"Keep doing what you've always done and you will keep getting what you've always gotten"

FEMA's trailers have become a symbol of FEMA's potential disorganization. Many remember the photos of FEMA trailers standing unused in parking lots, while citizens are in need of homes. Last year's fermalgyheide incident, involving FEMA trailers, did not help reduce this stigma. FEMA's trailer program has once again been thrust into the spotlight.

After last year's flooding, many Iowans were left either with homes in disrepair, or without home altogether. Many of these citizens were provided wi… Continue

Swine Flu Preparedness for Schools

The recent declaration of a public health emergency over the swine flu cases in the U.S. and Mexico highlights the importance of public health and [pandemic planning. An influenza-based public health emergency and/or pandemic has always been a question of "when" not "if" and while it was assumed a new strain of /avian flu would be the culprit, experts emphasized a pandemic can be caused by any new virus.… Continue

The company I work for has started an interactive map listing school incidents. It is updated daily from events throughout many different feeds. I have found it useful for example incidents, planning information, and case studies. The map has a large amount of functionality. You can choose the dates to view incidents for, zoom in and out, move around the country, and view the incidents by type (i.e. bomb threat, lockdown, etc.). I thought everyon… Continue

I was doing research for an emergency plan that I am working on. I ran across an article titled "Should EMS Be a Part of Public Safety?" Here is an excerpt:

"One of the biggest issues facing EMS is that we’re not sure what we really are. Is EMS health care? Is EMS public safety? Is EMS public health? In its recent publication, the National Institutes of Health determined that EMS actually has components of each of these ( see Figure 1 ).[1] The responsibilities of each of these three discipline… Continue

"A man in upstate New York managed to get two DWIs on the same night. The first arrest happened after Joseph Kelly drove drunk to police headquarters to ask for directions. The police could tell he was drunk, and gave him a breathalyzer, which he failed. They processed him and sent him to a hotel in a cab to sleep it off. In another amazing bonehead move, Joseph made the cabdriver stop so he could run back to the parking lot his car was at so he could drive again. He was spotted driving erratica… Continue