CLARK REGIONAL COMMUNICATIONS AGENCY 9-1-1  -  Emergency Preparedness  -  Emergency Medical Services

      After-Action Report

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Exercise Overview

Clark Regional Communications Agency (CRCA) conducted an Emergency Coordination Center (ECC) functional exercise on September 18, 2000, from 10 am –3 pm. Approximately 90 persons participated in the execution of this exercise. (See Appendix 1 for lists of participants).  This exercise fulfilled an annual requirement for grant funding which partially underwrites (14%) the emergency management services of CRCA.

A flooding and landslide scenario tested emergency plans. The scenario was selected for several reasons:

• Flooding is the most frequently recurring and costly natural disaster experienced in our community; the skills and resources needed for this exercise are very likely to be needed in the future.
• A new flood response plan is under development for the region; this scenario worked different aspects of that plan, and uncovered areas for expansion or improvement of the plan.
• We have been designated as a FEMA Project Impact community, eligible to receive a \$300,000.00 grant to reduce the damage and losses from natural hazards; based on our Hazard Identification and Vulnerability Assessment, flooding and landslide hazards will be addressed; this exercise was expected to help identify additional mitigation projects.
• A March 2001 regional emergency management exercise will use a scenario involving failure of Grand Coulee Dam; lessons learned from this exercise will be applicable to that scenario as well.

County hydrology experts, GIS technicians, Pacificorp dam representatives, and the ARES/RACES river monitors injected technical information into the exercise for an added level of realism. C-Tran and the North Country Area Coordination Center, both represented in the ECC exercise, also dovetailed simultaneous internal drills at their own agencies to test related emergency plans.

The exercise began with a slow progression of flooding conditions to test emergency management capacity to incorporate technical information into long-range planning and to test the other exercise objectives.  A large water release from Bonneville dam then resulted in a more emergent flooding response, including mass evacuations and consequence management.

Exercise Objectives

Purpose of Objectives

The exercise was designed to test selected aspects of the emergency plan. The purpose of testing by exercise is to uncover and repair awkward or unworkable aspects of the plan.  Not all aspects of a full-scale emergency response were included in this exercise, but additional areas for improvement unrelated to the objectives were identified in the summary and detailed Findings and will be addressed in the recommendations.  

The following objectives represent the focus areas of the exercise and guided the design team in its development of this ECC functional exercise.   Events and simulations were created to target the fulfillment of these objectives and evaluate the related efficacy of the emergency plan. Future exercises will examine different aspects of the emergency plan.

The stated objectives for this ECC functional exercise were related to resource information utilization, purchase request processing, technical information in long-range planning, communications accuracy, and public information coordination. See Appendix 2 for the objectives with their specific points of review  and evaluator comments.

Finance/Purchasing staff will demonstrate the ability to coordinate and track emergency purchase requests from the ECC, or work cooperatively with their remote office.

Planning Section will demonstrate the ability to do a technical-needs assessment, and procure and manage technical information resources to assist in long-range event planning and emergent situation management.

Objective 5: Public Information Coordination

PIOs will gather and disseminate accurate and timely information to the media following standard ECC procedures.

Summary of Findings

Source: These comments are drawn from exercise participants’ feedback and the evaluation team’s analysis. See Appendix 2 for information on the evaluation team and their specific comments. Appendix 3 contains a more detailed analysis of the following summaries.  See the Recommendations section for proposed solutions.

General Comments

The level of cooperation and information sharing among participants was rated highly overall. The simulation and control of the exercise proceeded smoothly, and many participants rated this as their best ECC exercise/learning experience yet. (See Appendix 3 for more details.)

 Staffing

Many agencies conducted a shift change and briefing in mid-exercise to rotate more personnel through the ECC exercise.  The Operations Section was understaffed due to uncontrollable external events. Several participants remarked on how exhausting it was to work in the ECC under pressure for even their short shift.  (See Appendix 3 for more details.)

Training

The preparatory training covered overall ECC organization, but some participants still were confused about roles of the different sections.   Several players recommended more hands-on nuts-and-bolts skills training. (See Appendix 3 for more details.)

ECC Systems

The phone-line layout on the floor was complex and time-consuming to set up.  Some equipment problems frustrated participants, but other resources were utilized and operations were not compromised. The available computer resources were not adequate to provide computer access to everyone who could have benefited from it. (See Appendix 3 for more details.)

Operations

The roundtable format worked as designed, and greatly enhanced information sharing and cooperation among the operations team. Staff substitutions and absences placed many unfamiliar responsibilities on the Operations Section Chief. The absence of fire-department expertise in Ops, and the lack of an incident action plan made it difficult to evaluate certain expected actions for resource management. (See Appendix 3 for more details.)

Resource Management

Resource management staff utilized resource directories correctly, though they were found to be inadequate.  Purchasing staff determined that it would be important to have their own vendor lists available, but without a laptop they were unable to access them to complete the purchasing process. (See Appendix 3 for more details.)

Planning

Planning section staff were stretched very thin trying manage all the information.  Plans did an excellent job of identifying and obtaining needed information from technical resources in the ECC and incorporating it into their planning. Planning was surprised by the time it took to generate technical information and maps needed for planning. (See Appendix 3 for more details.)

Technical Information

GIS, hydrology, ARES/RACES river monitor readings, and interaction with PacifiCorp representatives injected an additional and stimulating layer of realism into the exercise.  Some simulated data did not correlate with "real-world" findings. Hydrology models were less than optimal for this type of prediction.  Printing for GIS was slow, and maps were small and not distributed to everyone who might have benefited from them. These discoveries will enhance future modeling and treatment of real flooding situations.  (See Appendix 3 for more details.)

Communications

Overall, communications were accurate and managed promptly and courteously.  The microphone briefings by the ECC Manager were extremely valuable. The message form and delivery system is cumbersome and often fails to communicate important information.  The whiteboard posting system has multiple difficulties. Situation reporting was difficult due to the orientation of the computer to the whiteboard. Call-taking and dispatch are at opposite ends of the room, inhibiting information coordination between them. (See Appendix 3 for more details.)

Public Information

The section performed very well, and the exercise gave good ECC experience to several new PIOs. The PIO staff very smoothly managed a surprise drop-in visit by the television media.  They created and distributed frequent news releases.   The coordination between various agencies and the PIO staff was excellent.   Lack of priority flagging of information led to confusion about news release content.  (See Appendix 3 for more details.)

Recommendations

The chief recommendations which emerged from this exercise were to increase staffing and to make the transition to an electronic environment in the Emergency Coordination Center. Some physical layout changes to the ECC and procedural modifications have been proposed as well. These recommendations do not correspond exactly by section title to other parts of the report because some of the recommendations encompassed more than one area (especially the recommendations related to electronic systems).

Staffing

Recommend:

• Conduct a recruitment push to gain more staffing support for the ECC
• Provide additional training opportunities for new recruits
• Ask all supporting agencies to review their staffing capabilities and make realistic adjustments
• Increase staffing in the Planning Section
• Consider dedicating a staff position to general ECC operations/role orientation of incoming ECC staff
• Consider staffing the Planning Section Chief with a non-CRCA staff member
• In an electronic environment, dedicate a staff member to managing the electronic systems

Training

Recommend:

• Shift focus of Introduction to ECC Operations course more to individual roles in ECC
• Allot more time to hands-on skills in subsequent training sessions
• Develop a laminated "cheat-sheet" for each section describing others' roles
• Update position check lists and manuals for each section

Resource Management

Recommend:

• Ask Purchasing staff to commit to bring a laptop to the ECC
• Order extra Clark County phone books for ECC, or have CRCA staff collect Clark County phone books from the administrative areas for use in the ECC
• Research alternative ways to update and catalog resource information lists to easily keep them current

Public Information

Recommend:

• Initiate discussions with PIO staff on development of a Joint Information Center policy or guideline
• Create method for flagging priority information for PIO use
• PIO staff compose news releases to reflect and meet specific communication objectives (such as omit minor details, include information from other agencies in the ECC, etc.)
• ECC Manager authorize distribution or verbally announce news release content to all staff as an update whenever appropriate
• Possibly use an electronic information database as the source for news releases
• Use the internet as an additional method for distributing public information

Technical Information

Recommend:

• Share GIS maps with all participants either via a faster color printer, large map print-out capability, or through electronic means
• Technical advisors (GIS and Hydrology) develop methods or acquire tools to refine flooding maps and hydrology models
• Switch from the hydrologic model predictions to statistical modeling based on past flooding until hydrology models can be upgraded
• GIS research flood-stage/flood impact correlations and catalog into a map reference for future events
• Clarify staffing source for hydrology experts, whether from Public Works Planning or Water Resources Section

ECC Organization

Recommend:

• Transition messaging to a completely electronic format, retaining manual system only as a backup in case of electronic systems failure
• Provide call-takers with headsets and computers to increase speed of data collection and ensure complete information is obtained through required data fields
• Provide whiteboard information to ECC staff electronically.   Authorized personnel not within the ECC, such as elected officials,  would also be able to view the information in real time with proper log-in procedure
• Develop a system to flag priority events and priority messages
• Move Planning section to rear of Operations table for better coordination between them
• Move call-takers near ARES/RACES and Dispatch Liaison to consolidate all incoming information sources into one area and reduce overall noise through the use of wall sections
• Ask all ECC participating agencies to commit a laptop, if available, to their staff in the ECC

Electronic Systems

Recommend:

• Reconfigure phone and computer outlets to match new ECC layout and reduce the numbers of wires crossing walkways
• Shift the ECC from manual information sharing to electronic transmission of messages and data
• Research software capable of handling the resultant computerized ECC functions
• Identify and compare available computer resources with projected needs
• Purchase additional computer hardware to complete the transition
• Analyze audiovisual needs versus capabilities in an electronic environment
• Explore internet needs and capabilities in the ECC environment
• Purchase an easier domain name for publication of information via the internet
• Incorporate live CAD views into the ECC electronic information cache
• Dedicate a printer to the PIO section
• Contract for a backup service to the Xpedite Broadcast Fax system
• Develop method for displaying GIS maps electronically for all ECC staff to reference
• Keep an electronic record of all activity in the ECC in a database for later retrieval

Appendix 1: Participants

Section A: Exercise Design and Control Staff

The Exercise Design Team met regularly for two months to develop this exercise. (See introduction for rationale.)  The Exercise Design Team consulted with technical advisors during the development phase.  The Exercise Design Team assembled a Simulation Team to make phone calls and input other incoming messages into the ECC system to test the exercise objectives. 

The Evaluation Team, which included Emergency Managers from other jurisdictions, the Southwest Washington representative from Washington State Emergency Management, and other experts, observed the exercise players closely and assessed how well the ECC was able to meet the objectives for the exercise. Their evaluation, along with the exercise debriefing and participant feedback, provided the summary and detailed findings of this report. The findings are the basis of recommendations for changes in the ECC systems.

Section B: Exercise Players and Observers

Emergency Coordination Center staff are drawn from many agencies. An exercise is an excellent opportunity for ECC staff to practice and refine the necessary skills prior to managing a real disaster. Exercise players received training and skills refresher before the exercise to refamiliarize them with the messaging system and organizational structure of the ECC. 

The players, with few exceptions, walked into the exercise with only a briefing to alert them to the "current situation".  They were instructed to follow standard Emergency Coordination Center procedures to manage the emergency.  Observers were present to learn more about ECC Operations, or, in the case of design team members, to see if the flow of the exercise went as predicted in the exercise design process.

Appendix 2: Points of Review

• Were resource management staff able to locate resource directories or other sources of information? Yes. The Logistics personnel were very proactive in reviewing the documents at their table. It was noted immediately that their resource directory only listed City and County resources. However, they acquired phone directories for outside vendors. They noted that they really would want their city and county vendor lists available at the ECC.

• Were staff able to determine or obtain correct specifications for requested parts or supplies? Yes and No. The Logistics Section was not used as appropriately as they could have been, in part this is to the newness of this developing section in the ECC. They were able to process the orders that they did receive, but did not follow though on all details. The most evident was the foam ordered for the fire. In part this was due to the staff substitutions last minute in the ECC and lack of actual fire-fighting knowledge. There are several types of foam and you specifically have to know what to order. The simulators never had a chance to assist the Logistics section with appropriate information, because the Logistics personnel made up their vendors and did not actually place any calls.

• Was fire-fighting foam emergency procurement researched and obtained without unnecessary delays? Not really. The actual call went to Operations at 1348 and was passed on to Logistics at 1353, it was at 1308 that the paperwork was filled as completed. Although 15 minutes does not seem like a long time, under these conditions it was. I think this was due to the fact that it was not passed on that there was a fire at the airport. The foam was to be delivered to a Fire Station and that did not say rush. There was a note that said Need Immediately, but that again did not mean that it was a critical to any incident at the time. Also, since no calls were actually placed for the order, no rush, no times were determined for the delivery.

• Based on information provided, did Red Cross accurately forecast and request needed resources?  Yes. Due to actual events, the Red Cross came into the exercise at 1215. They immediately got a briefing on what was needed and started calling shelters to see if in a actual event they would have been available to open. They did a great job.

• Were purchasing requests prioritized to reflect emergency planning objectives?   No. This was not done due to two major points. One, there were never any planning objectives set for the ECC. Two, Logistics was left out of the internal communication loop. If they are not told what the priorities are (such as in the foam needed for the fire) they can not meet them.

Objective 3: Technical information in long-range planning

Objective 4: Communications accuracy

• Was notification of the dam release announced to ECC personnel immediately? The ECC Manager very effectively accomplished this virtually real-time via the PA announcement. Note: This would have been a good opportunity for the Manager to clearly focus immediate efforts on flood projections, evacuation requirements, shelter selection and activation, etc.

• Was school bus rumor adequately researched and correct information provided appropriately? Not directly observed. The input was around 1020 or so… the determination by the school liaison that all school buses were accounted for came in a phone call at 1105. She immediately passed this info to PIO. Comment was that it was indeed just a rumor, but no immediate action observed.

• Were both I-205 and I-5 bridge closures posted to the whiteboard? Yes… I-5 info received at 1126… posted at 1140. I-205 posted in real-time.

• Was the C-Tran mass casualty incident posted to the whiteboard within 5 minutes? Yes. Received 1123… posted 1128. (But not sure if the significance of the MCI was adequately noted.)

• Was the requested time-to-river-crest estimate relayed to field personnel working the C-Tran incident? Not directly observed, but Dispatch Liaison indicated that an estimate of 1-2 hours was relayed to the field.

• Did ARES/RACES staff correctly record field messages? Yes and processed them correctly.

• Did ARES/RACES staff notice and follow up on missed or delayed transmissions? Yes, but they need to develop a better process to keep track of missed and/or delayed transmissions and requests to other managers in the ECC.

• Were message forms from ARES/RACES to the ECC completed and routed correctly? Yes they were. In addition they also used their forms, which were also completed accurately.

• Were ARES/RACES staff able to access and correctly interpret river monitor data on the computer? Yes and No. They missed one planned event on the river watch monitor. They need to make sure that all personnel are briefed on the how to read the data.

• If available, were ARES/RACES members dispatched to locations as requested by the ECC? Yes, they had 10 operators ready to respond if this had been an actual event.

Appendix 3: Detailed Findings

General Comments

Summary: The level of cooperation and information sharing among participants was rated highly overall. The simulation and control of the exercise proceeded smoothly, and many participants rated this as their best ECC exercise/learning experience yet.

Some participants felt that given the level of flooding simulated, the overall impacts seemed to be light and resources were not overwhelmed. It was noted, however, that by design the exercise intentionally did not include all emergent aspects of a major flood (such as coordination of volunteer sandbaggers). The purpose of the exercise was to focus learning and testing around the stated objectives.

The level of cooperation and information sharing in the ECC was excellent. Some participants were reluctant to interject opinions or ask questions that needed to be asked. The post-exercise debrief pointed out the importance of assertiveness in bringing up alternative viewpoints, questioning information that seems incorrect, or actively seeking the answers to questions that no one else seems to be pursuing.

Staffing

Summary: Many agencies conducted a shift change and briefing in mid-exercise to rotate more personnel through the ECC exercise.  The Operations Section was understaffed due to uncontrollable external events. Several participants remarked on how exhausting it was to work in the ECC under pressure for even their short shift.

Staffing coverage for most positions in the ECC still appears to be minimal. More cadre members and more layers of redundancy in staffing plans should be considered. Although the exercise was only five hours long, and several agencies conducted shift changes to test that function, many staff were still exhausted at the end. It emphasized the importance of reliable shift relief plans, and has caused some agencies to rethink their shift length.

During ECC operations, it was noted that when individuals had to leave their posts they did not initially think to have someone else cover their phone for a few minutes. By the end of the exercise, though, all exercise participants had established positive working relationships with their adjacent partners and had resolved the problem of phone coverage.

ECC Reception did an excellent job of admitting only pre-authorized personnel, and tracking all entrances and exits to the ECC. Identification badges have not yet been produced for all ECC-trained personnel. This would make the reception job easier.

Training

Summary: The preparatory training covered overall ECC organization, but some participants still were confused about roles of the different sections.  Several players recommended more hands-on, nuts-and-bolts ECC skills training.

The preparatory training covered what was likely to come up during an ECC activation, and the exercise applied and strengthened the lessons while uncovering weaknesses in the system. Although the preparatory trainings covered overall workings of the ECC, many participants felt it needed to focus more on the nuts and bolts skills of working in the ECC, such as message forms, routing, locating files, etc. Many were unclear as to the specifics of what the different section chiefs supervised. It would be helpful to have a listing of who exactly is in the ECC and a clear delineation of their roles and responsibilities.

ECC Systems

Summary:  The phone-line layout on the floor was complex and time-consuming to set up.  Some equipment problems frustrated participants, but other resources were utilized and operations were not comprised. The available computer resources were not adequate to provide computer access to everyone who could have benefited from it.

Telephone reconfiguration is necessary if the current ECC layout is maintained.   Wires crisscrossed the floor and required extensive taping to prevent tripping hazards.  Some phone lines were just barely long enough to reach their designated outlets. Two telephones were not working during the exercise. One was known to be non-functional prior to the exercise, and one was discovered during the exercise.   The personnel assigned to that phone simply used an adjacent phone instead.

Computer resources were not adequate to cover every section or every representative that felt they could have benefited from a computer. There are not presently enough computer hookups to allow all staff to connect their laptops.  Not all agency representatives would have had access to a laptop even if a port were provided.   Hydrology staff brought their own computer hard drive with their technical software, but it was cumbersome to move and set up.

The Operations section could have benefited greatly from a live view of CAD to allow them to better track resources.  The finance/purchasing personnel who staffed the logistics system did not have access to their vendor records because they did not have a laptop.

The PIO section found themselves limited by some computer and printer sharing problems. Sharing the printer with the dispatch liaison created some problems, with PIO data accidentally coming out on the pre-printed CAD summary forms. The Xpedite broadcast fax system, although an excellent resource when available, has occasionally been found to have internet accessibility problems.  This was detected in recent testing prior to the exercise, and in one instance was not functional for one of the news releases.  The news release was sent by the manual back up fax system instead. 

Operations

Summary:  The roundtable format worked as designed, and greatly enhanced information sharing and cooperation among the operations team. Staff substitutions and absences placed many unfamiliar responsibilities on the Operations Section Chief. The absence of fire-department expertise in Ops, and the lack of an incident action plan made it difficult to evaluate certain expected actions for resource management.

The roundtable configuration was very successful in encouraging cooperation and resource-sharing among members of the Operations section. The school representative’s presence highlighted the use of the school position for providing information about schools and gathering intelligence about roads, neighborhoods, damage and other disaster impacts. C-Tran and the schools worked cooperatively to meet transportation needs. The hospital and Health Department interacted positively with one another and with the PIOs to share information and get necessary instructions out to the public.

The public works representatives made impressive use of their laptop, but most agencies did not have or utilize laptops.  Law enforcement and fire representatives did not have access to live CAD views within the ECC, which left them without information on real-time field activities and resource allocations.

Due to an unforeseen staffing shortage, the Operations section chief position was not filled by a field-oriented public safety representative, as is usually the case, and the incident action plan/incident priorities were not developed. This was not an evaluation point in the exercise, but the lack of a formal plan made it difficult to assess the related resource management objective of resource procurement prioritization. Operations did appropriately refer urgent unmet resource needs to Logistics, however.

Shelter locations were delayed in making it to the whiteboard, in part due to the Red Cross absence (pulled into a real event) during the first portion of the exercise. Once they arrived, the shelters were posted promptly. The shelter locations initially were not tied to geographic areas, but this was corrected later. It was noted that some schools were tapped for shelter locations, but that there are no pre-existing MOU’s between those schools and emergency management.  

Resource Management

Summary: Resource management staff utilized resource directories correctly, though they were found to be inadequate.  Purchasing staff determined that it would be important to have their own vendor lists available, but without a laptop they were unable to access them to complete the purchasing process.

The resource information lists were found to contain out-of-date information, a chronic problem with printed directories. The current telephone directories in the ECC were for Portland, as additional Clark County books had not yet been ordered for the ECC. Procurement processes were not simulated completely. Logistics staff indicated that computer access to their own current vendor lists would have been extremely helpful. The ECC did not have a dedicated computer for their use, however, and staff did not have a laptop with them. 

Due to the lack of an incident action plan, the evaluation of some resource management functions (prioritization of requests to fit with the plan)  was not completed.

Planning

Summary: Planning section staff were stretched very thin trying manage all the information.  Plans did an excellent job of identifying and obtaining needed information from technical resources in the ECC and incorporating it into their planning. Planning was surprised by the time it took to generate technical information and maps needed for planning.

The relatively slow start  to the exercise, using a flood prediction scenario rather than full scale disaster at the beginning, allowed Planning staff to familiarize themselves with the resources and information sources available to them. The Planning Section coordinated the technical advisors and resources within the ECC and transmitted information to the Operations Section and the ECC Manager.  The information took some time to generate, but when incorporated into event and resource management, enhanced the overall ECC management of the event.

The current Planning Section staffing contingent is thin, and needs to be augmented.   Under the current system two message controllers are barely able to keep up with the information flow, and in some cases there were delays in getting information posted to the whiteboard.  The limited number of whiteboard display processing staff also contributed to delays.

Technical Information

Summary: GIS, hydrology, ARES/RACES river monitor readings, and interaction with PacifiCorp representatives injected an additional and stimulating layer of realism into the exercise.  Some simulated data did not correlate with "real-world" findings. Hydrology models were less than optimal for this type of prediction.  Printing for GIS was slow, and maps were small and not distributed to everyone who might have benefited from them. These discoveries will enhance future modeling and treatment of real flooding situations.

The technical advisors present for the exercise served as both simulators and players. GIS and hydrology experts collected information and utilized computer programs to generate predictions or graphic portrayals of the emergency. GIS created maps and population estimates for evacuation zones. Hydrology predicted river levels for the long-range planning portion of the exercise. ARES/RACES volunteers monitored the remote river sensors and fielded simulated radio reports from amateur radio operators regarding other stream levels.

The information generated by these technical personnel was regarded as extremely valuable by the Planning and Operations sections. The sections were also surprised by the amount of time it takes to produce the results and reports.

This exercise pointed out the absence of available flood-stage/flood-impact correlations. The ECC relies on scanty historic and anecdotal information. Current hydrology models, although they did work, were found to be cumbersome and relatively poor predictor and there may be better ways to produce the information. 

GIS noted that plotting a single elevation value to determine inundation areas for the entire county is not realistic or useful, as different areas with different elevations are not accurately represented. Mapping for different drainage basins and river zones would need to be modified. Maps were not seen by all participants, though, and others besides law enforcement and fire indicated that they would have found this resource helpful as well. This is a resource which needs to be utilized more within the ECC. 

Our technical understanding of flooding has been greatly enhanced by this exercise, as has our awareness of available flood management resources. 

Communications

Summary:  Overall, communications were accurate and managed promptly and courteously.  The microphone briefings by the ECC Manager were extremely valuable. The message form and delivery system is cumbersome and often fails to communicate important information.  The whiteboard posting system has multiple difficulties. Situation reporting was difficult due to the orientation of the computer to the whiteboard. Call-taking and dispatch are at opposite ends of the room, inhibiting information coordination between them.

• Messaging Systems

Multiple problems with the current messaging system were identified. The forms are relatively complex, with multiple fields, some of which were not completed, particularly the time field for when the message was taken.  This is important information for posting to the whiteboard and for maintaining documentation of event chronology. ARES/RACES found it confusing to use the ECC forms in addition to or instead of their radio forms. In many cases, a simpler phone-message slip might have sufficed for certain incoming phone-calls.

Message runners cannot easily identify priority messages waiting in out-boxes, and priority messages likewise do not stand out for processing by the Message Controller or the message recipient. Another difficulty is that sometimes multiple recipients should receive the same message simultaneously so they can coordinate actions. This is not easily done with the current message delivery system. Message runners can deliver a form to only one person.  A "forwarding" procedure for messages allows only for sequential rather than simultaneous processing.

• Call-taking/Dispatch Liaison

Call-takers were frequently bogged down in completing the forms, and did not always get complete information from the callers onto the form.This made follow-up more difficult later on, particularly if no callback number was obtained. In some cases, the simulators deliberately rushed the calltakers to challenge them to aggressively request the needed information.

There was some role confusion between dispatch liaison and call-takers. The physical distance between the dispatch position and the call-takers made it difficult to coordinate and oversee information.

• Whiteboard

Problems were noted with accessibility, readability, timeliness, level of detail,  obsolete information, and that there is no reliable record of what was actually posted.

Regarding timeliness of postings, shelter-related calls were being fielded for a time by the Operations Section Chief (due to the delayed arrival of Red Cross representatives) but  information was not posted to the whiteboard until after Red Cross arrived. This was due to the Operations Chief being overwhelmed with other duties.  When messages backed up at the Message Controller position those postings were delayed as well.

There is no posting system to track work items in progress. Other ECC staff have no way to know what else is being processed at that time other than what is occurring at their own table.

Whiteboard notations were impossible to read from a distance, particularly with the red markers.  Partway into the exercise one staff member took away  the red pens, forcing the use of the more visible colors.  The writing on the board was also very small and therefore difficult to read at a distance.  Even with a scenario that was fairly light in terms of postings, the main board was full, and larger lettering was not possible.  Unless postings were made on the high-middle of the boards, the view was obscured by ECC staff, and yet only a very few people were tall enough to reach the top of the boards while utilizing the stepstool.  Only one stepstool is available in the ECC.

Events are traditionally posted chronologically; the more significant events or established incident priorities do not stand out from the other postings. Obsolete information remained on the board for quite some time before it was removed. No method exists for determining when a posting should be removed; the only record of a whiteboard posting is the written message copy. Some kind of record of the actual postings would be helpful.

• Briefings

Several positive comments were received from external emergency management personnel regarding the use of the ECC microphone for important briefings to all ECC staff. The ECC manager provided thorough and frequent event overviews, and announced critical events immediately to keep all staff informed.  Not all staff stopped what they were doing during the briefings, however.  The ECC Manager also pulled together good briefings and strategic planning meetings for the Section Chiefs.

Public Information

Summary:  The section performed very well, and the exercise gave good ECC experience to several new PIOs. The PIO staff very smoothly managed a surprise drop-in visit by the television media.   They created and distributed frequent news releases.  The coordination between various agencies and the PIO staff was good.  Lack of priority flagging of information led to confusion about news release content.

The number of incoming phone calls to PIO staff seemed unrealistically low to some PIO participants, but this was part of the exercise design to focus attention on internal information coordination. Southwest Washington Medical Center, Southwest Washington Health District, and the Educational Service District #112 all had stated a desire to have their representatives coordinate public information with the ECC PIOs. The positive interactions that resulted seem to indicate that at least with the cooperating agencies, joint information releases and a single point of contact within the ECC worked well to provide consistent coordinated messages to the media and to the public.

The surprise drop-in by a TV camera crew requesting interviewees was managed extremely smoothly by the PIO in charge. During exercise design it was thought that the PIOs would be too busy to manage the unannounced media presence and would simply politely schedule them for a briefing later. The PIOs exceeded expectations and pulled together a thorough media briefing for the requesting crew without any lapse in phone coverage or news release production. They did this in spite of it occurring during a time-sensitive, high-stress moment in the exercise, and while utilizing new PIOs with no ECC experience.

News release content varied. Some news releases did not contain as much information as possible from the other agencies present in the room, but no formal JIC was established and this was not an expectation of the exercise design team.  In at least one instance, incorrect information was sent and then had to be corrected due to not checking the facts with the affected agency first. It was noted, however that as the public information working relationships developed in the ECC, the later releases began encompassing more information from all agencies and were highly accurate.  The inclusion of fact sheets were helpful. Some information included was vague or disjointed (road closures), although this was the fault of exercise design in not anticipating the level of detail required by the PIOs. Some releases, although accurate communicating a fact, included information that was minor and possibly distracting from major points.   Overall, though, the news releases contained excellent summary information, and represented a very good effort at sifting and condensing  the massive amounts of information.

Most ECC staff, except for the PIO and ECC management/section chief level, did not ever see a news release.  It is not current procedure to distribute them to all staff.  It was noted, however, that the news release was probably the best summary of  information for all staff had they received a copy.

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For further information/discussion on this report, please call (360) 737-1911 to speak with Deborah Needham (Ext. 3962) or John Wheeler (Ext. 3941) at Clark Regional Communications Agency. E-mail comments to deborah.needham@clark.wa.gov. Click here to view the main web page.