Page 34 - Security Today, May/June 2020

Generating
National Headlines
Disasters can cause adversity; officials must effectively manage By Frank Spano
It is no surprise that tragedies on college campuses generate national headlines. Fortunately, active shooter incidents on campus are extraordinarily rare events, and campuses remain far safer than the community at large. However, shootings are not the only concern.
Between 2009 and 2013, U.S. fire departments responded to an estimated annual average of 3,870 structure fires in dormitories, fraternities, sororities, and barracks, reports the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), Fire Analysis & Research Divi- sion. “These fires caused an annual average of 1 civilian death, 32 civilian injuries and $14 million in property damage.”
Natural and manmade disasters are also a real possibility and colleges and universities that experience such adversity will need to be able to manage it effectively. Preparing for all hazards – including fire and life safety events ranging from earthquakes, hurricanes, wildfires, landslides, floods and tornadoes to civil un- rest, chemical emergencies, terrorism, and pandemic outbreaks – means being ready for the inevitable.
A key element of a plan includes the steps campuses should take after a disaster to help students, faculty, and staff recover. In the wake of a campus fire, disaster, or catastrophe, what actions and strategies are critical to the success of the recovery effort? Just as each college class has required reading, a required docu- ment for each and every college should be a comprehensive disas- ter recovery plan that focuses not only on business continuity, but personal recovery as well.
An overall recovery plan provides a framework within which a college or university can manage the crisis, and create clear and defined objectives for the institution’s recovery. These plans in- clude operational and strategic overviews to ensure that a crisis is contained and controlled properly.
Management skills in communicating with staff, students, the media, and the community, together with the ability of manage- ment to determine post-crisis goals and recovery strategies, are critical to the college’s survival prospects.
DISASTER RECOVERY PLANNING:
ONE SIZE DOESN’T FIT ALL CAMPUSES
The creation of a truly effective plan requires the partnership of campus administration, municipal law enforcement and emergency services, and campus police and security. Ultimately, effective planning requires collaboration, foresight, diligence, and a plan that is actively tested with mock disaster scenarios and exercises.
The National Incident Management System (NIMS) Incident Command System (ICS) was developed to facilitate effective re- sponse to a significant incident by collaborating governmental, private sector, and non-governmental entities. The framework was developed over 35 years ago after the tragic wildfires in Cali- fornia when many agencies responded to the fires with little coor- dination or communication.
As a result, Congress directed the U.S. Forest Service to im- prove the effectiveness of inter-agency coordination. ICS was
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