Comments on: Whatever Administration Decides On Its Disaster Drilling Policy Review, Include The Public In The Drills

By: As Secretary Napolitano Orders “No Notice, Or Limited Notice” National Preparedness Drilling Program, DHS & FEMA Should Make Sure That Public Has A Role In Exercises

Fri, 20 Aug 2010 19:30:58 +0000

[...] I would imagine that this will be worked out as the drilling program is fleshed out. As I have written extensively on the blog, I feel that including the public in these drills is useful both for the first [...]

By: [Avian Flu Diary] The Return of `In Case Of Emergency, Read Blogâ€™ | Influenza Virus Mashup

Fri, 09 Apr 2010 14:08:53 +0000

[...] Whatever Administration Decides On Its Disaster Drilling Policy Review, Include The Public In The Dr… [...]

By: John Stebbins

John Stebbins — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 07:09:03 +0000

I highly agree. Including the public, to a degree, would allow for a better understanding in the public eye of what First Responders and emergency personnel actually do in the event of an actual disaster. All they see and for the most part think goes on is what they see in the movies. One of first class papers for my Homeland Security Masters course was how to prepare the public in the event of a terrorist attack. It takes patience and a knowledge of the community as a whole. It also takes a great deal of legwork on the part of community officials. You cannot just post items on the Internet and think that everyone is going to read them and follow directions. Go door to door in the neighborhoods. Invite them to community exercises. Show them how police and fire personnel are trained and continue to train on a daily basis. Keep them informed of what the actual threats are to the communities. Most people read in the news of things that happen in other states or countries and they think, never here, so they do not prepare. The public should always be informed and given the tools to prepare.