Pierce County Department of Emergency

Management

Kristin TinsleyPublic Information Officer

Public EducatorPC-NET Coordinator

2501 South 35th St. Suite DTacoma, WA 98409253-798-3686

1. Emergency Management

• Preparedness & Public Education

• Planning & Mitigation

• Response & Recovery

• Emergency Medical Services (EMS)

2. Fire Prevention Bureau

3. Enhanced 9-1-1

4. Radio Communications

5. Washington State Urban Search and Rescue Task Force (WATF-1)

DEM Divisions

Pierce County Emergency Operations Center

The role of the Pierce County EOC is to facilitate the:

Overall coordination of emergency activities

Coordination with other agencies and jurisdictions

Coordination of mutual aid

Establishment of priorities

Collection, evaluation, and dissemination of damage information and emergency public information

Implementation of policy as needed

There are three levels of activation of the Pierce County EOC:

1)Level I activation: Involves minor emergencies which can be handled by the duty officer without formal activation of the Pierce County EOC.

2)Level II activation: Involves incidents which have special characteristics requiring response by multiple agencies, requires the acquisition and/or use of special resources which would require partial or limited activation of the Pierce County EOC.

3)Level III activation: Involves incidents which require the coordinated response of all levels of government and emergency services to save lives and protect property.

Function Description

Incident Command

• Establishes incident objectives, strategies, and priorities.

• Assume overall responsibility for the incident.

Operations• Determines tactics and resources

for achieving objectives.

• Directs the tactical response.

Planning

• Collects and analyzes information.

• Tracks resources

• Maintains documentation.

Logistics • Provides resources and needed services.

Finance/Administration

• Accounts for expenditures, claims, and compensation.

• Procures needed resources.

Joint Information Center (JIC)

A facility established to coordinate all incident related public information activities on-scene. It is the central point of contact for all news media at the scene of the incident. Public information officials from participating federal, State, local, and tribal agencies and nongovernmental entities also may co-locate at the JIC.

Policy Room

Media Room

IT Pod

Call Taker Room

Radio Communications & Dispatch

Liaison to the EOC

Sheltering Team

Mitigate: reduce or eliminate risks to persons or property

Prepare: before a disaster strikes, not during

Respond: activities that address the short-term, direct effects, of an incident

Recover: address both long-term and short-term recovery

Helping Neighbors Help Themselves

Helping Neighbors Help ThemselvesPierce County CommunitiesPierce County Communities

You might ask yourself…

why PC-NET?Consider this scenario…

•A 7.8 earthquake strikes your neighborhood•Large amount of damage to infrastructure •Large number of injuries and fatalities•911 database is overwhelmed •Local landlines are down•Only half of the first responders were able to make it to work…the ones that did are overwhelmed •You got lucky and are not injured, but you know that others are either injured or trapped

What do you do?

YOU become the FIRST RESPONDER

YOU rely on your NEIGHBORS for help NEIGHBORS rely on YOU for help

PC-NET brings neighborhoods together to formulate a plan BEFORE the disaster strikes, not DURING

•Lives can be saved.

•Property can be protected.

•Emergency providers can get important information.

Avalanche Dam Failure Earthquake Epidemic (Human) Flooding Hazmat (NBC) Snow and Ice Storms Terrorism Transportation Accidents Warfare - Conventional Windstorm

Pierce County HazardsPierce County Hazards

Civil Unrest Drought Epidemic (Animal) Fire Global Warming Landslide Subsidence Tornado Tsunami Volcanic Hazards Warfare (NBC)

Building a PC-NET Neighborhood

The program requires just a small investment of time and effort.

It is FREE.

And you will find…You can make a difference if you have a plan.

PC-NET Sequence of EventsPC-NET Sequence of Events

1. Introduction

2. Team Formation

3. NAT Crime Prevention

4. Tabletop 5. Walk-about Exercise

6. Response 101

7. Functional Drill

8. Annual Update

PC-NET begins at home….

You cannot help your neighbors if you aren’t prepared yourself.

The handbook you receiveprovides clear, easy to follow guidelines for personal and home preparedness.

….then moves to the neighborhood

Neighbors plan ahead of time how they will respond as a group to a disaster.

Sign up for teams Gather team supplies Practice with drills

No special skills or training required except first aid.

CPR Sunday American Red Cross

First aid & CPR Disaster Response Training

Neighborhoods Neighborhoods

You define your neighborhood—generally 25-50 homes

-- similar to a block watch program.

Prepared Neighborhoods are

Safe Neighborhoods

•Neighborhoods that are prepared recover faster than those that aren’t •Aware and trained neighborhoods strengthen the fabric of homeland security

•Neighborhoods with an active crime prevention program experience measurable reductions in crime.

You can make a difference…

If you have a PLAN

Choose one of the following

Disaster Response Teams

1. Block Coordinator

2. Safety & Security

3. Light Search & Rescue

4. First Aid

5. Sheltering & Special Needs

6. Communications

7. Damage Assessment

9 RESPONSE STEPS

1. Care for the home2. Dress for safety3. Shut off natural gas –if necessary4. Shut off water5. Post OK/HELP Card6. Put Fire Extinguishers outside7. Go to Response Site8. Use task descriptions– 2 people9. Return to Response Site

QUESTIONS?

Kristin Tinsley PC-NET CoordinatorGig Harbor, Key Peninsula, Steilacoom, Lakewood, University Place & DuPont