EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ARCHIVES
The Pony Express Rides Again
Monty Dozier
January 18, 2023
In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, health care providers and facilities, local jurisdictions, and state agencies struggled to acquire personal protective equipment (PPE), such as masks, gloves, gowns, and hand sanitizers, for their patients and staff. Supplies of these items were extremely low and getting them shipped proved
Beachie Creek Fire – A Practitioner’s Firsthand Account
Chuck Perino
January 4, 2023
When disaster strikes, sometimes those trained to respond find themselves and their families
fleeing from the fire. Once their families are safe, they jump back in to assist wherever needed. This
scenario happened to one emergency manager when the Beachie Creek wildfire engulfed surrounding Oregon
communities with little warning.
Publisher’s Note: Auld Lang Syne (A Chance to Recollect and Restore)
MacGregor Stephenson
December 28, 2022
As we come to the end of a challenging year and a tumultuous period, please know that your efforts
are appreciated, and the sacrifices of you and your families have a significant and positive impact on
all of our communities. On behalf of the Domestic Preparedness Journal, its staff, and its advisory
board,
The Importance of Strong Leadership for a Unique Discipline
Catherine Feinman
December 21, 2022
A transformational leadership style can help bridge relationship and communication gaps between
leaders and other community stakeholders. Learn how one young deputy fire chief learned from his past
leadership missteps and honed his meta-leadership skills, which were essential in reconnecting
communities when he became a state emergency manager.
Building Strength in Workforce and Structure
Catherine Feinman
December 21, 2022
Each person plays a critical leadership role, from top leadership to frontline workers. The authors
in the December edition of the Domestic Preparedness Journal share various ways readers (aka leaders)
can build strength and resilience within their workforces and structures.
Applying Environmental Design to Prevent Active Shooters
Rodney Andreason
December 14, 2022
Active shooter trainings can help prevent some injuries and deaths. However, additional measures should also be taken to prevent the attack from occurring. This article describes how to apply environmental design to thwart attackers.
Maintaining a Strong Volunteer Force
Kristina Hamilton
December 7, 2022
Volunteers are a lifeline for many nonprofit organizations and for-profit companies during emergencies and disasters. However, recruiting and retaining good volunteers can be difficult. This article shares some simple strategies and tools for any emergency preparedness professional seeking to build and maintain a strong volunteer force.
Find Chances to Make Positive Changes
Catherine Feinman
November 30, 2022
Emergency preparedness and response professionals willingly insert themselves into many emergencies and disasters that they could have avoided in other professions. However, they use these opportunities to make positive changes and build resiliency within their communities.
“Moneyball” for the Wildland Fire System
Matthew Thompson and Erin Belval
November 24, 2022
The wildfire management community has made great strides incorporating new decision support tools into how it plans for and responds to wildfire incidents. Despite improvements in risk assessment and management at the incident scale, increasing fire activity and critical resource shortages reveal a system under strain in need of strategies
Avoiding the Complacency Trap After This Hurricane Season
Mark Misczak
November 23, 2022
Despite punishing hurricanes in Puerto Rico and Florida, the 2022 season has been relatively quiet
for much of the Gulf coast and Atlantic seaboard. This article describes the resources that help
communities mitigate risk now before the next hurricane season.
PPD-44: Implications for Domestic Incident Management
Robert J. (Bob) Roller
November 23, 2022
An essential national incident management guidance document is finally available to responders nationwide. This document will significantly improve a unified response to and recovery from large-scale incidents. However, additional work is needed to create an enhanced unity of effort and fully integrated response among federal, state, and local responders.
Rationale for Structuring Pandemic Response on a War Footing
Thomas Russo
October 26, 2022
Given 20 years of pandemic planning, is it not surprising when people ask, “Why were we not ready?”
This question should be explored whether the time has come to put the country on a warlike footing for
pandemic response with a coherent, institutionalized, and tested pandemic policy.
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