document is posted on the InfraGard Public website, therefore no
login is required.
.
Recent
Events
Upcoming
Events
Mar 3: Ready
Campaign's Next Monthly Call
The Ready Campaign's
next monthly call will take place on Tuesday, March 3 at 2pm EST.
In addition to the Ready and Citizen Corps updates, Cathleen Carlisle,
FEMA will talk about the Quakesmart program and Heather Foster, West
Virginia Commission for National & Community Service will talk
about their National Preparedness Month efforts.
The call in numbers are:
Call Number: 800-860-2442
PIN: 2931 #
We look forward to speaking with you.
Mar 3:
Temecula Citizens Corps Meeting: Automated External Defibrillators
(AED) & Sudden Cardiac Arrest How to be Prepared?
DATE: Tuesday,
March 3, 2009
TIME: 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM
LOCATION: Temecula Library
30600 Pauba Road
Temecula, CA 92592
RAFFLE PRIZES!!!
TCC Members are encouraged to bring a guest to this important
lecture. Parking is limited. Please carpool.
Mar 10: SB
CAER Meeting
From Robert Kamm,
Safety Manager, CAC, Los Angeles Unified School District:
Greetings CAER members,
Our next monthly SBCAER meeting will be on March 10, 2009 at 09:30.
Location:
Carson Community Center
801 Carson Street
Carson, CA
Guest Speaker: Mass Evacuation: JIM GORDON, Sergeant II, Los
Angeles Police Department Special Operations Bureau Emergency
Operations Division Los Angeles Operational Area "Alliance".
Additionally we will discus the new contract and training with Rapid
Notify which replaced the old CAN system.
Please RSVP as soon as possible so I can have an accurate head count.
robert.kamm@lausd.net
Mar 12: CA
LEPC Region I Meeting
From Steve Tsumura, El
Segundo Fire
The original date was March 5, 2009, but there are several conflicts for
that date. Please respond to Janice Herrera by email, if the new date
will work for your schedules. The location of the meeting is TBA.
Apr 20-24:
NASTTPO's 21st Annual Conference & HMEP Grants Assistance Workshop
Please visit the NASTTPO web site at http://www.nasttpo.org
for information regarding NASTTPO's 21st Annual Conference and HMEP
Grants Assistance Workshop to be held April 20-24, 2009 in Boise,
Idaho.
May 13-15:
May 13-15, 2009: 2009 CFEDWest Conference & Expo
The 2009 CFEDWest Conference & Expo is California's largest
domicile response event. Developed by California's response base -- for
California's response community—the 2009 event features five great
educational tracks with the following areas of focus: FIREFIGHTING,
EMS, DISASTER RESPONSE & PUBLIC HEALTH, EMERGENCY NURSING, and
HOMELAND SECURITY via the co-location of the California Homeland
Security Response Conference. We also offer POST, EMS and BRN
educational credit
The California Homeland Security Response Conference and the CFEDWest
Conference & Expo will be held May 13-15, 2009, in Palm Springs,
CA. Come join 2,000 of your peers in this can't miss event!
The 2009 CFEDWest Conference & Expo qualifies for reimbursement
from State Homeland Security Grant Program (SHSGP), Urban Area Security
Initiative (UASI), Metropolitan Medical Response Systems (MMRS), and
Law Enforcement Terrorism Prevention Program (LETPP).
More info is available here: http://www.cfedwest.com/
As mentioned in the introduction, we
are interested in possibly starting a blog so that we can make this a
multi-way conversation with you. Please let us know what you
think!
If you are
interested in working with us directly to make your community,
business, or agency safer, please contact us at: info@oursafetowns.com.
See you next month!
New Articles Published
These articles came through the FEMA Higher Education Report:
Wood, Karen. "Community Health Centers: The Untapped Resource for
Public Health and Medical Preparedness." Homeland Security
Affairs, Vol. V, No. 1, January 2009. Accessed at: http://www.hsaj.org/?article=5.1.8
Canclini, Sharon, Judy Shannon, Kay Dillard. "Calming the
Storm: A Model for Engaging the Faith Community in Advance
Preparation for Disaster." Journal of Homeland Security, January
2009. Accessed at: http://www.homelandsecurity.org/journal/Default.aspx?t=320&
AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1
CAMEO 2.0 Available for Download
Courtesy of Tom Bergman
http://www.epa.gov/emergencies/content/cameo/index.htm
The new CAMEO 2.0 is now available for download, along with the new
CAMEO
Chemicals.
Golden Rules for
the Crisis Spokesperson
By Jonathan Hemus
Speaking on behalf of an organization in the white heat of a crisis can
be harrowing, even for experienced executives. And the truth is
that the performance of the spokesperson will affect how the public
views that organization, and not just in the short term.
Training, experience and a natural aptitude for this task can all
contribute to a successful performance. But analysis of a host of
crises reveals that the best spokespeople usually embrace the following
golden rules: more
Understanding Limitations of NIMS
by Charles Bailey
If I always appear prepared, it is because before entering on an
undertaking, I have meditated for long and have foreseen what may
occur. It is not genius which reveals to me suddenly and secretly what
I should do in circumstances unexpected by others, it is thought and
meditation.
—Napoleon Bonaparte, 1812
More
From: In Case Of Emergency, Read
Blog
Social Media’s Role
In Mumbai Attack And Its Potential For Future Terror Incident Response
I want to bring your attention to a terrific article, “New Media’s
Moment In Mumbai” in Foreign Policy Journal, written by a friend of
this blog, Chris Battle. Chris edits the excellent Security Debrief
blog and is a partner in the Adfero Group.
More
Plug
Into the Facts (from the City of Seattle Fire Department)
Electricity is there to help brew your morning coffee, operate your
computer, heat your home, and run your television. We use electricity
so often that we seldom think about the dangers.
Take a moment to think about how often you depend upon electricity and
answer the following questions. Every question you answer with "no", is
an opportunity for you to make your home a safer place to live.
- Are heat
producing electrical appliances unplugged when you are not using them?
- Are electrical
cords in good condition, not frayed or cracked?
- Are electrical
outlets overloaded in your home?
- Are electrical
cords kept out from beneath furniture and rugs?
- Do all outlets
and light switches work?
Never use water on an
electrical fire, you could get shocked. If the fire is small, turn the
power off and use a multi-purpose (ABC) dry-chemical extinguisher to
put out the fire. If you can't turn the power off, or the fire is
large, evacuate your home and dial 9-1-1 from a safe phone.
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