NIMS Alert: NQS Qualifications and Task Books for Recovery, Mitigation, and Incident Evaluation

August 15, 2018August 15, 2018Tim Riecker Leave a comment

The National Integration Center (NIC) has been busy with developing more National Qualification System (NQS) tools for incident management. Here are the titles for the latest release open to public comment: Damage Assessment Coordinator HM Community Education and Outreach Specialist HM Community Planner Specialist HM Engineering and Architect Specialist HM Floodplain Management Specialist EHP Environmental … Continue reading NIMS Alert: NQS Qualifications and Task Books for Recovery, Mitigation, and Incident Evaluation →

Incident Evaluation

January 16, 2017January 16, 2017Tim Riecker 3 Comments

I’ve written at length about the importance of quality evaluation of exercises. Essentially, if we don’t evaluate exercises, and do it well, the benefits of the exercises are quite limited. Generally, we don’t see a benefit to incidents. By their very nature, incidents threaten and impact life, property, and environment – things we don’t view … Continue reading Incident Evaluation →

Incident Action Planning

January 11, 2017January 11, 2017Tim Riecker 1 Comment

Hello readers! It’s been a couple of months since I’ve last posted – along with the holidays, I’ve been fortunate to be busy with some great projects and a bit of travel. While I’m still busy, I’ve been itching to get back to posting. Over the past few months, I’ve had an opportunity to look … Continue reading Incident Action Planning →

Preparing to Use the Incident Command System

November 11, 2015Tim Riecker 4 Comments

For a bit of context, if you haven’t already read them, please take a look at these other ICS related articles I’ve posted: Incident Command System Training Sucks ICS Training Sucks… So Let’s Fix It Preparedness – ICS is Not Enough The crusade to improve ICS training and implementation continues… We invest a lot of … Continue reading Preparing to Use the Incident Command System →

It’s Not Too Late To Prepare

April 8, 2020April 8, 2020Tim Riecker 1 Comment

The phrase I’ve been using lately when I speak to people has been “It’s not too late to prepare”. Many people perceive that in the middle of a disaster we are unable to prepare. Quite the contrary, we have the potential to integrate all of our preparedness steps into a response. Because we have problems … Continue reading It’s Not Too Late To Prepare →

FEMA’s First Lessons Learned From COVID-19

January 29, 2021Tim Riecker Leave a comment

FEMA recently released the Pandemic Response to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): Initial Assessment Report (January – September 2020). The report has many elements of a traditional after-action report. The authors reinforce that the report only evaluates FEMA’s response, not those of other agencies or entities. That said, emergency management, by nature is collaborative and FEMA’s … Continue reading FEMA’s First Lessons Learned From COVID-19 →

Improving the HSEEP Templates

March 9, 2020Tim Riecker Leave a comment

The HSEEP templates are a great help in supporting exercise design, conduct, and evaluation, but they can be greatly improved for increased value.

EOC Skillsets and Position Task Books Finalized

October 3, 2018August 4, 2020Tim Riecker Leave a comment

Back in April, FEMA released the drafts of EOC skillset documents and position task books for public comment. A few days ago, the final versions of these documents were released on FEMA’s National Qualification System (NQS) website: https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/nims/components#nqs While the hub of emergency response is the incident command post, the hub of emergency coordination is … Continue reading EOC Skillsets and Position Task Books Finalized →

Emergency Management Exercises: Not for the Inexperienced

June 6, 2018Tim Riecker Leave a comment

Many think exercise design is easy. I’ve seen agencies relegate it to interns and new staff with little supervision, or even performed by seasoned emergency managers with little concept of what the Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP) is. Sadly, we have people completing HSEEP training and even FEMA’s Master Exercise Practitioner (MEP) program, … Continue reading Emergency Management Exercises: Not for the Inexperienced →

Hurricane Harvey AAR – Lessons for Us All

May 30, 2018May 30, 2018Tim Riecker Leave a comment

Harris County, Texas has recently released their After Action Report (AAR) for Hurricane Harvey that devastated the area last year. I applaud any AAR released, especially one for an incident of this magnitude. It requires opening your doors to the world, showing some incredible transparency, and a willingness to discuss your mistakes. Not only can … Continue reading Hurricane Harvey AAR – Lessons for Us All →

The Contrarian Emergency Manager

News, concepts, and opinions on emergency management and homeland security topics

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