Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
29 <br /> Elected Official's Guide to Emergencies and Disasters <br /> Conclusion: <br /> Elected and appointed officials are responsible for ensuring the public safety and welfare <br /> of the people of their jurisdiction. Specifically, these officials should help provide strategic <br /> guidance and resources during preparedness, response, and recovery efforts. <br /> Emergency management, including preparation and training for effective response, is a <br /> primary obligation of local leaders. <br /> Chief elected or appointed officials must have a clear understanding of their roles and <br /> responsibilities in order to be successful in an emergency. At times, these roles may <br /> require providing direction and guidance to constituents during an incident, but their day- <br /> to-day activities do not focus on emergency management and response. On an ongoing <br /> basis, elected and appointed officials may be called upon to help shape or modify laws, <br /> policies, and budgets to aid preparedness efforts and to improve emergency <br /> management and response capabilities. Remember, resilient communities begin with <br /> prepared individuals. Also, remember to: <br /> 1. Promote Community Preparedness and Mitigation <br /> Your role in emergency management begins long before the County actually <br /> experiences a disaster. Encouraging community preparedness and implementing <br /> mitigation policy can better protect community members from the potentially <br /> devastating effects of disasters, as well as significantly reduce costs associated with <br /> disaster response and recovery. <br /> 2. Work through the Incident Commander and NIMS <br /> On site of a large emergency, there will be an Incident Commander (IC). They can <br /> usually be identified by an IC vest and will most likely be located at or near the <br /> command post. Access to the site, on scene information, safety concerns, and other <br /> important data can be obtained from the IC. All personnel on an emergency scene <br /> must coordinate through the on-scene IC. <br /> 3. Review Incident Action Plans <br /> In all significant emergency events, Orange County Emergency Services (OCES) and <br /> municipalities will issue Incident Action Plans (IAPs). An IAP formally documents <br /> incident goals (known as control objectives in NIMS), operational period objectives, <br /> and the response strategy defined by incident command during response planning. <br /> The IAP acts as a road map for disaster response and recovery. <br /> 4. Attend briefings <br /> In a major emergency event, there will be periodic briefings of key county staff. <br /> Authority rests with the chief local agency official to decide when, where, and how <br /> these briefings take place. These meetings may be joint county meetings. Issues, <br /> facts, incident needs, strategies and planned approaches to resolving the challenges <br /> at hand will be discussed. Briefing information will be requested electronically upon <br /> request from the EOC. The briefings can be held in large county meeting rooms <br /> 26 1 <br />