Preparedness

By now, most Emergency Management Planners (EMP) understand that there are four phases of emergency management. This Feature Service will focus on Phase 2 – Preparedness. However, for us to discuss the Preparedness Phase, we feel that it is important to summarize each of the Phases and remind Planners that each of the phases must be addressed to truly ensure your emergency management program is comprehensive in nature.

Phase I – Mitigation/Prevention addresses what organizations can do to reduce exposure to risks and hazards and lessen the potential impact of an emergency situation. Mitigation efforts can occur both before and after emergencies or disasters.

Phase II – Preparedness focuses on the roles and responsibilities of the crisis management and emergency response teams as well as the actions, training and supplies needed for various emergency scenarios. These activities develop readiness and response capabilities. A extremely important part of Preparedness, and one that ARMADA takes very seriously is protection.  Protection addresses the action steps organizations may implement to help ensure the safety of people and security of assets during an emergency situation. Although protection efforts must be considered during each of the proceeding phases of emergency management, most protection efforts will occur during emergencies or disasters.

Phase III – Response presents detailed procedures for implementing appropriate actions for most types of emergencies that may be encountered in an operational environment. In this phase, organizations will mobilize resources needed to address the emergency at hand. Emphasis is placed on minimizing the effects of the emergency or disaster.

Phase IV – Recovery focuses on general strategies to follow after the emergency and restoring affected areas to pre-emergency conditions in order to return to the normal operating status as quickly as possible. Recovery activities may be both short-term and long-term; ranging from restoration of essential utilities such as water and power, to mitigation measures designed to prevent future occurrences of a specific threat.

Preparedness focuses on the steps that can be taken to plan for various emergency scenarios. Preparedness involves the coordination of efforts between your organization, local public safety agencies and the community at large. Good planning will facilitate a rapid, coordinated, effective response when a crisis actually occurs.

The Preparedness phase enables organizations to gather and discuss vital planning efforts to include, but not limited too;

• Identify Key Stakeholders and Community Partners

• Define Roles and Responsibilities

• Outline Actions and Functions

• Assemble Equipment and Resources Required for various All Hazards Response

• Discus Incident Command System and Unified Command

• Develop Communication Plans

• Train Key Stakeholders on the Emergency Plans and Operational Procedures

• Testing and Evaluating the Plans through Table Top, Functional and Full-Scale Exercises
   

ARMADA’s staff has over 350 years of leadership experience related to Prevention, Preparedness, Protection, Response and Recovery solutions. Our team of experts is prepared to assist your organization with developing comprehensive plans and testing them to ensure effectiveness and completeness.

ARMADA Preparedness Solutions

• Hazard Vulnerability Assessment

• Security/Risk/Threat Assessment

• Emergency Operation Plan Review and Development

• Standard Operating Procedure Review and Development

• Emergency Operation Plan Implementation

• Training and Exercises-(See Feature Page)