Emergency response planning is not a new concept for schools. There always have been natural disasters, such as fires, flash floods, earthquakes, and tornadoes. What has been a new concept for some is the serious threat of attacks from extremists or suicidal individuals who wish to terrorize and kill innocent people. The reality is that these events can happen anywhere, no matter how unlikely or unpredictable, and it’s important to remain aware and prepared for the possibility of an emergency. Being prepared does not require being in a perpetual state of fear, but it does require being alert to certain indicators and knowing how to respond should an incident occur that will affect students and staff at school.
Prevent, Prepare, Respond, Recover
The most useful and thorough school emergency response plan will address the four elements of emergency preparedness (prevention and mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery). Prevention-mitigation and preparedness refer to the activities an organization does before an emergency event happens to avoid those incidents it can and lessen the negative impact of those it cannot. The recovery phase refers to the steps the organization will take afterward to resume normal operations. The response phase refers to the actions taken as the incident is occurring and is the focus for this issue of the Challenge.
School circumstances and settings are unique, but a solid foundation of preparation and response training will help schools better manage any type of emergency. The response phase is the time to put the planning and training to use. It is not the time to realize your school has no plan and is not prepared to act.
The Challenge staff asked Fred Ellis, director of the Office of Safety and Security at Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia, to describe some of the critical aspects of being prepared to respond to an emergency. His district, known for a high level of emergency planning and preparedness, breaks its response down into six steps as indicated below.
Six steps to effective emergency response
- Gain situational awareness: Gather such relevant facts about the incident as where it is taking place, when it started, who is involved, and the extent of any injuries.
- Make emergency management decisions: Get the emergency management team together, activate appropriate systems and roles.
- Ascertain the response status: Determine agency and person in charge, what resources
are needed, what assets are available, what needs to happen.
- Take initial protective actions: Determine immediate security needs and measures, make the appropriate response, consider special needs students.
- Release emergency public information: Determine what to say, who is going to say it, when, and what information is being reported already.
- Establish next steps: Determine the status of the school (or schools) and decide where to go from here—how to sustain school activities or close.
Source: Fairfax County Public Schools, Va. |
When asked about training, Ellis explained that training and exercises are required for the district at varying levels. New school-level administrators are required to attend a one-day seminar. Students and staff at high schools and middle schools must participate in functional drills at least every other year, whereas elementary schools participate every three years. Key leaders within the district attend a tabletop exercise once a year, and the Office of Safety and Security conducts monthly training events (both announced and unannounced).
Any school or administrator who is interested is encouraged to request additional trainings or exercises including drills or tabletops. Many of the high schools conduct their own drills as well.
For those who have little or no experience with an actual emergency, Ellis shared some of his observations from his career in public safety and now school security and preparedness. Responders must consider two aspects of any incident: the team’s plan and performance and the incident itself. You cannot necessarily predict which way the storm or the bad guy will go. But you can control your response so that it best meets the needs of students, staff, and the community. Ellis says responders need to be prepared for misinformation, particularly during initial reports when conflicting or inaccurate information finds its way to the media. Expect clear and accurate communications to be difficult, knowing that other decisions being made will affect your choices, and flexibility is necessary. Count on unexpected challenges during the overall emergency situation, such as having to deal with an additional mishap or injury during an evacuation. Do not be surprised by second guessing among parents, colleagues, and the community.
Ellis also mentioned a few indicators that signal the response is not going well. Slow or no response to inquiries and considerable lag time in getting resources (meeting deadlines, delivering equipment) are bad signs. The emergency management team also should be thinking ahead and projecting what should be happening four hours out, eight hours out, and 24 hours out.
Complex and devastating incidents on or near school campuses during the past decade have contributed to an increased expectation that schools become familiar with established emergency response protocols. The expectation comes in part from homeland security and education officials at state and federal levels. Many emergency response materials and trainings are available from such agencies as local first responders and the U.S. Department of Education (ED).
National Incident Management System
The National Incident Management System (NIMS) is a comprehensive framework designed to guide collaboration between government, private-sector, and nongovernmental organizations that must work together during an emergency. Its concepts are based on a balance of flexibility and standardization so that it can be scaled to any level of organization and in response to any type of incident.
The framework incorporates a core set of principles, terminology, and organizational processes that make responses more effective.
Since 2006 all organizations that receive federal homeland security grant funds are required to become NIMS compliant by completing certain tasks and online courses offered by FEMA. This requirement is extended to local education agencies (LEAs) that receive Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools (REMS) grants from ED. At this time NIMS compliance is not required for LEAs that have not received preparedness funding, but the Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools recommends that all LEAs familiarize themselves with the NIMS concepts and language to make it easier to respond to an incident and work with first responders. Additionally, school staff members are very often the first to respond during a school emergency so the training would benefit anyone who works in a school.
 |
| Mock hurricane exercise held in 2007 at the Louisiana emergency operations center. |
Incident Command System
The Incident Command System (ICS) is one of the key components of the NIMS and is used as the operating foundation for the on-site management of an incident response. It defines the characteristics, components, and structure of incident management from beginning to end.
Because many emergencies are too big for one agency or school to handle alone, a structured yet flexible management system is vital for organizations to unite. According to FEMA training materials, the ICS was developed in the 1970s as a result of the catastrophic fires in California that caused multiple deaths and injuries and millions of dollars in property damage. Follow-up studies indicated that inadequate management was the single largest factor in response problems.
Who are the first responders?
A common and recurring theme central to emergency response planning is the importance of establishing and maintaining a working relationship with local first responders. This means sharing information with the teams that serve each school: local police and sheriff’s offices, fire departments, and other emergency response teams, such as paramedics. Include them during the planning phase and drills. Share pertinent information with them. For instance, Fairfax County schools number their external doors and share campus maps so that responders can go directly to a specific door when they need to.
Communication and documentation are critical
Listen to anyone who works in emergency response and this is repeated over and over: Communication is key. Be prepared by knowing whom to talk to and how to talk to them if the phone lines are down. Having multiple systems for communication that use different technologies is important in case the first option fails. Managing key relationships and communication before an incident is helpful so that schools are familiar with techniques used to respond to unpredictable circumstances during an incident.
Hosting post-event debriefing sessions with staff and first responders is another critical aspect to emergency response. Make certain to document the details, including decisions, actions, and results, of all emergency responses. Make adjustments to plans and procedures as necessary based on lessons learned and new directives. Get as many perspectives from those who were involved in the response to identify procedures that went well and those that need improvement
http://www.thechallenge.org/
