Most recently published
How One Town Stood Up to a Category 4 Storm
Jennifer Languell
January 4, 2023
When Category 4 Hurricane Ian crossed Florida in September 2022, more than 4 million Florida homes and businesses lost power. However, one town kept the lights on and was spared the devastation the cities surrounding it faced. With resilience and sustainability in mind, this author shares the planning involved in
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
How Technology Systems Impact Critical Infrastructure
Nathan DiPillo and Paul Galyen
December 21, 2022
Operational technology systems that run many critical infrastructure functions are becoming more dependent on information technology. As these worlds converge, emergency preparedness professionals must address the related security challenges. This article shares some lessons learned and uses a foundational knowledge of the topic to inspire possible solutions.
Applying Environmental Design to Prevent Active Shooters
Rodney Andreasen
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.
Implementing “Stop the Bleed” for Future K-12 Educators
Will Brewer, Peggy Bergeron and Wayne Bergeron
December 14, 2022
How have recent school shootings impacted future K-12 educators and what new skills will help better prepare them for potential threats? One study at the University of North Alabama combined training and research to answer this question.
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.
Value of Enterprise Data Management in Emergency Management
Anne Marie Smith
December 7, 2022
An enterprise data management program emphasizes the importance of managing information as an asset and protecting it from misuse or loss. Knowing the landscape of data and how to manage it is critical to an organization’s recovery and sustainability after a disaster. This article explains the need to coordinate data
“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
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.
Workplace Strategies to Reduce Burnout and Build Resilience
Judy Kruger and Chris Paquet
November 16, 2022
A multi-year pandemic has resulted in organizations looking to reframe traditional workforce management practices to retain seasoned staff and prevent burnout. To address these issues, state, local, tribal, and territorial emergency management offices can consider implementing workplace engagement strategies to address the mental and physical health concerns resulting from this
Switch to Online Enables Active Shooter Training for All
Michael Melton
November 16, 2022
Since the emergence of COVID-19, many trainings have had to adapt to an online presence. In one case, an active shooter training not only successfully transitioned to support the online delivery of these skills, but the developer embraced it and has now made it publicly available for everyone.
Power Outages, Communication Failures & Healthcare
Daniel Rector
November 9, 2022
All disasters have a health aspect, and all disasters, exercises, responses, and recoveries are deeply dependent on technology and communications. Two large-scale disasters affecting much of the United States – Hurricanes Katrina (2005) and Sandy (2012) – provide vast amounts of documentation on the significant technological challenges that arose. In
Beachie Creek Fire – A Practitioner’s Firsthand Account
Charles (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.
How One Town Stood Up to a Category 4 Storm
Jennifer Languell
January 4, 2023
When Category 4 Hurricane Ian crossed Florida in September 2022, more than 4 million Florida homes and businesses lost power. However, one town kept the lights on and was spared the devastation the cities surrounding it faced. With resilience and sustainability in mind, this author shares the planning involved in
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
How Technology Systems Impact Critical Infrastructure
Nathan DiPillo and Paul Galyen
December 21, 2022
Operational technology systems that run many critical infrastructure functions are becoming more dependent on information technology. As these worlds converge, emergency preparedness professionals must address the related security challenges. This article shares some lessons learned and uses a foundational knowledge of the topic to inspire possible solutions.
Applying Environmental Design to Prevent Active Shooters
Rodney Andreasen
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.
Implementing “Stop the Bleed” for Future K-12 Educators
Will Brewer, Peggy Bergeron and Wayne Bergeron
December 14, 2022
How have recent school shootings impacted future K-12 educators and what new skills will help better prepare them for potential threats? One study at the University of North Alabama combined training and research to answer this question.
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.
Value of Enterprise Data Management in Emergency Management
Anne Marie Smith
December 7, 2022
An enterprise data management program emphasizes the importance of managing information as an asset and protecting it from misuse or loss. Knowing the landscape of data and how to manage it is critical to an organization’s recovery and sustainability after a disaster. This article explains the need to coordinate data
“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
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.
Workplace Strategies to Reduce Burnout and Build Resilience
Judy Kruger and Chris Paquet
November 16, 2022
A multi-year pandemic has resulted in organizations looking to reframe traditional workforce management practices to retain seasoned staff and prevent burnout. To address these issues, state, local, tribal, and territorial emergency management offices can consider implementing workplace engagement strategies to address the mental and physical health concerns resulting from this
Switch to Online Enables Active Shooter Training for All
Michael Melton
November 16, 2022
Since the emergence of COVID-19, many trainings have had to adapt to an online presence. In one case, an active shooter training not only successfully transitioned to support the online delivery of these skills, but the developer embraced it and has now made it publicly available for everyone.
Nuclear Threats Against the Homeland: Impact and Preparation
Tanya M. Scherr, Dan Scherr and Richard Schoeberl
November 2, 2022
How the war in Ukraine will end is unclear. However, research shows that there is the potential for devastating effects on a global scale. As such, it is important for emergency planners to reassess their all-hazards plans to ensure their communities identify the threats and ensure their planning processes include
Training the Next Generation of Cyber Guardians
Steve Stein
November 2, 2022
Despite small local governments being overrun with malware, ransomware, and myriad other threats, it is difficult to find experienced cybersecurity professionals. Meanwhile, students search for nonexistent entry-level jobs. One Washington State-based nonprofit is seeking to close this cybersecurity gap.
A Communicator’s Overview of a Large-Scale Exercise
Michael Montfort
October 26, 2022
A June 2022 exercise challenged amateur radio operators with establishing a Communications Unit with no power or pre-positioned equipment. The exercise was successful, but the key takeaways are already helping to improve collaboration and communications throughout the region.
Listen to the Warnings, Plan for Threats
Catherine L. Feinman
October 26, 2022
Emergency preparedness professionals continually strive to protect the lives and health of those within their communities. This October edition of the Domestic Preparedness Journal describes how some professionals are doing that.
Monkeypox: A Public Health Update
Deborah Sateler and Mabel de Leo
October 19, 2022
Declared a public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organization (WHO), monkeypox has been on the news since early May 2022 due to the high number of cases and its worldwide distribution. The current outbreak varies from the historical situation, in which the virus remained endemic
Earthquakes & Pandemic – Keeping People Fed Amid Crises
Zsofia Pasztor and Szabolcs (Szabi) Pasztor
October 19, 2022
Even though food is necessary for survival, it is not common to see agricultural workers at a disaster training exercise. However, one organization demonstrates why training these volunteers with emergency preparedness and response skills is essential for future large-scale disasters.
Looking Back to Look Ahead to Protect the Food Supply
Benjamin Lieb and Jason Bashura
October 12, 2022
History reveals patterns that preparedness professionals can use to better protect communities from agroterrorism and supply chain threats. One historical study has been updated to reflect cases of intentional food contamination events around the world. Learn more about this research and how to protect the food supply.
Taking Flight – Creating a Robust Aviation Response, Part 2
James Origliosso and Sky Terry
October 12, 2022
Volunteer general aviation pilots have assisted their communities during emergencies and disasters for many years. This is the second of a two-part article on their disaster preparedness efforts in the Pacific Northwest. In this part, they participate in two separate yet coordinated functional earthquake and tsunami disaster exercises.
Chemical Sector Perspectives
Patrick Coyle
October 5, 2022
The Chemical Sector is one of 16 sectors identified as critical infrastructure under the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency. Domestic Preparedness invited one subject matter expert to answer important questions about this sector and how the sector and its interdependencies can affect any community.
Lessons From Leading Virtual Operations
Jennifer Pearsall
October 5, 2022
Over the past two and a half years, most emergency preparedness professionals experienced some level of virtual work, even at emergency operations centers (EOC). And it appears that some aspects of working virtually is here to stay – including during a response. This article describes some lessons learned from one
Military Combat Skills for Civilian Disaster Response
Lisa Nenno and Timothy Miller
September 28, 2022
During their service, military personnel acquire a broad range of lifesaving skills that are critical when on the frontline during wartime. Effective medical triage is one of the skills needed during combat and any major disaster or catastrophic event. When preparing and training for all hazards, the learned experience from
Taking Flight – Creating a Robust Aviation Response, Part 1
James Origliosso and Sky Terry
September 28, 2022
General aviation pilots have been finding ways to assist their communities during emergencies and disasters for many years. However, over the past two years, significant advances in disaster preparedness have been made as emergency response plans were created and exercised to integrate volunteer aviation response into other community response efforts.
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