EMERGENCY PARTNER POSTINGS

Volume 3, No. 9

May 1999

Congratulations to Jennifer Suter, UNT Student and EIIP Intern!
Jennifer Suter, EIIP Outreach Coordinator, was selected to receive the John Maxwell Award for Outstanding Student in Emergency Administration and Planning. This award is in honor of John Maxwell, former Denton City/County Emergency Management Coordinator and a strong supporter of the EADP Program at the University of North Texas. Jennifer is a senior in the program and will graduate this semester. She has been active in various emergency management activities, and was past Treasurer of the International Emergency Management Student Association. Jennifer demonstrates high potential for significant contributions to the emergency management profession. She received her award at Honors Day ceremonies on April 23, 1999.

EIIP Virtual Library Opportunities:
The Virtual Library continues to grow and holds a wealth of information. The transcripts from the Virtual Forum add to the content each week and so do contributions of professional papers, articles and other types of informative materials. Whether looking for a topic or for a place as an author to share a good paper, consider the EIIP Virtual Library. For example, we recently added two papers by John F. Houpt II, CEO, Joint Applications Development Enterprises Int.; and one by Geoff Williams, Deputy Firemaster, Central Scotland Fire Brigade. Interested in submitting a paper for the EIIP Library? It's easy. Simply go to http://www.emforum.org/vlibrary/howtosub.htm for instructions on how to submit your document.

Mail List Status:
A couple of months ago we announced responses to a request for volunteers from our Partners to moderate/host the EIIP Mail Lists. Responses were good; with the recent addition of Tim Campbell as the host of the Government Mail List, we have filled all slots except the Business Mail List. Our sincere appreciation to Tim and the other Partners who have volunteered: Ryc Lyden, Bill Newman, Ken Patterson, Jan Rogala, and David Wolfe.

The EIIP also hosts Mail Lists for FEMA's Higher Education Initiative and ActNow newsletter, and the Organization of American States (OAS) Education Sector. Two new mailing lists will be starting up soon; one for issues in community and family preparedness, and one for training and exercising. We hope both of these will serve to stimulate discussion and sharing in these areas.

If you are not subscribed to one or more of our Mail Lists, please see the link on the EIIP Virtual Forum homepage ( http://www.emforum.org ). Please note that you may subscribe to Postings via postings@emforum.org, and receive notice and reminders of EIIP events via eiip@emforum.org.

Red River Basin Disaster Information Network (RRBDIN):
The RRBDIN conducted its third online workshop, April 29, 12:00 Noon CDT. The session featured Julie Cranton, Environmental Scientist with the Canada Centre for Remote Sensing, and David Greenlee, Physical Scientist with the U.S. Geological Survey, providing recent developments in the use of remote sensing and related technologies for disaster monitoring. The RRBDIN is sponsored by the International Joint Commission (IJC) and the Red River Basin Board with support from the Global Disaster Information (GDIN) Transition Team and the EIIP. For further information about the RRBDIN and membership, see http://www.emforum.org/redriver/ .

Round Table Discussions - Tuesdays - 1:00 PM EDT
The Round Tables are Partner-led discussions; the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM) hosts one Round Table discussion each month (May 25). Other Partners are following IAEM's example. Look for and support these sessions in the Virtual Forum as well as the formal sessions on Wednesdays. Watch for details on topics and speakers each weekend prior to scheduled session.

May 4: State and Local Emergency Management Data Users Group (SALEMDUG)
May 11: SSI Services, Inc. and Pennsylvania School Boards Association
May 18: Educating for a Culture of Awareness (tentative)
May 25: International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM)

May 1999 - Wednesdays - 12:00 Noon EDT

May 5: Paul Flores and Rick Ranous, EQE, Inc., will share insight on how-to-do Business Continuity Planning in the Virtual Classroom.

May 12: Paul Hoff and Marty Ditmeyer present National Academy of Pubic Administration (NAPA) findings from January '99 Workshop on Limitations to Data Access for Disaster Management in the Virtual Library.

May 19: Special Event as follow up to the National Town Meeting on a Sustainable America in Detroit, Michigan, May 2-5, 1999.

May 26: The Tech Arena hosts Michael and Leo Frishberg in a discussion and demonstration entitled Automating After Action Reporting with Plan AHEAD: Process Control for Emergency Management Planning.

The following submitted the agreement form to become formal Partners and are listed on the EIIP Virtual Forum web site, with links to Websites if available (see http://www.emforum.org/partners/partic.htm). Each Point of Contact (POC) has been welcomed to the EIIP and encouraged to become an active participant and worker in the Partnership:

City of Mascoutah (IL) Public Safety: Kevin Gordon, Director (cityhall@mascoutah.com)

Northern Vermont Chapter of American Red Cross: Timothy Stetson, Director Emergency Services (stetsont@usa.redcross.org)

Wells Fargo: Tim Updike, Vice President & Manager Business Continuity
(tim.updike@wellsfargo.com)

Y Connect, The Prosperity Collaborative, Inc.: Jan Nickerson, President (JaNickerson@aol.com)

Interested in joining the EIIP? New Partners are welcome; Partnership Criteria and Agreement Form may be found at the following URL: http://www.emforum.org/partners/criteria.htm

EIIP Logo Accessible to Partners

We continue to add new Partners to the EIIP. Part of the EIIP Memorandum of Agreement states that we will link to each other's web sites, if one exists. In response to a request of a new Partner for the EIIP logo, we have made the logo easily accessible and in an appropriate size for any of our Partners' use at: http://www.emforum.org/images/ic_forum.gif

With the summer hurricane, tornado and wildfire season fast approaching, the Emergency Animal Rescue Service (EARS) is launching the first annual Animal Disaster Preparedness Day on May 15. The goal of this nationwide event is to remind people that disasters pose a life-threatening danger for animals, too, and that the family cat, dog, bird, horse or any other animals being cared for need to be included in family disaster planning. The theme of Animal Disaster Preparedness Day is, "Don't Leave Home Without Them: Make Animals Part of Your Disaster Plan."

In recognition of Animal Disaster Preparedness Day, EARS is distributing disaster preparedness kits to animal caregivers. The kits include a general disaster preparedness tip sheet as well as disaster "shopping lists" for cats, dogs, birds and horses with specific information on the supplies and resources needed to care for these animals during disasters. To obtain an Animal Disaster Preparedness Day kit contact UAN at P.O. Box 188890, Sacramento, CA 95818, Tel: (916) 429-2457, e-mail: info@uan.org or visit http://www.uan.org/programs/ears/expand.cfm?ID=130 to download copies of disaster tip sheet and disaster "shopping lists" for cats, dogs, birds and horses.

Chemical Compatibility: Free Computer Program

A team of chemists and software development specialists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the University of Illinois at Chicago, and Louisiana State University have developed a computer program, Chemical Reactivity Worksheet, to help answer questions on chemical compatibility. The program quickly predicts adverse reactions of chemical mixtures as well as their behavior in air or water. It can be used by anyone who handles or stores chemicals or responds to chemical releases. The Chemical Reactivity Worksheet is available from the NOAA HazMat web site at http://response.restoration.noaa.gov/chemaids/react.html . The program is also available from Dr. James D. Farr, Hazardous Materials Response and Assessment Division, NOAA, 7600 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle, WA 98225-0070; phone (206)5266322; email ReactivityMail@hazmat.noaa.gov .

The web site contains complete instructions for downloading the Chemical Reactivity Worksheet in a Mac version (about 5.3 megabytes) and a Windows versions (about 3.1 megabytes). The site also includes an introduction to the worksheet software, a brief history and an explanation of how it works. An example problem allows the user to work a practical problem. Please note: If you plan to use the Chemical Reactivity Worksheet, Dr. Farr advises subscribing to their electronic mail list for Worksheet users. This is the only way that NOAA is alerting users to problems with the worksheet or letting users know when a new version is available. To subscribe, send email message to majordomo@nwn.noaa.gov containing the following line of text: subscribe reactlist (your email address) No parentheses, please.

National Town Meeting for a Sustainable America
on the Internet - May 2-5, 1999

If you will not be joining the proceedings in Detroit, please plan to tune into the National Town Meeting via the Internet. The plenary sessions being held Monday through Wednesday will be cybercast on the Internet and can be accessed from the National Town Meeting web site at http://www.getf.org/ntmsustainableamerica. Plans are also being made to feature online chats and to accept a limited number of questions via the Internet for question and answer sessions at certain plenary sessions in Detroit. Satellite broadcasts are also available. Visit the web site for up to date information on these activities.

EENet Schedule for May '99:

May 5, 2:00-3:00 PM EDT: Classroom Connection (TBA)

May 12, 2:00-4:00PM EDT: Y2K - Regional Interagency Steering Committee
(RISC) Workshop Summary - Summary of ten FEMA Regional Y2K
Preparation & Consequences Management Workshops (Feb - Mar '99)

May 19, 2:00-3:30PM EDT: National Alert Broadcast - FEMA Video magazine

May 26, 2:00-4:00PM EDT: Mitigation Series - (TBA)

See http://www.fema.gov/home/EMI/eenet.htm for further info.

LEPCs are Alive and Well --- and Online:

Alaska: Profiles all LEPCs in the State - http://www.ak-prepared.com/serc/lepclist.htm
Colorado: Jefferson County - http://www.gablehouse-epel.com/jeffco1.htm
Florida: South Florida Regional Planning Commission - http://www.sfrpc.com/current/menu522.htm
Southwest Florida Regional Planning Commission - http://www.swfrpc.org/haz.htm
West Florida Regional Planning Council - http://www.wfrpc.dst.fl.us/wfrpc/LEPC.htm
Indiana: Evansville - http://www.evansville.net/eville/services/lepc.html
Porter County - http://www.porterco.org/pcpage7/LEPC.html
Maine: Penobscot County - http://www.bairnet.org/contygovt/lepc/default.htm
Maryland: Harford County - http://www.co.ha.md.us/lepc.html
Massachusetts: Peabody - http://www.peabodyfire.org/lepc/index.htm
Michigan: Monroe County - http://monroe.lib.mi.us/mcemd/lepc.htm
Erie County - http://wings.buffalo.edu/provost/esi/EC_LEPC/eclepc.htm
Pennsylvania: Schuylkill County - http://www.scema.org

Resources Available:

"Understanding Risk Analysis: A Short Guide for Health, Safety and Environmental Policy Making" by Mark Bouroush. American Chemical Society (ACS) and Resources for the Future. Download the booklet from http://www.rff.org/misc_docs/risk_book.htm or order hard copy at govtrelations@acs.org .

"InterSite Discussion on Nuclear Material and Waste: A National Workshop." League of Women Voters Education Fund. December 1998. Available at http://www.lwv.org or contact the League at 1730 M Street, Washington, DC 20036-4508.

"Hazardous Materials and Transportation Safety Training." Transportation Safety Institute (TSI), US Department of Transportation. This brochure lists the 1999 training course schedule. Phone (800)266-9187.

Emergency Response Planning for Corporate and Municipal Managers, Paul A. Erickson. Academic Press. To order, call 1(800)321-5068; email ap@acad.com or http://www.academicpress.com.

• Y2K Coin: The first Y2K commemorative coin is available for $49.50 by calling (800)472-6327. It is a $20-denomination silver piece authorized by the Republic of Liberia. The design refers to year 2000 in different ways, including sign language and ancient symbols.
  
  
• Utilities Test Y2K Communications: Power plant operators are now sifting through results of the first nationwide Y2K test of utility companies' backup communications. Voice and data communications, used to remotely operate and monitor plant equipment, are the highest Year 2000 contingency planning priority.
  
  
• World Y2K Watchdog: The newly formed International Y2K Cooperation Center will focus attention on potential Year 2000 problems that could disrupt international relations and the global economy, as well as US government services to its citizens abroad. This effort is headed by Bruce McConnell, former chief of the OMB Information Policy and Technology branch.
  
  
• Volunteers Needed for Y2K Efforts: The Y2K Expert Service Corps (YES Corps) http://www.iy2kcc.org , part of a Year 2000 cooperation project sponsored by the United Nations and the World Bank, is seeking volunteers who can spend a few hours each week assisting year 2000 efforts via email and video-conferencing, and even by traveling overseas. (See article on Y2K Cooperation Center above, group sponsoring the volunteer effort.)
  
  
• Y2K Citizen's Action Guide: Presented by UTNE Reader, this book is available online at http://www.utne.com/y2k --- good material with many, many references and links.

http://www.unm.edu/~trex/
Watching T-REX grow! The T-REX mission is to create a single point in the information network where users can find answers to complex issues surrounding radioactive material transportation. As the result of a recently signed agreement between the ATR Institute at the University of New Mexico and the Department of Energy, the Institute has been charged with, and is moving forward on building the T-REX, Transportation Resource Exchange hub for the Department of Energy's National Transportation Program. More information: trex@unm.edu .

Fire Weather Forecasts/Information Pages:
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/fire/ National Fire Weather Outlook: Experimental web service designed to provide national-scale fire weather guidance for NWS offices and other interested federal agencies dealing with wildland fire management.
http://www.boi.noaa.gov/fwxweb/fwxfcsts.htm Western United States
http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/wfire.htm All About Wild Fires
http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/fire.htm NWS Fire Weather Program

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Update:

PSAs for Kosovo Donations Hotline Now Available: FEMA's Office of Public Affairs provides several public service announcements on the Kosovo Refugee Donations Hotline. Public Service directors are encouraged to use these scripts or prerecorded sound files. http://www.fema.gov/nwz99/kosovo.htm.

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National Emergency Management Association (NEMA)Update:

Date change for NEMA Annual Conference: The NEMA 1999 Annual Conference in Des Moines, Iowa has been rescheduled for August 11-16, 1999. This will allow NEMA to hold all committee meetings on the front end of the conference with greater anticipation by state directors.

The NEMA Y2K Subcommittee is developing the survey instrument for a state Y2K survey to be conducted during the month of May. IAEM will update their ongoing survey of local government. Results of the state/local survey will be provided to the President's Y2K Council in mid-June.

EMAC Update: Florida activated EMAC in response to recent wildfires. They requested assistance from Nevada and Delaware. Also, Nebraska has been added to the growing list of EMAC member states, bringing the total to 27 states and 1 territory.

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International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM) Update:

Help Wanted -- The CEM® Commission is looking for candidates for at least two openings for the Class of 2002, who will serve on the panel from November 1999 through November 2002. The Commission sets policies and procedures governing the certification program, and reviews packets of applicants for the CEM® (Certified Emergency Manager) and AEM (Associate Emergency Manager) credential. Commissioners must have earned the CEM®. If qualified, submit a letter of interest and a summary of your credentials to IAEM headquarters by September 15. For information, contact IAEM Executive Director Elizabeth Armstrong; phone: (703)538-1795; email ebarm@aol.com.

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Congressional Fire Service Institute (CFSI) Update:

E. James Monihan Recipient of Mason Lankford Fire Service Award -- (Washington, DC) The Board of Directors of the Congressional Fire Services Institute (CFSI) selected E. James Monihan as the first recipient of the Mason Lankford Fire Service Leadership Award. Sponsored by CFSI and Motorola, the award was established in 1998 in honor of the late-Mason Lankford, a strong advocate of all first responders who was instrumental in the formation of the Congressional Fire Services Caucus and Institute. The CFSI Board members cited Monihan's 40 years of service to the fire service at the local, state and federal levels, 12-year chairman of the National Volunteer Fire Council, delegate to the CFSI National Advisory Committee, and NVFC representative on the Blue Ribbon Panel appointed by FEMA Director James Lee Witt. The award was presented to Monihan at the 11th Annual National Fire and Emergency Services Dinner.

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The Horse Review Update:

Dolores Beaugez, The Horse Review, reports that the State of Nevada is working on the State Animal Disaster Plan; suggestions or input are welcome --- please send to "Dolores Beaugez" <dee@visual-imagry.com>. May 15 is Animal Disaster Preparedness Day - "Don't Leave Home Without Them". Check United Animal Nations (UAN) Website, http://www.uan.org, and The Horse Review, http://www.horsereview.com.

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Central Scotland Fire Brigade:

Read Deputy Firemaster Geoff Williams MIFireE, MIMgt.ChFl. conference paper titled Executive Command Level - USAR Computer Decision Aid Tool: The Emergency Services Combine to Fight Back Against Terrorism in the EIIP Virtual Library. To view a summary and download, go to http://www.emforum.org/vlibrary/eclusa.htm.

May 2-5, 1999: A National Town Meeting for a Sustainable America - Detroit, Michigan and Points Across America. See http://www.getf.org/ntmsustainableamerica.

May 12-14, 1999: 1999 HMAC Annual Conference & Hazardous Materials Transportation Exposition - Sponsored by the Hazardous Materials Advisory Council; contact HMAC, 1101 Vermont Avenue, Ste 301, Washington DC, http://www.hmac.org

May 12-15, 1999: Global Disaster Information Network (GDIN) Conference - Mexico City; sponsored by the Mexican government in partnership with the US Government and the World Bank, http://www.state.gov/www/issues/relief/gdin99.html.

May 17-20, 1999: Technology Partnership for Emergency Management Workshop & Exhibition, FEMA and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Gatlinburg, TN. Contact John Sorenson jhs@ornl.gov

May 23-28, 1999: Association of State Floodplain Managers (ASFPM) Annual Conference - Portland, Oregon ( asfpm@floods.org ).

May 24-29, 1999:CAMEO99 - Crowne Plaza Phoenix Downtown, Phoenix AZ. Sponsored by EPA CEPPO, NOAA HAZMAT, AZSERC; see web site: http://www.nrt.org/nrt/cameo.nsf

May 31 - June 5, 1999: Hemispheric Meeting for the Americas of the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction(IDNDR) - San Jose, Costa Rica. Meeting will review achievements and pending challenges into next century in the field of disaster reduction. http://www.disaster.info.desastres.net/idndr/idndr.htm Email (English): idndr99@netsalud.sa.cr

June 3-6, 1999: International Hazardous Materials Response Teams - IAFC, Towson Maryland.

July 7-8, 1999: FEMA Second Annual Emergency Management Higher Education Conference, Emmitsburg, Maryland. Contact: Wayne Blanchard, Higher Education Project, FEMA Emergency Management Institute, Building N, Room 430, 16825 South Seton Avenue, Emmitsburg, MD 21727; (301) 447-1262; fax: (301) 447-1598; e-mail: wayne.blanchard@fema.gov.

June 8-11, 1999: Community and Family Preparedness Conference - FEMA Community and Family Preparedness Program. Mt. Weather, Virginia. Contact: Ralph Swisher, FEMA (202) 646-3561; ralph.swisher@fema.gov .

June 16-19, 1999: Response '99 - National Association of Search & Rescue, Orlando, Florida.

July 16-20, 1999: National Association of Counties Annual Conference, St. Louis, Missouri. Contact Dottie Byars at (202)942-4208.

August 11-16, 1999: 1999 Annual National Emergency Management Association (NEMA) Conference - Des Moines, Iowa.

September 26-29, 1999: International City/County Management Association Annual Conference, Portland, Oregon. Contact Felicia Logan at (202)962-3626.

October 12-14, 1999: IDER / IEPC '99 Conference, The Hague, Netherlands. See web site for further information: http://www.andrich.com/ider/

November 14-17, 1999: International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM) 47th Annual Conference, Hyatt Regency, Louisville, KY. Deadline for room reservations October 10; call 1(800)233-1234. See http://www.emassociation.org/conference.html.

November 30-December 4, 1999: National League of Cities Annual Conference, Los Angeles, California. Contact NLC Conference Planning and Management at (202) 626-3105.

Change-of-Address Service: Before You Move, Inc. runs a change-of-address service for consumers that helps its clients retain their own customers. The company has a Web-based version, called MoveCentral.com (http://www.movecentral.com). The site is split in two parts: AddressCentral, the change-of-address service, and HelpCentral, a personalized move organizer. According to the web site, about 17 million American households move each year, spending an average of $8,000 on products and services related to the move.

"Emergency Partner Postings" is a monthly update on progress of the partnership, activities, and services available through Emergency Information Infrastructure Partnership (EIIP) Virtual Forum web site, other electronic sources of information, and articles of interest concerning awareness and use of information technology. The news will be posted on the web site the last week of each month.

We encourage readers to submit articles for this newsletter about use of the Internet for emergency management and other aspects of information technology. Deadline for contributions is the 20th of each month for that month's newsletter. Submit contributions to Jennifer Suter, jsuter@emforum.org.

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