The first thing that often comes to mind when talking about school emergencies is a shooting, but if you had any type of a major incident, an active shooter, severe weather event or a large-scale health emergency, in one of your local schools, won't you be looking for all the help you could get in the shortest amount of time? Besides the obvious request of local law enforcement assistance, have you thought about your Office of Emergency Management (OEM)?
Your local OEM does a lot more than just prepare for major storms. They can be a major source of coordination and logistics during any type of school emergency as well as other major incidents.
Since the majority of law enforcement agencies are located in small towns with only a few dozen officers, outside resources would most certainly be required. OEM knows who to call for what, when it is needed.
With multiple agencies responding, communications is always an issue. The Office of Emergency Management knows who to contact to coordinate communications. It is possible they may have the resources locally to coordinate communication between the different agencies or they would know who to contact for a mobile communication center. Emergency Management can also supply trained radio operators to assist in communication, as well as amateur radio operations that can assist in getting messages out if the main police radio channels get overloaded. They can also assist with the distribution of emergency information, by such means as a high-speed telephone community notification system.
Besides the mobile communication center, OEM can also help in securing a mobile command center and the staff to help run it. I think you are starting to see the point here: the more resources that OEM can help supply you with, the less you have to be concerned with obtaining these resources and the more you can concentrate on the law enforcement response to the incident.
As the original incident may have resulted in the evacuation of the school and the surrounding neighborhood, where do the evacuees go if it is bad weather or it is a prolonged operation? OEM can assist in having temporary shelters set up in a safe location away from the threat. Having an established ongoing relationship with the local American Red Cross, or other such agencies, a safe haven can be quickly established not only for shelter, but also as a reunification center or pick-up point for the parents and students.
What about the needs of the responding law enforcement agencies? OEM can also call in the Salvation Army or Red Cross to respond with mobile canteen service to serve those at the scene. The longer the incident goes on, the more resources will be needed. Whether it is in the cold of winter or the heat of summer, emergency management can also reach out to acquire temporary shelters that can be heated or cooled with portable air conditioning units.
Another very important and often overlooked, service that OEM can provide is documenting actions taken and costs involved. Using the experience they have in documenting previous incidents, they know how to document the costs involved which are so important in getting any type of fiscal recovery after the incident is over. In addition to documenting the financial aspects of the police operation, OEM may also be able to provide electronic video feeds of the operation to the command post or through the internet to anywhere with a internet connection. These video feeds can also be recorded to be reviewed at a later time. (Check with your agency's legal counsel first to see if these recordings need to be handled as evidence.)
As more responding agencies arrive, local OEM can assist with the identification and establishing of a staging for these assets. Here there is an organized and systematic method to logging-in the requested resources and screening out the unrequested personnel and resources that arrive at the scene. Resources are then ready to go in the staging area on a moment's notice, without the confusion of trying to find out what is available.
If the school day turns into nighttime, OEM can help locate and supply generators and lighting to help get though the dark. They also may have preexisting contracts with fuel suppliers to keep the generators running.
Once the event comes to an end, the demobilization of personnel and resources is almost as big of a task as when the resources were requested. A complete and detailed log of who was there, whether they were used and what they did needs to be maintained. Was anyone injured or killed? Which hospital were the victims transported to? If the students were dismissed, were they reunited with their parents or guardians? Your OEM may have a computerized tracking system to keep tabs on all involved or they can assist in the old way of paper and pen. Either way, detailed records are a must.
One way to make sure OEM is used at a school emergency is to include them in your pre-event planning. They need to be included in your school's Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) and to be included in any training exercises.
As you already know, any emergency at a school, whether it is a small-scale or large-scale, can be a very emotional and difficult situation. By adding the value of your Office of Emergency Management, hopefully it will help bring the situation to a positive conclusion.
