All-Hazard events can open up a whole new world of PIO responsibilities. One thing is certain: a FEMA assignment will be different. The best possible sources for anticipating what we might be asked to accomplish are found in the documents written about FEMA assignments.
On a hurricane assignment in 2005, one information section reported that their main success was in providing detailed information to evacuees, being an “information clearing house” for them and being the basis for rumor control. This same group also reported that their counterparts in the state offices and relief organizations conveyed distrust of IMT PIOs and used this motivation to exclude IMT PIOs from information sharing activities between themselves.
Among the documents listed below, you’ll find that information officers can be asked to do something as simple as providing a “common language” information sheet for co-located agency personnel to developing a full-scale information bank for displaced evacuees.
Foundational Doctrine for All Hazard Response – This document is also available on the Doctrine Web Site listed in another section.
Foundational Doctrine Guiding All-Hazard Response in the U.S. Forest Service – A very good source to review if you are being dispatched to an all-hazard event.
Incident Communications – At the Exotic Newcastle Disease incident several years ago, a “Common Speak” lingo was needed to facilitate good communications among co-located agency personnel. The information function produced two documents that were helpful.
Lessons Learned 2003 Related to the Information Function – This document was produced by The Guidance Group and summarizes the experiences of information function personnel involved in all-risk incidents.
Orlando County Special Needs Shelter (September 2004) – The AAR rollup produced by this team includes a section of what information officers experienced while involved with this very unusual assignment of providing services to a group of evacuees.
Katrina Hurricane Support – Sandman’s Northern Rockies IMT AAR Rollup – One of the most notable successes this team experienced on an evacuee shelter assignment was that the information function was able to maintain good working relationships with public affairs staff from all levels of government and a variety of organizations.
Operation Good Neighbor Shelter Operations – Lessons Learned – The experiences of this IMT in working in a shelter operation are well documented. Read about the information function’s successes and disappointments for an idea of what you might expect.
Scratchline Issue 14 Special Edition on Hurricane Response 2005 – For a review of what you might expect on an all-risk assignment, this concise report details some of the successes and frustrations that result in FEMA mission assignments.
