[EAS] SBE list thread on lack of warnings

[Bill Ruck]

Following Richard's comments.

1.  CalFire is a really well organized wildland fire fighting 
organization.  But they do not train for nor are equipped for urban fires.

2.  Even in rural areas the local fire department, sometimes known as 
Fire Prevention Districts, can respond much faster than 
CalFire.  Unfortunately most of them are volunteer so it is also 
possible that it will take time for the volunteers to show up.  For 
example, a couple of years ago a restaurant burned to the ground 
ACROSS THE STREET from Zayante Fire P D.  By the time that the 
volunteers got there the fire was out of control.  What CalFIre does 
best is to mobilize thousands of firefighters for a big fire.  They 
are able to mobilize all of the support for this army of firefighters 
including communications, food, rest areas, and everything else that 
is needed but it takes time for them to do this.  So in the first few 
hours CalFire isn't the most effective force but give them 12 hours 
and what they put together is simply staggering.

3.  Even county OES can be too far removed from an incident to be 
most effective.

The bottom line is that the Incident Commander at any incident, big 
or small, needs to issue warnings in the most prompt and thorough 
fashion.  This requires (1) allowing the IC to do this rather than 
kicking it upstairs to politicians that may be more concerned about 
looking good than any thing else and (2) IC's need training on how to do this.

I may be redundantly redundant but the key to making Public Warning 
work is TRAINING.  Not just once but continuously.

Bill Ruck
Curmudgeon
San Francisco