Emergency Management

HM500

Unit 6 DQ

Topic 1: Developing an Emergency Response Plan

Developing an emergency response plan is critical and requires considerable planning. The plan must be comprehensive to include, federal, state, local, and private sector resources. Discuss the major components of a quality emergency response plan. In your discussion address how you would ensure that if the plan had to be executed that the organizations involved would be prepared to respond.

Topic 1: Topic 1: Student Response #1: (Respond to Josh below)

Josh Moskaitis

I think we can all agree that conducting a risk assessment in the forefront is perhaps the most important part of any emergency response plan. This sets the foundation for identifying risks and hazards that our response area could be exposed to. Planning, training, coordination and communication are equally as important. Planning helps us to outline how we would respond in kind to the incidents, risks and hazards that we identified in our risk assessment. Training ensures that each agency involved is on not only on the same page but understand their responsibilities once that plan is enacted. Coordination goes hand in hand with training, properly coordinated actions results in a well coordinated dance with everyone knowing their part. And communication, we cannot stress enough how important communication is because if we cannot properly transmit information in real time within the responding agencies, our plan is going to suffer and things could be missed. 

The best way to ensure all of these steps are followed and the plan gets executed properly is simply to train on it quarterly as well as hold hot washes, an after action get together where what went right and what went wrong is discussed so that we can improve. Continuous training as well as constant communication is the only way we all get on the same page. 

Topic 1: Topic 1: Student Response #2: (Respond to Gabe below)

Gabe Gil

A successful emergency operations plan (EOP) requires cooperation and understanding from all groups and agencies involved. A major component of the EOP is the base plan. “The base plan: Contains the most comprehensive information about the community, its risks, its statutory authorities, and the general concept by which emergency operations are conducted (Haddow et al, 2021, p. 136). This is an important component because it lays out what the problem is, the risks or hazards it proposes, and who has what authority or roles and responsibilities for certain actions. This supports the idea that risk assessment is an important part of the EOP. Risk assessment can also be a great tool for inclusion and preparation of all supporting organizations. Including them in the risk assessment conversation will allow any uncertainty in the plan to be vocalized and help with better cohesion as the plan is implemented.

To make sure that all levels have a common vision of the EOPs goals and focus, we have NIMS and the NRF that help with the concept of multiple level operations. Vertical integration planning is a concept used to ensure all levels understand the goals of the EOP. “Vertical integration is the meshing of planning both up and down the various levels of government. …the foundation for operations is at the local level and that support from Federal, state, territorial, tribal, regional, and private sector entities is layered onto the local activities (FEMA, 2010, p. 18). Utilizing these concepts while strengthening communications throughout will help ensure a successful EOP is followed.

 

References

Haddow, G. D., Bullock, J. A., & Coppola, D. P. (2021). Introduction to emergency management, 7th ed., Elsevier

Federal Emergency Management Agency. (2010, November). Developing and emergency operational plans: Comprehensive preparedness guide (CPG) 101.  https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/202005/CPG_101_V2_30NOV2010_FINAL_508.pdf

Topic 2: Reflect and Discuss

Reflect on the outcomes as well as your personal goals for the course. This is not intended to be a mere recap of the course. The emphasis here is on what you have personally learned and how it will affect your professional goals. Discussing what you have learned during the term will not only help you better process the information, but will help you enhance each other's learning experience. Please reflect on the previous units and post a response that addresses the following questions:

· What prior knowledge did you bring to this course?

· What were the most important new ideas you encountered and how did they change your understanding of this class?

· Do you feel that you have met the outcomes in your work on this course? Is there any outcome with which you feel you still need support or assistance?

· What have you learned from your discussions and collaborations with your fellow students?

· In what specific ways can you use the knowledge you have gained in this course in your chosen profession? What are your strengths and opportunities for growth in this area?

· What questions or concerns do you have about what you have studied?

· What areas of the subject would you like to continue to explore, and why?

NO STUDENT RESPONSE NEEDED