EMERGENCY PARTNER POSTINGS

Volume 5, No. 3

November 2000

EIIP Partnerships are Vital!
October was a time of evaluation for the EIIP. A final report to FEMA and an upcoming Annual Report to EIIP Partners has pointed out some rather significant facts about the Partnership. Our Partners have always played an important role in suggesting topics and speakers for weekly EIIP Virtual Forum sessions, presenting and participating in sessions, and providing input to the monthly e-newsletter. However, their role has taken on added value. The following excerpt from the upcoming Annual Report to EIIP Partners may surprise you! We are very proud of our Partners!

The EIIP Virtual Forum presented 65 1-hour sessions for the year. Of this total, there were 8 Group Discussions with EIIP audiences generated by questions prepared/posted prior to the session; these sessions were led/moderated by EIIP Moderators/Coordinators. The other 57 interactive sessions involved 80 presenters/speakers. Please Note: Of the 80 speakers, 41, or 51.25%, were the Points of Contact, staff or members of official EIIP Partner organizations. Breakouts by affiliation are as follows:

Federal Agency -- 21
State Agency or Organization -- 4
Local Government -- 8
International Organization -- 3
University / Research -- 10
Private Sector -- 16
Other Organization / Nonprofit, etc. -- 18
Total Number of Speakers / Presenters -- 80

EIIP Road Trip
EIIP Coordinator, Avagene Moore, attended the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Advisory Council Annual Meeting on the UTC campus October 12. Moore also participated in a Disaster Management Roundtable on Friday (10/13) discussing Internet resources and the EIIP Virtual Forum. Amy Sebring participated from Corpus Christi by demonstrating features of the EIIP Virtual Forum during the discussion. Brenda Jones, Chair/CEO, Association of Contingency Planners (ACP), also participated in the Roundtable for university students and staff. Ms. Jones shared information on business recovery planning.

Wednesdays - 12:00 Noon EST:
Nov 1: Virtual Classroom - CHER-CAP: Comprehensive Hazmat Emergency Response - Capabilities Assessment Program, Catherine Pomerantz, FEMA Region III

Nov 8: Virtual Forum - Group Discussion: Will the Results of the National Election Have Any Impact on Disaster Policies? - Amy Sebring, Moderator, EIIP Technical Projects Coordinator

Nov 15: Tech Arena - MUSTER: Multi-User System for Training Emergency Response, Soren Beck, MUSTER Sales Manager/USA

Nov 22: Virtual Forum - New JCAHO Emergency Management Standards for Health Care Facilities, Dr. Joanne McGlown, Jacksonville State University

Nov 29: Virtual Library - Evaluation of the Project Impact Disaster Resistant Community Initiative, Kathleen Tierney, Disaster Research Center, University of Delaware

Please mark sessions of interest on your monthly planning calendar now, just as you would a business meeting or other important appointment. Login via http://www.emforum.org/vforum/formchat.htm.

The following submitted the agreement form to become formal Partners; see http://www.emforum.org/partners/partic.htm for complete list of Participating Partners.

Express Scripts, Inc., Edward H. Pearce, Business Continuity Manager, epearce@express-scripts.com

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

Check Out Our User Docs

By Amy Sebring
EIIP Technical Projects Coordinator
asebring@emforum.org

Much to our amazement, we recently discovered that a long-time EIIP participant had never seen the "User Docs" section of our Virtual Library, so we thought we would take this opportunity to mention it in case there were others. This section of the site is easily accessible from the "User Docs" link under Quick Picks on our home page (or go directly via http://www.emforum.org/vlibrary/userdocs.htm). It provides FTP access to several (currently 49) documents submitted by EIIP participants, in commonly used file formats.

An index page is displayed with documents arranged alphabetically by title. Author and author affiliation are also displayed. Clicking on a document title displays a summary page which in addition to the title and author, provides an email link to the author, a brief abstract, document date, file name, format and size, and additional user instructions. The FTP download is started by clicking on the file name.

A new addition was recently received from Greg Banner, Emergency Response Preparedness Coordinator for the Rhode Island Department of Health. Greg has researched the Web for links pertaining to medical emergency planning and in particular Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) consequence event planning. He has compiled them in a 15 page Word document, and the summary page may be found at http://www.emforum.org/vlibrary/WMDsit.htm.

We appreciate Greg and all the authors who have made the fruits of their labor available to the wider community, and invite you to browse the index if you have not done so before. We also encourage you to share by submitting your own articles, reports, SOP's, etc. It takes less than five minutes to do. See the instructions at http://www.emforum.org/vlibrary/submit.htm.

November '00 EENet Schedule:
November 1, 2:00 PM EST: "Emergency Responders and Infectious Disease: Part I - An Overview."
November 8, 2:00 PM EST: "New Hazardous Materials Curriculum Programs - An Overview for Training Managers."
November 15, 2:00 PM EST: FEMA video magazine.
November 22, 2:00 PM EST: Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) for Schools - Part I.
November 29, 2:00 PM EST: Virginia Beach Fire Department Special; 2 videos - "The Engine 12 Incident" and "Franklin, Virginia - Revisited."

For a description of each of these programs and broadcast information, visit the EENet Web site: http://www.fema.gov/home/emi/eenet.htm .

Orlando Workshop on Aviation Emergencies
On Friday, November 17, 2000 - 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM, Emergency & Disaster Management, Inc. will conduct the 1st Orlando Workshop on Aviation Emergencies. Among a broad array of topics to be covered are Airports and Planes as Targets for Violent or Terrorist Attacks and a Virtual Reality Exercise. The Workshop will be conducted at Environmental Tectonics Corporation Training Center, University Science Center, 12001 Science Drive, Suite 180, Orlando, Florida. Register online at http://www.emergency-management.net - for more information, contact Gunnar Kuepper gjk@emergency-management.net .

Information on Hurricane Keith on PAHO Web Site
PAHO has posted several excellent reports prepared by the PAHO/WHO Representation in Belize, the Ministry of Health, and the National Emergency Management Organization related to Hurricane Keith. See http://www.paho.org/english/ped/keith.htm.

Focus on America National Community Needs Database
The Focus On America National Community Needs Database is under development to provide a one stop resource for the communication of unmet needs of frontline service programs in every United States county. The objective of the initiative is to provide easy access to information which will assist the general public, local churches, interfaith organizations, youth leadership programs, volunteer programs and corporate networks develop service initiatives that can best impact the needs in their community. For additional information, visit the Focus on America National Community Needs Database at http://www.humanitarian.net/usdatabase.

Responding to Acts of Terrorism
The National Institute for Government Innovation (NIGI) in association with George Washington University (GWU) presents "Responding to Acts of Terrorism: Boosting Your Team's Effectiveness and Resources to Counter Terrorist Attacks" in Las Vegas, January 18-19, 2001. Members of supporting organizations, the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM) and Terrorism Response Association International (TRAI), will receive a discounted registration fee; please mention your membership when registering. For information, see http://www.nigi.org or email register@iirny.com.

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Update:

FEMA Official and Member of Congress Featured on EPIP Gateway Webcast -- Kay C. Goss, CEM®, Associate Director, Preparedness Directorate, FEMA, joined Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (D-GA) for a webcast posted at http://www.epipgateway.com. Ms. Goss spoke on "FEMA Trends and Accomplishments." Congressman Bishop discussed "The Importance of Emergency Preparedness Awareness for Minority Communities." Note: To view the webcast you must have the RealPlayer 5.0 available free at the EPIP webcast page.

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National Emergency Management Association (NEMA) Update:

NEMA Holds EMAC Hotwash After Montana Fires -- NEMA held an EMAC Hotwash
and Advance Team Training on October 24-25 in Lexington, Kentucky, to walk through
the Montana wildfire activation, identify lessons learned, and provide training for new
member states and those that haven't been deployed yet through EMAC. The Virgin Islands recently enacted EMAC legislation to bring membership in the compact to 34 states and 2 territories.

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International Association of Emergency Managers Update:

IAEM Meets in Austin -- Emergency managers and personnel related to all disaster disciplines will be in Austin, Texas for the IAEM Annual Conference & Exhibit, November 4-7. The gathering is a wonderful opportunity to learn, network, and explore the future of emergency management. The seminars, concurrent sessions, and exhibit hall make this a primary emergency management event of the year. Visit the IAEM web site at http://www.iaem.com or e-mail info@iaem.com.

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Congressional Fire Services Institute (CFSI) Update:

Congressional Ride-Along Program -- CFSI in conjunction with the District of Columbia, Price George's County, Arlington County, Montgomery County, and Fairfax County Fire Departments is offering Members of Congress and their staffs the opportunity to experience real fire and EMS response. The November 2 Ride-Along requires registration via the CFSI site http://www.cfsi.org/ffridealong1.html.

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National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) Update:

NVFC Board Meets -- The NVFC Fall Board Meeting was held in Daytona Beach,
Florida from October 12 - 14 and was hosted by the Florida Fire Chief's Association.
Thirty-nine state associations, federal agency representatives, Sustaining Members,
association representatives and special guests attended the three-day meeting.

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Central United Earthquake Consortium (CUSEC) Update:

CUSEC Announces Conference -- Mark your calendar now for the 2000/2001Central
United Earthquake Consortium (CUSEC) Conference scheduled for March 12-14, 2000,
Marriott Hotel Convention Center, Memphis, Tennessee. Tentative break out sessions
are planned for HAZUS users, State Geologists, Transportation, FEMA Risk Groups,
Mitigation (SHMO's), Insurance Commissioners, and Health/Medical. See CUSEC site
for more information http://www.cusec.org/.

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Lake County (IN) Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) Update:

Lake County LEPC Plans ICS Meeting -- The Lake County LEPC invites all interested parties to meet with them on February 23, 2001, in Whiting, Indiana as Fire Chief Alan Brunacini, Phoenix Fire Department, shares his thoughts on Integrated Incident Command. Exercise POPEYE will be used as an example of successful Integrated Incident Command. (See 11/30/99 Transcript of Round Table Discussion: Lake County LEPC and the POPEYE Exercise http://www.emforum.org/vlibrary/livechat.htm ) Contact Dean Larson for further details and reservations. DRLarson@uss.comor, (219) 888-2833.

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United States Search and Rescue Task Force (USSARTF) Update:

USSARTF Boasts Redesigned Web Site -- The USSARTF's new web site now includes educational material for the public and public safety agencies in search and rescue and disaster response, as well as making it a one stop site for research. Information on the Task Force can be reviewed as well as many topics such as critical incident stress management, the FEMA Community Emergency Response Team, children's educational games, a full search and rescue/disaster glossary, terrorist incidents, wildland fires, natural disasters, hundreds of links to other agencies, departments and organizations and a memorial to the USS Cole. See http://www.ussartf.org. For any questions about the Task Force, contact ussartf@ussartf.org.

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"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 newsletter will be posted on the Web site by the first of each month.

We encourage readers to submit brief updates that relate to using 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 Lori Wieber, lwieber@emforum.org.

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