Appointment to an emergency management position is a proud moment as well as a moment that creates
doubt, anxiety, and internal questioning of one’s own ability to handle a major catastrophe. Questions
arise about the community’s hazards awareness, the status of the local emergency operations plan, and
the proverbial, “What keeps you up at night?” scenario.
Planning the response to a public health emergency can be a daunting endeavor. Many factors in multiple complex systems contribute to the potential for success in executing these plans at every level of the response. Preparedness planners have to consider these many factors to ensure that their plans can work despite potential failure points.
DomPrep wanted to know what still keeps experts up at night. To answer this question, DomPrep
hosted and Ron Vidal, a partner at Blackrock 3 Partners, moderated a panel discussion on 17 June 2016 at
the Annual International Hazardous Materials Response Teams Conference in Baltimore, Maryland. This
article summarizes that discussion.
The “things that keep me up at night” are much more numerous and remarkably different than emergency management 15 years ago. There is no time to rest. The nature of emergencies has changed, complicated by the fact that new threats of intentional incidents using chemical, biological, and other weapons must be considered in addition to accidental or natural incidents.
In today’s climate of austere budgets, federal, state, local, tribal, and private sector training managers need to get the most out of the scarce dollars that are available. A risk-based approach and assessment will help discern who needs what training, the specific levels of that training, and refresher training requirements.
First responder safety is the immediate goal when approaching and operating in an emergency response scenario. Not only does keeping personnel safe keep experts up at night, it is a priority for equipment manufacturers responsible for the design, function, and purpose of responder tools used in dangerous situations and environments.
Law enforcement personnel operating in their communities have been trained to report suspicious activity sightings to their headquarters. Firefighters, emergency medical service providers, public health officials, and other first responders have been asked to “Remain Alert for Suspicious Activity.” Now, every citizen and visitor plays a critical role in preventing terrorist threats.
Radiological and nuclear sources pose a wider variety of threats than many realize. By understanding the threat and leveraging federal requirements such as the Threat and Hazardentification and Risk Assessment (THIRA), emergency managers can better equip themselves and their communities to prevent, protect against, and respond to incidents related to these threats.
National policy and practice tend to focus efforts and resources on disaster response and recovery, rather than on disaster risk reduction. Understanding disaster risks and incentivizing sustainable risk reduction efforts could help reduce overall disaster costs and even save lives.
On 7 June 2016, the DomPrep team convened 14 subject matter experts from various disciplines to
address issues surrounding community resilience and public health. The purpose of the roundtable was to
align the missions and identify action items to create synergy among various community stakeholders.
This article summarizes the key takeaways from the roundtable participants.
Appointment to an emergency management position is a proud moment as well as a moment that creates
doubt, anxiety, and internal questioning of one’s own ability to handle a major catastrophe. Questions
arise about the community’s hazards awareness, the status of the local emergency operations plan, and
the proverbial, “What keeps you up at night?” scenario. 
National policy and practice tend to focus efforts and resources on disaster response and recovery, rather than on disaster risk reduction. Understanding disaster risks and incentivizing sustainable risk reduction efforts could help reduce overall disaster costs and even save lives. 