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The ability to maintain a high level of training has allowed for leaders in emergency management to become more resourceful, knowledgeable, and skillful on functions hat will preserve life and property during emergency events (Hugh Jar & Street, 2006). Since the inception of the united States Department of Homeland Security (DISH), training for leadership has become a primary venture of ensuring the safety of our public.
Given that the field of emergency management Is comprised of several uncertainties, It Is of the most Importance that all leaders In the profession of emergency management from the private sector to public sectors, continue to understand the importance of training for unforeseen circumstances of the future. Requirement of Leadership Training As emergencies continue to arise throughout our country, there will continue to be a strong need for collaboration between leaders in the public and private sectors In order to ensure the protection of life and property during emergency events.
This In turn will require all emergency management leaders to have a succinct understanding of how to effectively collaborate when responding to emergency events. If this is so, all emergency management leaders in both the public and private sectors, should be required to take National Incident Management System AIMS) and National Response Framework (NOR) training courses to Increase their response effectiveness, and awareness of concepts to emergency management collaboration.
A key component as listed by the United States Department of Homeland Security for the effective training of public safety leaders in both the public and private sectors has been AIMS and the NOR. AIMS is primarily defined as a comprehensive framework that is composed of best practices, which collectively prepares all agencies for an all-hazards response (United States Department of Homeland Security (DISH), AAA). Based upon Homeland Security Presidential Directive 8 HSRP-8), preparedness of tomorrow is based on the thought process of preparing for any incident that can occur, regardless of size or scope (DISH, AAA).
This is different from the historical notion of preparedness where agencies planned specifically for a single type of event. AIMS provides a systematic level of response that communicates through common terminology, so that all participants clearly understand what is being communicated, but furthermore, it also provides leaders with a systematic structure of operation, increasing collaboration while maintaining the flexibility to edify power of command as needed (DISH, AAA)..
AIMS Training effectively enables all participants to share responsibility as the situation requires, increase collaboration as all agencies understand objectives, recognize processes of incident control, understand common terminology used during response, but furthermore, uses public and private sector agencies to achieve a single common goal (Linden, Perry, Prater, & Nicholson, 2006).
Currently, any emergency management leader can openly attend independent study courses (IS) 100 – Introduction to the Incident Command System (CICS), and (IS) 700 – Introduction o the National Incident Management System through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEM.), to ensure that leaders readily understand how to effectively collaborate while an incident is under command, but furthermore, ensure that the leader understands the best practices, terminology, and methods to resource allocation that overreaches emergency management principles in the National Incident Management System.
This leads to a top level program as indicated by DISH that profoundly increases collaboration through training, the NOR. The National Response Framework (NOR) is a structure created to support AIMS ND the process of linking public and private sector stakeholders during response to events (DISH, Bibb). This framework replaced the National Response Plan (NOR) in 2008 due to the fact that it was never a plan at inception.
Since there was a need to provide a systematic framework for both emergency response, (AIMS), and the organization of stakeholders and resources, the (NOR), both frameworks were set into motion to ensure the effective collaboration and understanding of information during emergency events for both the public and private sector agencies.
These frameworks gather provide a method of increasing response effectiveness by establishing mutual aid agreements and a common operating procedure (DISH, AAA), which lessens the time of receiving resources from private and governmental agencies, while furthermore increasing the leaders knowledge of their agencies responsibility understand who does what, when they should do it, and how it should be done, can be the difference between high levels of collaboration, as compared to low collaboration which ultimately leads to a dysfunctional, failed incident response (Twig, 2001).
Depending on the level of training the leader has on both AIMS and he NOR, collaboration can either lead to an ineffective response, or perhaps an effective response to an incident. Historical Responses With & Without AIMS and the NOR 2007 Charleston, South Carolina Warehouse Fire The 2007 warehouse fire in Charleston, South Carolina is a perfect example of how a lack of leadership training can cause horrific losses during an event. In Charleston, a Sofa Super Store showroom and warehouse that started out as a small trash fire near the loading dock, quickly spreading about the building calling upon the local fire department.
As the firefighters entered the warehouse to rescue villains, personnel were uncertain of an evacuation route, to which there was a roof collapse causing nine firefighters to be trapped inside. Several after action reports indicate that the incident was mismanaged by the battalion chief, as it should have required collaboration between other local fire departments under the NOR, but furthermore, that the Charleston Fire Department lacked the necessary AIMS training to adequately understand processes to rapidly expanding incidents (Baker, 2008; Reroute et al. 2007 This was in addition too failure of command and control recesses under the CICS, as the battalion chief should have remain outside the building, managing the incident as instructed in AIMS 100 and 200 training on the responsibility of an Incident Commander (Baker ,2008). Following this incident, Governor Mark Sanford announced an executive order relating that all fire departments in South Carolina are required to ensure that their emergency operations training and compliance policies come in line with AIMS and the NOR to reduce the possibility of fatalities as seen in the Charleston South Carolina Warehouse Fire (Seaway, 2009).
Here, a lack of required training on AIMS and the NOR frameworks reduced the capacity to collaboratively manage the incident. This is directly opposite of the collaboration of trained leaders in public safety during the 2001 Americana (Anthrax) Attacks. 2001 Americana Attacks Directly following the September 1 1 the terrorist attacks, suspicious envelopes contaminated with a white powered substance sparked a national emergency to public safety and health.
The United States Government initiated a comprehensive response to this incident through the Center for Disease Control (CDC), Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), local public service agencies, along with the media, coal hospitals, and nonprofit agencies to reduce the possibility of further Between the CDC, FBI, and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) alone, emergency operations were coordinated encompassing more than 2,000 employees, combined with more than 60 additional agencies from both public and private sectors (Perkins, Picnic, & Whiskey, 2002).
Since each agency and its leadership personnel were all trained on AIMS and the NOR, resources were immediately available, hospitals were notified in advance of self-transported victims, the public was notified of potential dangers of Anthrax, and a suspect was captured removing a threat. This all occurred as AIMS and the NOR offered foundational and practical knowledge on managing resources, personnel, and information, ultimately allowing all agencies across both sectors to effectively collaborate and coordinate objectives during a critical incident.
Without having these required trainings, this outcome may not have been possible (Perkins et al. , 2002; Mitchell, 2006). This is but a mere example of how required leadership training can effectively increase emergency management concept awareness, but additionally collaboration creating a successful incident outcome. Critical Importance of Leadership Training In the United State’s emergency response framework, all concepts, principals, protocols, and best practices are guided by NOR and AIMS principals.
Since this is so, there is a critical importance that all leaders in both the public and private sectors, from government officials to charities and other nongovernmental organizations (MONGO), are required to be trained on both frameworks because they are essentially responsible for the safety and welfare of our community (Kaput, 2006). Each leader is hereby tasked with the duty to lead during critical periods of an incident. Since
AIMS is the cornerstone of all emergency management practices, and the NOR is an all-hazards plan that builds upon AIMS specifically targeted for appointed leaders, all must be well-versed in both frameworks to which at a moment’s notice, their agencies can immediately become active during events that require significant report. Emergencies are simply that, emergencies. During these time periods, there is no time to learn what must be done, or how to collaboratively carry out an assignment (Kaput & Van Wart, 2006).
With this, training on AIMS and the NOR will aid in the task of achieving goals through partnerships such as local, state, and deader government officials, fire and emergency medical rescue officials, public health, and private partners that aid in the assistance and recovery processes for displace families and victims of an event. Situations as the aforementioned simply cannot afford delayed processes due to a lack of cohesion, collaboration, or cooperation.
Although training programs are in place to teach leaders these processes, principles, and terminologies, they are currently optional and therefore must first become required areas of training to ensure that leader’s grasps the skills needed to ensure successful collaborative operations. Here, it is of critical importance that public safety leaders be required to take AIMS and NOR training courses. Conclusions & Recommendations perhaps the most important aspect of maintaining a comprehensive, collaborative, and effective emergency management framework (Kangarooing, Idiotic & Redskin’s, 2011).
For this reason, leaders in both the private and public sector organizations are equally responsible for collaborative operation under AIMS and the NOR, and must be required to be attend AIMS and NOR training so that they can work together to achieve a common goal. DISH (2008) indicates that emergency management is collaborative and comprehensive only when leaders and their responders are properly trained to work together to collectively achieve objectives.
A lack of leadership training on the NOR and AIMS only produces casualties as indicated in the Charleston, South Carolina Warehouse Fire, in comparison to an effective collaboration of over 2000 individuals, across 60 agencies and two sectors when all leaders are trained to effectively prepare, respond, and recover from critical incidents that have occurred. Weber and Academia (2008) indicates that raining is the single most important facet of managing during emergencies, leaders rely on training as well as their personnel to ensure a collaborative, effective, efficient, and safe response.
For this reason, it is absolutely imperative that all leaders are required to be trained on the National Response Framework and the National Incident Management system. Given the differences in aforementioned situational outcomes, the United States national emergency response framework simply cannot afford to operate without trained leaders if it seeks to successfully protect the life and property of the public. References Kangarooing S. , Idiotic J. M. , Redskin’s E. (2011). Avalanches and olive branches: A multimode analysis of disasters and peacemaking in interstate rivalries.