Departmental Disaster Readiness

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Departmental Disaster Readiness

• By
• John Hardcastle
• Emergency Services Coordinator
• Palm Springs Fire Department

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Acronyms

• DOC- Department Operation Center
• EOC- Emergency Operations Center
• SEMS- Standardized Emergency Management System
• NIMS- National Incident Management System

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The EOC

• Emergency Operations Center
• Management and coordination
• Determines the priorities
• Utilizes SEMS/NIMS
• Can get crowded and noisy

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DOCs

• Department Operations Centers
• Not co-located in the EOC
• Where the work gets done
• If possible use staff offices
• Where the records and data are located
• Have a Department Plan!

5
But my City/County/State has a plan!

• Yes they do! But these plans are for the
  overall big picture response. Your plan needs
  be detailed to keep your business processes
  running in order to support the big picture
  response. Only you and your staff know the
  intricacies and requirements to keep your
  department functioning.

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4 Points for planning

• Staff Readiness
• Department Operations Center (DOC)
• Continuity of Operations
• Recovery

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Staff Readiness

• Make staff aware of department plans
• Ensure they know where the plans are located
• Reinforce the importance of family planning
• Refresher training

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DOC Planning

• Designate a primary DOC
• If possible designate an alternate DOC
• Ensure that the primary and secondary DOCs have
  all the needed tools for staff

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Continuity of Operations

1. Identify essential processes Identify critical
   data
2. Create a plan
3. Create redundancy
4. Cross train staff
5. Identify lines of departmental succession

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Essential Processes

• Must be up and running within 12 hours
• Purchasing
• Cash receipts
• Access to banking functions
• Payroll
• Payment processing
• Maintain cash flow

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Critical Data

• The data required for operations recovery
• Financial accounting systems
• Banking systems
• Account numbers
• Investment Data
• Debt Data
• Contractual obligations

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Create a Plan

• Establish a staff recall procedure
• Maintain an updated staff home phone number list
• Establish data redundancy and how it is accessed
• Plan to staff the DOC for 24 hours a day
• Determine who is to report to the EOC and DOC
• Create a temporary line of succession

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Create a plan

• Establish a Mutual Aid agreement with other
  like organizations to share offices, computers,
  staff, etc.

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Redundancy

• Back up records and databases need to be
  physically distant (at least a few miles)
• Fireproof safes
• Hot sites
• Warm sites
• Cold sites
• UPS
• Offsite Records backup

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Redundancy

• Mutual Aid
• Agencies can share or purchase exclusive
  fireproof safes to place in each others
  facilities for the purpose of storing data backup
  tapes. This provides the needed distance and
  maintains security.

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Cross Train Staff

• In a disaster members of your Department may
  be unable to report to work. Cross training
  ensures that someone from your Department will be
  able to accomplish the tasks needed.

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Lines of Succession

• Determine emergency lines of succession
• Use job titles not names
• Obtain approval from your agency head in advance
  of a disaster

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Recovery

• Recovery activities must be documented in order
  to be reimbursable by OES and DHS.
• Each site must be listed separately
• Each activity must be categorized
• Set up account numbers in advance of a disaster
  and only use them for a disaster

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Recovery Categories

• CATEGORY
• A Debris Clearance
• B Emergency Protective Measures
• C Road System Repairs
• D Water Control Facilities
• E Buildings and Equipment
• F Public Utility Systems
• G Other (Not in above Categories)

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This Was An Overview

• Check with your organization and find out what
  role you are expected to play in a disaster
• Review your organizations Emergency Operations
  Plan (EOP)
• Contact your local Emergency Management Official
  for assistance.

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Questions?