How does activation work?
In a disaster situation the County Emergency Management Agencies organize and control the response under the authority of the Mayor.
The County EMA is responsible for standing up the Emergency Operations Center. (EOC)
- County EMAs evaluate the situation, and create an Incident Action Plan (IAP) for each operational period.
- County EMA is responsible for establishing the local EOC where everyone works together.
- EMAs invite other agencies to participate in the response, and may also invite non-governmental organizations to assist.
- The State EMA (HiEMA) has resource sharing agreements with the County EMA, and can respond when they are asked for assistance.
EMAs define and execute the incident action plan (IAP) for each operational period during an EOC activation.
The EOC may be activated when a single agency (i.e. police, fire) cannot handle the situation within the scope of their normal operations, or it may be activated in anticipation of this type of situation. Each County has their own procedures. Some Counties have described “levels” of activation.
It is important for the leadership in non-governmental organizations to learn about the procedures adopted by their county EMA.
The EOC may include a representative from agencies such as fire, police, public works, and others. Key commercial partners such as providers of electrical and communications services may be invited. Other organizations, such as Hawaii VOAD may or may not be represented, depending upon the type of emergency. Your organization must be invited by appropriate County staff to be allowed at the EOC. Since many non-governmental organizations may not have the option of having a seat at the EOC, your organization might be able to coordinate through another organization that does.
The EOC may include a representative from agencies such as fire, police, public works, and others. Key commercial partners such as providers of electrical power and communications services may be invited. Other organizations, such as Hawaii VOAD may or may not be represented, depending upon the type of emergency. Your organization must be invited by the appropriate County staff to be allowed to be present. Since many non-governmental organizations may not have the option of having a seat at the EOC, your organization may have to coordinate through another organization who does.
Who do I report to?
Volunteers may be included in an incident response, when they are a part of a larger non-governmental organization (NGO) that has established a prior working relationship with the EMA. The NGO typically makes sure that the volunteer has appropriate qualifications and training to handle a specific set of responsibilities. Sometimes this could involve certain orientation and training classes, and a possibly a criminal or other type of background check.
It is possible that in larger disasters, certain NGOs or working groups may be created or designated by the County for the purpose of bringing in new volunteers. The Incident Command System has the flexibility to incorporate subject management experts, amateur radio operators, and others with specific skill sets. Hawaii VOAD maintains a volunteer management working group, which can help new volunteers determine whether they might be incorporated into a response or recovery effort. VOADs may be able to refer volunteers to other organizations that can get them started in an appropriate way. Volunteers must not simply show up at a disaster scene. This is often unsafe. Volunteer could unintentionally interfere with the response, or distract other responders. The County EMA may not have the capacity of accepting new volunteers, especially at the beginning of a disaster when the situation is changing rapidly. Operating through an organization allows the EMA to assign specific tasks to an organization, without having to manage all of the volunteers working within that organization. This helps to establish an efficient chain of command.
In a large scale disaster, coordination may be handled through your affiliation with Hawaii VOAD, a working group created by the County, directly between the EMA and specific organizations invited to assist, or any other way the EMA chooses to operate. Based on prior arrangements, a county may assign certain groups, such as American Red Cross, or possibly another large NGO to handle certain specific functions. When your organization become a part of an incident response, it is important to make sure everyone knows who they report to in their chain of command. This does not mean that your organization is necessarily obligated to respond to any particular Request For Assistance. (RFA) Instead, it means that if you do agree to a specific RFA, you know who to coordinate with.