COMMUNICATION & INTEROPERABILITY ARCHIVES
Rethinking Disaster Evacuation
Daniel M. Gerstein and Andrew Lauland
September 11, 2017
No two disasters are the same. Yet it is not unusual for officials to be confronted with a common
critical public safety decision: whether to evacuate the public or advise them to shelter in place. This
crucial decision, which is normally time sensitive, can set the tone for the remainder of the
Mass Fatalities – More Than Just a Number
Ron Vidal and Catherine L. Feinman
August 30, 2017
A chemical spill, nuclear attack, biological agent, pandemic, hurricane, and numerous other threats and hazards have the potential to kill enough people to overwhelm any particular jurisdiction. Whether that number is 10 or 10,000 or more, the “unthinkable” can happen anywhere. On 16 June 2017, DomPrep hosted a panel discussion
Plugging the Experience Drain in Hazmat Response
Christopher Wrenn
August 24, 2017
As a metaphor for picturing the maintenance of preparedness, imagine a number of 5-gallon buckets, where each one represents some aspect of readiness – detection, personal protective equipment (PPE), communications, training, etc. Each bucket is filled with water andeally each would stay filled representing a steady state of preparedness.
Responding to Unique Operating Environments
Seth Komansky
August 23, 2017
Effective trainings are ones where the participants remember and later implement what they learned
into their daily operations. Not everyone knows how they would respond in a true emergency. However,
some trainings provide a more realistic glimpse into disaster scenarios than others. This first-hand
account describes what it was like for one participant
Mass Fatality Incidents & Challenges for First Responders
Daryl D. Sensenig
August 23, 2017
Mass fatality incidents present many challenges. To effectively plan for such events, certain key factors must be taken into consideration: common causes and challenges, as well as resources available. By communicating with the local medical examiner/coroner, being familiar with mass fatality plans, and learning about any pertinent capabilities and limitations,
Wearable Sensors for Chemical & Biological Detection
Richard Ozanich
August 9, 2017
One of the strengths of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is the ability to conduct comprehensive technology foraging and objective assessments of various technology areas. This article highlights leading research by others in the area of chemical and biological (chem/bio) detection that could be further developed into robust, highly
Preparing for High-Impact, Low-Probability (HILP) Events
Jerome H. Kahan
August 2, 2017
The interconnected global environment can increase the number of vulnerabilities as well as the destabilizing effects of both natural and human-caused disasters. As such, when a high-impact, low-probability event occurs, the consequences can be devastating. To prepare for such events, planners must observe trends, predict futures, and create scenarios for
Help Wanted: Next Generation of Emergency Managers
Catherine L. Feinman
July 26, 2017
Veterans, Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Millennials compose the majority of the modern workforce,
but the next generation (Generation Z) is now beginning to emerge from schools and colleges. Before this
new generation transforms into a significant portion of the workforce, it is important to determine what
makes these young people unique and
Next Responder of the Future
Catherine L. Feinman and Kay C. Goss
July 26, 2017
Each year, experienced emergency management and first responder personnel are retiring from their
careers, and retiring the vital skills that they spent their lifetimes learning. As the next generation
of young adults moves into these fields, it is critical for the knowledge, skills, and abilities of the
previous generations to be passed on
Today’s Emergency Manager: Versatile Enough for Any Industry
Keith Grossman
July 19, 2017
“If someone were to walk into a high school classroom today and ask the students about their future professions, there may be one or possibly two students who wish to pursue emergency management. However, as much as the field has grown since 2001, emergency management is still not the dream
Success or Failure of a Response: There Are Options
Catherine L. Feinman
June 28, 2017
The success or failure of an emergency response depends on many factors: planning, capabilities,
training, tools, funding, public trust, and the list goes on. This edition of the DomPrep Journal
examines potential points of failure as well as formulas for success when responding to a crisis.
Facial Recognition Making an Appearance in Public Safety
Rodrigo (Roddy) Moscoso
June 27, 2017
The use of facial recognition (FR) technologies to support public safety has long been considered a potent tool for law enforcement. The capability to automatically identify persons of interest in real-time has the potential to alert police of threats before an incident occurs. Long considered a technology of science fiction,
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