Today's Top Picks
Exercise Because of Want, Not Because of Need
For decades, governments have conducted emergency preparedness exercises as a method to evaluate
the ability to prepare for, respond to, and recover from natural and manmade disasters. There is no
doubt the tens of thousands of exercises conducted across the nation have improved the nation’s
preparedness but, in order to tackle new and emerging threats, more must be done.
Active Shooter Incidents: The Rescue Task Force Concept
The concept of the Rescue Task Force (RTF) came from the Arlington County (Virginia) Fire
Department. Looking at active shooter events around the country, these fire department leaders created a
model that enables emergency medical services (EMS) to provide emergency medical intervention faster and
within the Incident Command System (ICS) construct.
Enhancing Infrastructure Protection Through Special Events
In an atmosphere of limited resources, critical infrastructure (CI) protection can be difficult to prioritize with crime-fighting and disaster response. Understanding real-world lessons learned from local agencies is one way to make progress. Leveraging the urgency demanded by special events can be a particularly productive path forward. This article offers suggestions from practitioners to develop CI protection programs through special events management, at varying levels of capability and scale.
Helping School Districts Move Forward After Tragedy
In fall 2013, the Littleton Public Schools District (Colorado), with great support from the
community, passed an $80 million bond election for capital improvements within the school district.
Immediately following the bond election, the Littleton Public Schools Security Department personnel
began planning to implement their portion of the bond funds, which was about $7.5 million. Its security
team’s journey toward security technology and infrastructure is a good example for other school systems
Rethinking Disaster Evacuation
No two disasters are the same. Yet it is not unusual for officials to be confronted with a common
critical public safety decision: whether to evacuate the public or advise them to shelter in place. This
crucial decision, which is normally time sensitive, can set the tone for the remainder of the response
and recovery phases.
Trending
Bridging Communication Gaps: Lessons from Hurricane Helene Hurricanes in 2024 caused widespread damage to infrastructure, leading to a critical but often overlooked issue: isolation. Physical and technological…
A Systems Thinking Approach to Improving Emergency… “PACE” planning helps organizations fail gracefully, but systems thinking reduces the likelihood of failure altogether. Combining both approaches helps organizations…
Disaster Stress Management in an Emergency Operations Center Disasters affect responders and community members, but they also bring trauma to those working inside emergency operations centers. Distance from…
Why Emergency Management Is a Good Career for… For many service members, the transition from the military to a civilian workforce can be challenging. They have been trained…Trending
Disaster Stress Management in an Emergency Operations Center Disasters affect responders and community members, but they also bring trauma to those working inside emergency operations centers. Distance from…Why Emergency Management Is a Good Career for… For many service members, the transition from the military to a civilian workforce can be challenging. They have been trained…Bridging Communication Gaps: Lessons from Hurricane Helene Hurricanes in 2024 caused widespread damage to infrastructure, leading to a critical but often overlooked issue: isolation. Physical and technological…A Systems Thinking Approach to Improving Emergency… “PACE” planning helps organizations fail gracefully, but systems thinking reduces the likelihood of failure altogether. Combining both approaches helps organizations…Domestic Preparedness Journal
Featured in this issue: Editor’s Note: Hazards That Can Affect the Mind, Body, and Outcome, by Catherine L. Feinman; A Holistic Strategy for Responders’ Well-Being, by Camilo Olivieri; Disaster Stress Management in an Emergency Operations Center, by Mary Schoenfeldt; Physical and Mental Injuries in First Responders: Why Wait?, by Pascal Rodier; Not Lost in Translation: A Multilingual Corps Approach, by Diana Sanchez-Vega; Meeting the Psychosocial Needs of Child Survivors, by Emily Heard; Psychosocial Hazards: Preventing Human-Caused Disasters, by I. David Daniels; Caring for the Affected at Family Assistance Centers, by Jennifer Stansberry Miller; How I Became an Accidental Disaster Mental Health Specialist, by Adrienne J. Heinz; Podcast – Seasonal Forecasts & Their Limitations With Dr. Philip Klotzbach
Articles Out Loud
Article Out Loud – Wildfire PREsponse: Closing the Gap With Mitigation
June 18, 2025
This is an article by Mark Howell, an Article Out Loud from Domestic Preparedness, June 11, 2025. Mitigation is essential
Article Out Loud – Public Order Policing Units in Disasters
June 18, 2025
This is an article by Robert Leverone, an Article Out Loud from Domestic Preparedness, June 18, 2025. Modern disasters highlight
National Preparedness Month: A Year-Round Endeavor