[EAS] [] Daisy Chain

[Reginald Swedberg]

Adrienne

I think you are getting the picture, it is bigger than EAS, I would like to get any form of communication going.  I would rather not get to a court issue or a failed communications issue in an emergency, but seem to think that is what it is going to take.   I have been trying to get a broadcast representative, myself or someone else) into the training and debriefing, but not happening.

Even a participating at the training and planing  would help, if allowed to actually participate, an not just be a side fixture.  This could be a volunteer so would not take any more resources or cost, so that does not seem to be the issue.

I think that most of the other stations have given up on local and just going with the state system and leave it at that.  

I put part of your response in bold.  We do get these kind of calls so I can say that the current communication is not working.  But do not seem to be getting anywhere in solving it.

Redgy

On Tue, Oct 16, 2012 at 10:34 AM, Adrienne Abbott <nevadaeas at charter.net> wrote:
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>Redgy--
>You've (obviously) got multiple issues...under the Incident Command System
>Command Posts--where the Public Information Officer is stationed--are
>supposed to be accessible to the media. If there's no PIO, the Incident
>Commander is supposed to act as the PIO. Most IC's are too busy to do that
>so they usually designate a PIO who is responsible for dealing with the
>media in person, over the phone or via the Internet. That's all spelled out
>in the Incident Command System rules of operation. Information on the
>Incident Command System is available on the Internet at FEMA's website. You
>can take classes in ICS online, for free, under Independent Study. If
>nothing else, you learn the language that the emergency managers use.

>If all media, radio, television and print, are getting the same treatment,
>it might be time to gather everyone, reporters and station managers and plan
>some way to approach your local and or state emergency officials. There's no
>rule book that says they have to use EAS. It's just one way they have to
>communicate in an emergency. If they think cell phone calls are working for
>them, fine. Someday they'll have a problem and the system will be
>overwhelmed with calls, or as someone else has said, towers will melt or
>trunk lines will be cut. But if they are going beyond that, not only not
>using EAS but not providing any emergency information at all, to the point
>where people are calling your station and other stations to find out what's
>going on and you and the other stations have no official information to give
>the callers, then you have a bigger problem than a lack of respect for EAS.
>With no official word, the public is in danger and if someone gets hurt or
>killed, those same officials will be very quick to blame the media and
>you'll end up working it out in court.

>If the local government feels they lack the resources to develop an
>emergency communications structure, then offer to help. There are
>organizations such as "Citizen Corps" or "Community Emergency Response
>Teams"-CERT's, that can be developed to help in disasters. These teams can
>even include PIO's to respond to the media and call-takers to help with the
>phones. This is how some communities with limited resources do it but it
>does take leadership and follow-up. And many times local ham radio clubs are
>key components to the communications structure in these committees.

>Do local officials conduct a de-briefing, critique or "hot wash" after
>emergencies to determine how things went, what worked and what needs
>improvement? Do they conduct local events, holiday festivals, parades,
>street celebrations and such as a training program for emergencies? The
>media should be at those events as well as any state-sponsored reviews of
>major disasters to bring attention to the lack of official information.

>Those officials kind of have you over a barrel, but you aren't totally
>helpless especially if the other stations are willing to work together to
>fix the problem. Then if one of you runs into a problem with a city agency,
>you can all respond. City officials can be very responsive at election time.

>Adrienne Abbott
>Nevada EAS Chair
>"Radio burps, it cries, it needs to be fed all the time, it requires
>constant attention, but we love it." Jim Aaron WGLN