Emergency Preparedness NewsletterCommunity Emergency Response Team (CERT) Sites 180 CERT Players and 25 Site Staff 75 Staff including: Command, Operations, Logistics, PIO, etc. 200

January 2014

NCTCOG

Inside this Issue:

Collaborative Adaptive Sensing of the Atmosphere (CASA WX)

2

Community Emergency Response Team (CERT)

2

NCT Safe Room Rebate Program

3

Mitigation 3

Certified Emergency Manager Recipients

4

Social Media in Emergency Management (#SMEM)

4

Emergency Preparedness Newsletter

2013 North Central Texas Urban Shield The North Central Texas (NCT) Region conducted the Urban Shield Full-Scale Exercise November 8-10, 2013. This exercise was designed to assess the region’s ability to successfully respond to and manage multiple events and other emergencies occurring simultaneously throughout the region.

The overarching goal of the NCT Urban Shield Exercise was to provide a multi-layered training exercise to enhance the skills and abilities of regional first responders, as well as, those responsible for coordinating and managing large-scale events. Involved personnel included local governments and corporate partner personnel who operated under the principles of the National Incident Management System (NIMS) and the Incident Command System (ICS) Structure.

The NCT Urban Shield Exercise involved nearly 2,000 regional first responders, emergency managers, and community volunteers including:

25 Regional Emergency Operations Centers 400 Emergency Management Personnel

13 SWAT Sites 200 SWAT Players and 260 SWAT Site Staff

3 Bomb Squad Sites 40 Bomb Squad Players and 30 Bomb Squad Site Staff

4 Urban Search and Rescue Sites 510 USAR Players and 40 USAR Site Staff

3 Hazardous Materials Response Sites 38 HazMat Players and 30 HazMat Site Staff

1 EMS Site 48 EMS Players and 10 EMS Site Staff

2 Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Sites 180 CERT Players and 25 Site Staff

75 Staff including: Command, Operations, Logistics, PIO, etc. 200 Regional Observers and VIPS 150 Corporate Representatives

In addition, NCTCOG reported more than 3,000 Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education (TCLEOSE) training credit hours for Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team members participating in the exercise.

The exercise provided a regional platform to assess response capabilities related to multi-discipline planning, policies, procedures, organization, equipment, and training. The Urban Shield Exercise evaluated the region’s existing level of preparedness and capabilities, identifying not only what was done well, but areas that may be in need of improvement. The region will utilize the After Action Report (AAR) created post exercise to assist the Regional Emergency Preparedness Advisory Committee (REPAC)in prioritizing upcoming trainings, exercises, and equipment expenditures to prepare for critical incident response.

The exercise was truly a regional effort, with local, state, and federal government as well as private partners in the local area and around the nation. For more information regarding the 2013 North Central Texas Urban Shield Exercise, please contact Nora Castaneda at [email protected].

EP Staff Program Changes

Some of the roles in the EP department have changed.

Nora Castaneda is the contact for the Training and Exercise program. You may reach her at 817-608-2311 or [email protected].

Candice Forsyth is the contact for the Public Education program. You may reach her at 817-704-5615 or [email protected].

Justin Cox is the temporary point of contact for Interop. Communications. You may reach him at 817-608-2318 or [email protected].

SWAT Briefing at the Regional Police Academy

Page 2 Emergency Preparedness

In early December the third Collaborative Adaptive Sensing of the Atmosphere (CASA WX) radar was installed in the City of Midlothian. This is the first CASA WX radar that was installed as a public/private partnership. Several companies contributed services, materials and equipment to cover the installation costs of the Midlothian project.

The city of Midlothian would like to give a special thank you to: University of Massachusetts Amherst, Colorado State University, Orbital Systems, Gerdau, Texas Industries, Inc., Circle H. Contractors, Midtech Power & Control LLC, Jakan Engineering, PLLC, Geotech Environmental Equipment Inc., Ridgeline Instruments, Inc., and J.D. Abrams L.P. for their donations of time, materials, support, and knowledge.

Collaborative Adaptive Sensing of the Atmosphere (CASA WX)

There are several radar installations planned for the next couple of months, just in time for severe storm season. Data from a network of 6-7 radars will be available to CASA WX Program members. To join, agencies must pay annual membership dues. The dues collected will go towards the operational expenses of the radar network. The radar data website will soon be password protected and access will only be given to member jurisdictions. If you are interested in becoming a CASA WX Program Member please contact Amanda Everly at [email protected] or 817-695-9214.

Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) On November 9, 2013, sixteen CERTs from North Central Texas became the first teams to participate in a dedicated Urban Shield CERT scenario. CERTs exercised their capabilities at the Tarrant County College NW campus by responding to the scenes of a destructive tornado and a small plane crash. The scenarios tested knowledge and skills relating to incident command, size up, search, triage, cribbing, victim transport, utility control, incident documentation, ham radio, and general communications. Also included were exercise training skills, including planning, delivery, evaluation, after action reporting and corrective actions. The NCT Regional Citizen Corps Council was recently able to secure radio equipment to enhance regional CERT communication capabilities, a need identified during the exercise. For more information about CERT teams please contact Melanie Devine at [email protected] or 817-695-9138.

To learn more about the CASA WX Radar please view this YouTube video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPBwklt6i_k&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Page 3 Emergency Preparedness

The first safe room funded by the Metro Safe Room Rebate Program was installed in August 2013. The owners, John and Fatima Pittman of Flower Mound, are excited to be able to provide safety and shelter for their family and neighbors during future storm seasons. “This shelter provides security for my family, myself, and whoever else I can get in it,” says John. He went on to say that the increase in tornadoes and the availability of the rebate motivated him to make the investment.

NCT Safe Room Rebate Program

The Metro Safe Room Rebate Program, which grants qualified homeowners a rebate that covers half the cost of construction for an individual safe room, up to $3000, has given 450 North Texans the opportunity to put shelters in their individual residences. The next round of funding is to be released in March and will expand the program to the entire 16 county service area of NCTCOG. We are glad to be able to assist homeowners with installing shelters and staying safe during severe weather, and we look forward to assisting more North Texans in the future. If you have any questions about the program visit www.nctsaferoom.com, email [email protected], or follow us on Twitter at @nctsaferoom.

Mitigation Since 2012, NCTCOG has been developing Hazard Mitigation Action Plans for the rural counties in the region and coordinating the updates of Tarrant and Dallas Counties.

Phase One was the development of plans for Hood, Johnson, Parker and Wise counties. As of December 20th, each of those plans were submitted to the state. They are currently in queue waiting to be reviewed by a state mitigation officer.

Phase Two is the development of plans for Palo Pinto, Erath, Somervell, Ellis, Navarro, and Hunt counties. Work on those plans has been underway since October. Currently, the team is writing the hazard identification and risk assessment portion of the plans, which focuses on presenting the level of vulnerability each community has for each natural hazard. This information will be used to develop mitigation projects aimed at saving lives and property.

If you have any questions for the mitigation team, please contact Nicholas F. LaGrassa at [email protected] or 817-608-2323.

Page 4 Emergency Preparedness

Enhancing lasting partnerships and proactive Emergency Preparedness initiatives through advocacy, communication, and collaboration.

North Central Texas Council of Governments Emergency Preparedness Department

616 Six Flags Dr. / PO Box 5888 Arlington, TX 76005-5888

Phone: 817-695-9235 Fax: 817-608-2372

http://www.nctcog.org/ep

Upcoming Events

MGT-319 Bioterrorism: Mass Prophylaxis Preparedness & Planning,January 20-21, Dallas, TX

G-318 Local Mitigation Planning Workshop, January 21-22, Arlington, TX

Continuity of Operations Planning (COOP) Training Meeting, January 23,Arlington, TX

H-500 Hazmat Technician - Texas Commission of Fire Protection (TCFP) Certifications, February 4-14, Richardson, TX

MGT-317 Disaster Management for Pubic Service, February 3-4, Dallas, TX

PHI - Helicopter Landing Zone SafetyCourse, February 9, McKinney, TX

MGT-347 Incident Command System (ICS) Forms Review, February 10, Dallas, TX

H-306 NFPA 1006 Trench Rescue (Non-Certification), February 10-14,Arlington, TX

Grant Writing Class, February 12-13,Dallas, TX

MGT-318 Public Information in WMD/Terrorism Incident, February 18-19, Dallas, TX

Emergency Management Association of Texas Conference, February 23-26, San Marcos, TX

AWR 118 - Awareness and Response to Biological Events, February 24, Fort Worth, TX

G-975 EOC Operations and ICS Interface, February 24-26, Arlington, TX

Integrated Warning Team Workshop,March 5, Arlington TX

2014 Texas Emergency Management Conference, May 12-15, San Antonio, TX

National Homeland Security Conference, May 19-22, Philadelphia, PA

For more upcoming events please visit http://www.nctcog.org/ep/calendar.asp

Matt Feryan and Nick Robinson of Plano, Randall Gurney of McKinney, and Billy Owens of North Richland Hills attended the International Association of Emergency Managers Conference in Reno, NV and became Certified Emergency Managers.

Certified Emergency Manager Recipients

Social Media in Emergency Management (#SMEM)

NCTCOG hosts a monthly Social Media in Emergency Management (SMEM) working

group to explore the use of social media in emergency management situations, ranging

from mitigation to recovery efforts. These meetings are open to social media users of

all levels and offer a chance to practice social media skills, have informal discussions

about this emerging practice and learn from those in the region who are using this

technology in various ways. Recently, the group has been exploring the potential of

utilizing Virtual Operations Support Teams (VOSTs) in North Texas. VOSTs are teams

of vetted volunteers with specialized knowledge in social media that can be activated

during emergency management and disaster recovery circumstances to assist in the

sorting and analyzing of online information. This data can then be used by those

on-site to increase situational awareness and get a real time breakdown of events that

are occurring. To get more information about VOSTs, please check out www.vosg.us.

Members of the SMEM group recently participated in a practice VOST for the JFK 50th

anniversary event. More practice opportunities are scheduled to increase

awareness and test the concept at a regional level. The Social Media in Emergency

Management group also discusses and practices with platforms such as Twitter,

Facebook, and Instagram. To learn more about this group, please contact Jessica Mason

at [email protected] or 817-608-2352.