Center of Excellence – Homeland Security Emergency Management

May 21, 2013

HSEM eNews Volcano Awareness Month

Filed under: General Interest,Washington State — coe at 5:50 pm

The Month of May is Volcano Awareness Month  and a good time to mark your calendars for the Great Washington ShakeOut!  Drop, Cover, and Hold On at 10:17 a.m. on October 17th*. 

 

Last year the Center and our over 75% (twenty-five) of our SBCTC colleges and members of our SSEM Council partnered with state Emergency Management Division (EMD) and Pierce College’s Homeland Security Emergency Management Degree Program (HSEM) to support the involvement of our community and technical colleges in The Great Washington Shakeout. This is the state’s largest earthquake preparedness drill and helps colleges meet state and federal requirements for preparedness drills and exercises. Forty four Washington colleges and universities reached more than 158,000 participants.

 

Again this year the HSEM Degree student interns from Pierce College are working with State EMD to support the ShakeOut event which will be held on October 17.    We look forward to having even more of our colleges participate in this year’s event.  The link to register is below along with additional information.

shakeout

 

 

Register now for the largest drop, cover, and hold drill in history at
http://www.shakeout.org/Washington

May 18, 1980 remains a vivid memory for millions of Washington’s residents as the day that Mount St. Helens propelled volcanic ash skyward to an altitude of 80,000 feet in just 15 minutes.   Volcanic ash clouds traveled across our state and around the world, as did the message that Cascade Range volcanoes can erupt. They can disrupt our lives, our state’s economy, and entire regions of our nation. Eruptions in the Cascades have occurred at an average rate of twice per century during the past 4,000 years, and future eruptions are certain.   Many of those eruptions, lasting weeks to years, would have caused considerable property damage and loss of life if they had occurred today. The USGS and the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network monitor the Washington Cascade volcanoes to detect subtle changes that may herald the next eruption and work closely with local, State and Federal emergency managers to prepare for the next volcanic eruption in Washington.

 

We invite you to learn more about volcanoes and volcanic hazards in Washington State by visiting the USGS website at http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/observatories/cvo/ .  NEW!  Now, you can register to receive regular volcano activity updates and be notified of new activity via the Volcano Notification System (VNS) http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/activity/status.php, and keep informed about USGS-CVO current events at home page HOT STUFF. 

 

 

April 16, 2013

Seattle Emergency Management Summit on May 7th.

Filed under: Emergency Preparedness,Event,General Interest,Washington State — coe at 5:15 pm

This summit is a rare opportunity to connect with peers across jurisdictions and throughout agencies.  We know it can be difficult to make time to interface with some of your fellow emergency responders when we all get caught up in the whirlwind of our own projects.  The EM Summit is the perfect opportunity to reconnect with past acquaintances and develop a few new relationships. Furthermore, these summits are the ideal setting to engage with top technology leaders on what’s new and what’s needed in the field.  Joining us on the stage this year will be leaders from the City of Seattle, the Center for Regional Disaster Resilience, the Northwest Healthcare Response Network, and others.  You will hear about emerging technologies in preparing for mass casualty events, how experience and innovation are influencing public safety solution development , FirstNet, new video surveillance capabilities, situational awareness in disaster response, next
generation 9-1-1, and much more.  This is the event to hear about the top new technologies all in one location. Don’t miss your chance!

The full agenda and more featured speakers can be
viewed here:

http://www.emergencymgmt.com/seattleemsummit/2013

I hope that you can join us for this important
event! There is no cost to attend and you can register online here: www.emergencymgmt.com/seattleemsummit/2013/register

For more information contact Marty Pastula, Publisher & Vice President, Emergency Management Media
http://www.emergencymgmt.com

December 11, 2012

Closure Info from Pierce Campus Security

Filed under: General Interest,Washington State — coe at 9:37 pm

From December 24th through December 28th, Pierce College will be completely closed at both Fort Steilacoom and Puyallup. We will be programming all exterior doors to remain closed in the mornings; you will have no card access. If you come into work for any reason that week, you will need to contact our security department to let you in.

Thank you and have a safe Holiday Season.

253-964-6751    Steilacoom Security

253-840-8481    Puyallup Security

 

November 5, 2012

Are you a college or university emergency management professional? If so, join the Disaster Resilient University (DRU) community

Filed under: Campus Safety,Education,Emergency Preparedness,General Interest,Training,Washington State — coe at 4:56 pm

Are you a college or university emergency management professional? If so, join the Disaster Resilient University (DRU) community for the latest on campus emergency management.

http://emc.uoregon.edu/content/disaster-resilient-universities

From their page:

Disaster Resilient University (DRU) Network
The mission of the Disaster Resilient University (DRU) network is to facilitate open communication, discussion, and resource sharing between university/college emergency management practitioners charged with making our campuses more disaster resilient. The goal of the DRU network is to provide a simple resource that can increased communication, coordination, and collaboration between universities around the world that can be used to increase the capacity of our campuses to mitigate against, prepare for, respond to, continue operations during, and recover from natural disasters, acts of terrorism, or other human-caused crises or disasters.

 

  • The DRU Listserv Archive catalogues previous listserv communications so that individuals can quickly search for information that might have already been asked or contributed on the listserv. The DRU listserv started in Jan 2005 unfortunately; the archive does not have the full history of the list. The archive only goes back to Oct 11, 2007. The archive is password protected and hosted on the University of Oregon web server. The password is provide when you sign-up for the listserv. The archive is managed by Andre Le Duc.
  • Accessible at: http://www.uoregon.edu/~uodru/dru/

 

  • Shared resources for the DRU network through ”First Responder Communities of Practice” . Communities of Practice is a prprofessional networking, collaboration and communication platform.Created by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Science & Technology Directorate. This vetted community of members focuses on emergency preparedness, response, recovery and other homeland security issues.

A Disaster Resilient University (DRU) group has been established for university and/or college emergency management professionals to share information, technical resources (such as templates or examples, After Action reports, lessons learned, and best practices or case studies) and engage in discussions and dialogues related to the profession and emerging issues around campus emergency management.

On First Responder Communities of Practice you can also:

  • Join Communities that interest you
  • Collaborate on wikis, blogs and discussion boards
  • Find, share and store documents and best practices
  • Create and search profiles
  • Connect, chat, and email with other professionals

Who Can Join?

  • First responders
  • Members of the following groups, if engaged in homeland security:
  • Government employees
  • Government-sponsored academic professionals, contractors, and citizens

November 4, 2012

Campus Safety Notice – Personal Property Theft Awareness

Filed under: Campus Safety,General Interest,Washington State — coe at 11:51 am

Dear Colleagues
As the holiday season revs up, so do the local criminals. Here are some tips for keeping yourself and your property safe.

Personal Property Theft Prevention

  • Keep your purse, wallet, and all other valuable items with you or locked in a drawer, closet, or locker at all times.
  • Lock your office or area when it is not attended.
  • Do not place keys to offices, desks or file cabinets in unsecured locations.
  • Check the identity of strangers in your work area. Ask if they are looking for someone or something, or if they need help. If this makes you uncomfortable, contact Campus Safety for assistance.

Vehicle Theft Prevention

  • Do not leave valuables in plain sight. This includes gifts, electronics, cell phones, purses, etc.
  • Always lock your doors.
  • Park in well-lit areas.
  • Never leave the motor running when your car is unattended.

Alert Campus Safety of all suspicious persons on campus

  • Report any crimes in progress to 911 first and then to Campus Safety.
  • Be prepared to report a physical description of the person. Example: white male, 30 years old, 6 feet tall, short red hair, wearing blue jeans, red shirt, carrying a black jacket
  • If it is safe to do so, get their license plate and vehicle information.  Example: 1998 Blue Toyota Corolla, Washington license ABC123, “Go Huskies” bumper sticker on back bumper, and damage to right front fender.

For more information, please contact Campus Safety at either campus or visit our website at: http://www.pierce.ctc.edu/Safety/.

Fort Steilacoom Campus Safety: (253) 964-6751

Puyallup Campus Safety: (253) 840-8481

October 31, 2012

Good Example – Clark College’s Emergency Preparedness video

Filed under: Campus Safety,Education,Emergency Preparedness,General Interest,Washington State — coe at 3:58 pm

Here’s a nice example of a resource created for use within a campus community:

Clark College’s Emergency Preparedness video

 

If you have questions, contact Marilyn Westlake, mwestlake@clark.edu

October 30, 2012

Statement from our Director on Disasters, the WA State Information Network and 211

Filed under: Campus Safety,Education,Emergency Preparedness,General Interest,Homeland Security,Washington State — coe at 10:30 pm

As most of you know I represent the Center on the state WA Information Network’s 211 Board.  I am also a member of the national 211 group that is working on our national processes and procedures for emergencies and disasters.  211 is a national information and assistance number and all areas of the country now link with their local, state and federal partners to assist with provide information to residents in preparing, responding and recovering from disasters.  211 maintains shelter information and information about where residents and communities can contact federal FEMA and state and local officials for assistance as part of the recovery process.

We have information business cards, flyers and posters in the office publicizing 211 and we will make those available to you so just let us know.

Hope faculty that you are able to incorporate this major storm event into our students discussions.  Good time for preparedness reminders.

 

Linda

Linda Crerar, MA ABS
Director
Center of Excellence HSEM
www.pierce.ctc.edu/dist/coe

Don’t forget about dialing 2-1-1 when in need -”Excellent, Everywhere & Always”

Filed under: Emergency Preparedness,General Interest,Washington State — coe at 10:20 pm

Excellent, Everywhere & Always

Every hour of every day, hundreds of people need essential human services – they are looking for training, employment, food pantries, help for an aging parent, addiction prevention programs for their teenage children, affordable housing options, support groups and ways of becoming part of their community. 2-1-1 allows people to give help and to get help.

 

2-1-1 is an easy to remember telephone number that, where available, connects people with important community services and volunteer opportunities. In 2011, 2-1-1 services in the United States answered more than 16.6 million calls. The implementation of 2-1-1 is spearheaded by United Ways and information and referral agencies in states and local communities. United Way Worldwide (UWW) and the Alliance for Information and Referral Systems (AIRS) are committed to providing national leadership so that every American has access to this essential service.

Homeland Security Emergency Management Dept. Brochure for 2012-2013

Filed under: Campus Safety,Education,Emergency Preparedness,General Interest,Homeland Security,Washington State — coe at 10:07 pm

Check out this print publication from the Pierce College HSEM Dept.:

Homeland Security COE Brochure

Enjoy!

 

 

October 25, 2012

Disaster Recovery Training – Washington State Emergency Management Division (EMD) in partnership with the Center of Excellence

Filed under: Emergency Preparedness,General Interest,Training,Washington State — coe at 10:43 pm

DISASTER RECOVERY TRAINING

Washington State Emergency Management Division (EMD) in partnership with the Center of Excellence has agreed to bring community and technical college safety, security and emergency management professionals together to discuss effective pre and post disaster recovery response strategies for our community/technical colleges.  We know recovery must focus on economic, social and cultural elements as well as the repair and rebuilding of infrastructure, housing and natural environments.  This one day training will include disaster recovery planning, training and exercises and is designed to give participants the tools they can take back home to prepare, train and exercise on their own campuses and with their community partners. 

We are planning to hold a minimum of four (4) one day sessions in each region of the state to provide maximum access for participants to attend.  At this time we are looking at dates between late March and June and would like to hear from you as to dates that work best.  This will be a one day training session offered at no cost in each of our four regions.  Please email me (Linda) lcrerar@pierce.ctc.edu with you date preferences. 

Linda Crerar, MA ABS
Director
Center of Excellence HSEM
www.pierce.ctc.edu/dist/coe

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