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Hello Lucien,
Welcome to the November edition of Emergency Management Solutions.
For my colleagues in the United States, this is one of our major holidays, Thanksgiving. While there is controversy about the supposed origins of the holiday, the opportunity to spend time with loved ones and give thanks for all we have received in life is one we treasure. Unfortunately, it is the nature of our work that many of use will be dealing with disasters and crises. So share a thought for them, the people we serve, and the many others that will be working on this holiday to keep us safe and provide for those suffering hardship.
In this month's featured articles, Tim Riecker shares some problems with the Incident Command System. Tim has been writing on this subject for years and if you have not yet read his articles on ICS, I encourage you to do so. Erik Bernstein offers some suggestions as to whom should on your crisis management team. My own contribution is a brief discussion on why we should be concerned by the use of disinformation on the recent hurricanes in Florida.
Wishing you all a happy an joyous Thanksgiving!
Be well!
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Canton on Emergency Management
By Lucien G. Canton, CEM
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Disinformation and Disasters: A Deadly Combination
A FEMA supervisor was fired recently for instructing disaster relief workers responding to Hurricane Milton to avoid canvassing homes displaying Trump signs. The FEMA administrator called the supervisor’s actions “reprehensible” and “a clear violation of FEMA’s core values and principles.” While there is no disagreement that emergency managers have a mandate to deliver relief services equally to all victims, regardless of political affiliation, one must wonder if there is more to the story.
The supervisor argues that her teams had been verbally and physically threatened by victims displaying Trump signs, indicating a community trend that created a hostile environment and danger to her workers. She maintains that her actions were taken in accordance with FEMA protocols that stressed avoidance of high-risk environments and that she is being scapegoated to save the agency’s reputation. More importantly, she claims that the problem is widespread and not limited to her area of operations or her team.
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© 2024 - Lucien G. Canton
Lucien Canton is a management consultant specializing in helping managers lead better in a crisis. He is the former Director of Emergency Services for San Francisco and the author of the best-selling Emergency Management: Concepts and Strategies for Effective Programs used as a textbook in many higher education courses.
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The Contrarian Emergency Manager
By Timothy "Tim" Riecker
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ICS: Problems and Perceptions
Oddly enough, I’ve recently seen a spate of LinkedIn posts espousing the benefits of the Incident Command System (ICS). Those who have been reading my material for a while know that I’m a big proponent of ICS, though I am highly critical of the sub-par curriculum that we have been using for decades to teach ICS. The outcome is an often poorly understood and implemented system resulting in limited effectiveness.
Yes, ICS is a great tool, if implemented properly. Yet most implementations I see aren’t properly conducted. To further muddy these waters, I see emergency plans everywhere that commit our responders and officials to using ICS – this is, after all, part of the National Incident Management System (NIMS) requirement that many have – yet they don’t use it.
So why isn’t ICS being used properly or even at all? Let’s start with plans. Plans get written and put up on a proverbial shelf – physical or digital. They are often not shared with the stakeholders who should have access to them. Even less frequently are personnel trained in their actual roles as identified and defined in plans. Some of those roles are within the scope of ICS while some are not. The bottom line is that many personnel, at best, are only vaguely familiar with what they should be doing in accordance with plans. So, when an incident occurs, most people don’t think to reference the plan, and they flop around like a fish out of water trying to figure out what to do. They make things up. Sure, they often try their best, assessing what’s going on and finding gaps to fill, but without a structured system in place and in the absence (or lack of referencing) of the guidance that a quality plan should offer, efficiency and effectiveness are severely decreased, and some gaps aren’t even recognized or anticipated.
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© 2024 - Timothy Riecker, CEDP
Used with Permission
Tim Riecker is a founding member, partner and principal consultant with Emergency Preparedness Solutions, LLC, a private consulting firm serving government, businesses, and not for profit organizations in various aspects of emergency and disaster preparedness.
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Bernstein Crisis Management
by Erik Bernstein
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Crisis Management Team, Assemble!
While being on a crisis management team may not be quite as glamorous as joining the Avengers in battling interdimensional threats, I don’t think it’s over-selling to say that the members of the crisis team can and frequently do hold the fate of their organization, and at least the immediate future of those who rely on it for goods, services, and employment, in their hands. While hopefully your own crisis management team doesn’t need to activate as frequently as we see new Marvel movies drop, when a serious threat does emerge you’d probably feel better knowing who’s on the team, what everyone’s roles should be, and that they’re practiced and prepared enough to handle the responsibility they’ve been saddled with.
Who Are The Key Players in Safeguarding Your Organization?
Even with the increased awareness of crisis management best practices today, a startling number of new clients don’t have an answer when we ask who’s on their crisis team. This is a major problem.
Why? Because when a crisis strikes, what makes the difference between chaos and controlled navigation is how your crisis management team responds. An informed and practiced response will typically ensure damage is prevented or mitigated as much as possible while safeguarding your good name. In contrast, trying to address issues without the right team or proper preparations in place will often dig the hole deeper.
So, who makes up this critical team, and what exactly do they do?
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© 2023 - Erik Bernstein
Used with permission
Erik Bernstein is President of Bernstein Crisis Management, a specialized firm dedicated to providing holistic strategies for managing crisis situations.
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Emergency Response, Leadership, and 9/11 Search Dogs with Author, Edward Conley
The Mighty Books Podcast: Episode 44
Join Ryan as he chats with author, Edward Conley, about his impressive career as a disaster relief manager with FEMA, the ins and outs of emergencies, his principles of leadership in crisis situations, and even his time serving during some of the worst natural and man-made disasters of all time.
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CALL FOR PAPERS
Call for Quick Response Research – SUBMIT NOW
With the support of the National Science Foundation, the Natural Hazards Center Quick Response Research Award Program provides funds and training for eligible researchers to collect data in the aftermath of extreme events to document disaster before memories fade and physical evidence is erased. The Natural Hazards Center is currently accepting proposals for a Special Call for Health Outcomes and Climate-Related Disaster Research. Funds will support awards in the amount of $10,000 to $50,00 each. Proposals for this special call will be accepted on a rolling basis until funds are exhausted. Apply now! More information can be found at https://hazards.colorado.edu/research/quick-response
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Professional Development Opportunities
DRI 2025 Business Continuity Conference
February 2-5, 2025
Las Vegas, NV
The annual DRI conference is dedicated to the meaningful exchange of information among professionals in the areas of business continuity, disaster recovery, risk management, crisis management, cyber security and more, across all industries and sectors.
National Hurricane Conference
April 14-17, 2025
New Orleans, Louisiana
The primary goal of the National Hurricane Conference is to improve hurricane preparedness, response, recovery and mitigation in order to save lives and property in the United States and the tropical islands of the Caribbean and Pacific.
27th Annual FEMA Emergency Management Higher Education Symposium
June 2-4, 2025
Emmitsburg, MD
The 27th Higher Education Symposium theme, "Designing the Future: Advancing Emergency Management Education for Tomorrow," emphasizes the need to identify and sustain good education practice while actively seeking to innovate and adapt practices to meet the evolving demands of Emergency Management. There is no registration fee, and lodging is free.
IAEM 73rd Annual Conference
Nov. 14 – 20, 2025
Louisville, KY
The goal of the IAEM Annual Conference is to improve knowledge, competency level and collaborative skills. IAEM accomplishes this by attracting relevant high-profile speakers to address current topics and practical solutions. Convening in tandem to this annual event, EMEX, IAEM’s Emergency Management & Homeland Security Expo, draws a myriad of exhibitors who are the top suppliers to the fields of disaster preparedness and homeland security.
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Promote the Dog Sitter: And Other Principles for Leading During Disasters
by Edward L. Conley
Crisis leaders never feel completely prepared. From your first response to your hundredth, you feel the same nerves, the same anticipation, and the same desire to serve with each crisis you encounter.
But when disaster strikes, you're there to make a difference-and you'll need to rely on more than just your good intentions.
In Promote the Dog Sitter, former FEMA responder and NATO advisor Ed Conley shares ten proven principles for acting decisively and leading dynamically throughout any disaster. Drawing upon extensive experience, Ed has an eye-of-the-storm perspective that shows up-and-coming leaders how to overcome setbacks, develop teams, respond compassionately, and serve with integrity. A book for practitioners by a practitioner, Promote the Dog Sitter is a must-read guide for those who heed the call to make a positive difference in the world's biggest crises.
About The Author
Ed Conley served nearly three decades with FEMA, passionately leading teams around the globe in response to some of history’s most significant disasters. He has also managed national incidents and international emergencies with the Coast Guard, Secret Service, Centers for Disease Control, and Department of State.
Appointed as a US Liaison Representative with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Ed traveled throughout Europe on emergency preparedness assignments. Before joining FEMA, he spent seven winters on the National Ski Patrol. Ed resides in Seattle, Washington.
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Emergency Management: Concepts and Strategies for Effective Programs
Second Edition
by Lucien G. Canton
This book looks at the larger context within which emergency management response occurs, and stresses the development of a program to address a wide range of issues. Not limited to traditional emergency response to natural disasters, it addresses a conceptual model capable of integrating multiple disciplines and dealing with unexpected emergencies.
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Looking for a speaker for your conference? I offer keynotes, seminars, workshops, and webinars, either in person or virtually. You can find more details and sample videos on my website. | | | |
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©Lucien G. Canton 2024. All rights reserved.
You may reprint and excerpt this newsletter provided that you include my copyright, the source,
the author, and "reprinted with permission."
ISSN: 2334-590X
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