FRIDAY, AUGUST 9, 2013
EMERGENCY SERVICE ORGANIZATION
DISASTER PLANNING & BUSINESS
CONTINUITY -
CONSIDERATION #17
Oklahoma's fire stations and ambulance services are strangers to high winds and floods. So what are our plans when its us? Remember its not "if" but "when" it happens.
There are numerous stories about a fire breaking out in a fire station, the flood that “washed into the fire house,” the tornado that leveled the fire station or the ambulance or fire truck destroyed in an accident. How many emergency service organizations (ESOs) are capable of rebounding from such an incident? There are many questions to consider if a facility or
apparatus were hit with a disaster:
- How long can the ESO function without a building?
- What would happen when your communications are disabled?
- How long can ESOs do without an ambulance or a fire engine?
- Are records and key data available at an off-site location?
- What happens to the community when ESOs can’t respond?
The loss of a vehicle or building may often have a devastating effect on the emotional state of
the members of an ESO. Unlike a private business that may take 72 hours or more to return to
normal, emergency service organizations are needed frequently and therefore it is important to
be prepared before disaster may strike.
This series will outline potential incidents or situations. Consider how you would deal with this
situation:
If your radio system is out of service, how will you be
dispatched?
Have a discussion about your department’s disaster planning process. Is your system predefined? How is it activated? How does it integrate into operations? If there is non-compliance,
who is the contact for integration into your system?
The objective is to complete the training in 15 minutes or less with participants leaving the
session with a better understanding of how to keep from getting hurt.
SCENARIO
1. Review any existing protocols, strategic approaches or SOGs on this topic prior to
conducting the Tailboard Training.
2. Ask a member to review the last incident where this scenario may have existed.
3. Have the group discuss the actions that were taken.
4. Were they done in a safe manner?
5. Were there any actions taken that could have been done differently?
NOTE: Most “after action reviews” such as this develop a number of suggestions that actions
should have been or should be done differently. The officers need to balance this immediate
reaction to the reality of the situation. Was the outcome positive or negative? Would the
outcome have changed if actions were done differently? Should any additional safety
precautions have been taken? If so, how and what?
1. Have you had any such incidents in your department or in nearby departments? If so,
describe a type of injury, accident or incident that has occurred or could occur.
2. Commentary on how to better deal with this issue
3. Review of any related departmental standard operating guidelines that may apply
4. Have a short open dialogue on the subject with your personnel.
5. VFIS References:
VFIS of Oklahoma 918-341-2196
Contact Kory Coots for Department Training Material
VFIS Disaster Planning CD (contact VFIS at (800) 233-1957)
www.vfis.com
Disaster Planning Course
VISIT www.vfis.com FOR MORE INFORMATION
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