An NGO Evacuation Scenario before an Anticipated Wildfire Disaster - Report Example

An NGO Evacuation Scenario before an Anticipated Wildfire Disaster Overview Community movements have set themselves as the basis of support to the community, particularly in times of disaster and need. When disasters or emergencies strike, such movements should be well-prepared to rapidly and efficiently assist itself so as to be able to assist others. This paper outlines an organisational technique for responding to disaster or emergency. It provides essential information that will grant stability of vital business functions and recognises resources necessary to guarantee that personnel communicate effectively and safely with internal and external stakeholders. Proper communication between the personnel and other stakeholders will offer timely emergency assistance and service to the society. This will guarantee that their assets protected and also vital records (hardcopy and electronic data) are kept in order to maintain continuity of support operations and mission-critical services (Council on Foundations 1). The primary step in developing a disaster rescue plan is to identify the goals of the plan. For instance: 1. Safeguard health and life 2. Protect company assets 3. Guard organisational status It is vital to remember that no two emergencies are alike. Hence, no single plan of action can foresee or tackle each and every possible situation. The instructions and advice contained in this plan are planned to cater as guidelines only (Council on Foundations 1). They might not be suitable in all cases. At no time must an individual risk his/her personal safety and wellbeing in obeying any of its necessities. Risk Since wildfires can take place anywhere on earth, apart from Antarctica, they tend threaten both civilizations, as well as wildlife, alike. In relation to emergency management, wildfires can mainly be demoralising (Drabek 87). Given their capacity to wipe out large areas of entire ecologies, there should be a contingency plan in place in order for people to be as prepared as possible in case of such a calamity. The emergency plan will make it easier for people to adequately handle the aftermath of such as calamity, as well. With regards to the NGO provided in this assignment, it is vital for us to think about the ways in which the disaster might affect if it strikes. There might be a complete destruction of facility and/or primary information technology systems (Pyne 50). Also, the organisation’s regional utility assets might be destroyed, and all critical company operations moved off-site. It is, therefore, important for the NGO to consider an all-encompassing work-from-home or alternate site to conduct their operations (Council on Foundations 1). Also, it is vital for the organization to ask themselves whether they will want to return to the same location or a new site. During an emergency or disaster, the NGO should maintain usual operations needed to tackle disaster-specific and time-sensitive issues. No plan can include or anticipate procedures to tackle all the operational, human and regulatory matters, raised during an emergency or disaster. Therefore, this plan will assist the NGO in question to tackle issues required for continuance of vital business functions, such as communication, needs assessment coordination and volunteer outreach. Incident Response Team The individuals who will be included in this plan comprise of incident commander, finance coordinator, administration coordinator, human resources coordinator, public relations and communication coordinator and finally the programs coordinator (Sylves 99). Incident Commander The duties of the incident commander are to: 1. Declare the disaster, the hot site and activate the plan. 2. He or she is also supposed to oversee the whole emergency response. 3. Create appropriate staffing to ensure there is effectiveness in the monitoring and recovery process. 4. Finally, the incident coordinator is expected to act as the public figure of the NGO to the community and move the NGO towards recovery objectives. Finance Coordinator 1. Maintain cash funding of all vital business proceeding. 2. Prepare and keep cumulative earnings, as well as expense reports for the emergency. 3. Guarantee straightforward access to vital capital. 4. Oversee all fresh vendor contracts. 5. Establish and oversee disaster funds. Administration Coordinator 1. Make sure the NGO’s offices are restored to regular operations as soon as possible. 2. Help develop of an alternate location. 3. Help staff with any feature of travel including lodging and transportation. Human Resources Coordinator 1. Account for human aspects of the calamity including post-event psychotherapy, close relative notification, answer inquires related to benefits, compensation and travel policy. 2. Grant current register of emergency and personnel contact information for close relative notification. 3. Track, report and record all personnel who were working at the time of the event. 4. Inform insurers, as well as third party administrators as needed. Public Relations and Communication Coordinator 1. Notify personnel and relevant stakeholders of plan commencement. 2. Develop media messages concerning any event. 3. Account for all stakeholder communications comprising of the Board, donors, employees, suppliers/vendors, grantees and the media. 4. Cater as the main media contact. Programs Coordinator 1. Oversee the NGO’s community response. 2. Assess community communications. 3. Approve loans and grants to nonprofits in the concerned areas. 4. Link with other NGOs and appropriate county and city offices. Business Impact Analysis Not every business activities can be sustained following a disaster (Kristen 322). The NGO and its business groups should decide what is necessary for survival of the company (McGee 6). Disaster resurgence is the phased reinstatement of products, operations and mission-critical services. A Business impact analysis should be done to decide which functions and tasks are critical for the NGO to stay in business (McCaffrey 10). This should be done through asking a series of questions to decide the value of the function or task, for instance: If an activity is not carried out at all, how much loss would the NGO suffer? If an activity is not carried out in a well-timed manner, how much financial loss would the NGO suffer? Is the function/task needed to meet: Legal? Regulatory conformity obligations? How long can the NGO go without carrying out this function/task? Is there a single point of failure? This resurgence is normally related to specific criticalities and timeframes to the business (Petak 4). They are basically of three types: High Level – Instant restoration is vital. Maximum outage is between 1 and 5 days before the NGO suffers severe reputational, legal or monetary impact. Medium Level – Function can continue in a default manner or not carried out for 2-4 weeks. Instant restoration is not vital. Failure to execute these will ultimately affect performance of high level functions but will not cause severe reputational, legal or fiscal impact. Low Level – Function can persist in a default manner or not carried out for 31+ days. Function can be postponed awaiting operating environment restoration to normal. Building Evacuation Any resolution to evacuate the structure will be made by NGO’s management or incident coordinator (Deneke 19). Some of the steps that could be followed include: 1. Keep calm. 2. Directly advance to the nearest or safest exit. Assist colleagues and visitors without endangering personal safety. 3. Carry personal effects with you. Imagine you have less than one minute to securely collect your personal belongings. 4. Preferably, shut down critical operations/equipment safely and quickly before exiting. 5. Advance to the NGO’s chosen assembly area. 6. Once at the meeting area, inform the Human Resources Coordinator of your status. 7. Stay at the assembly area till instructions are given. 8. Do not obstruct emergency workers. This will ensure that anybody who was in the building during the time of the disaster is saved from it and that life a preserved. The wellbeing of the personnel in the building is the main priority of this plan. Conclusion In case of an emergency or disaster, an Incident Response Team (IRT) should convene at a physical location acknowledged as the Emergency Operations Center (EOC). From this site, the IRT will deal with the recovery process (Harris 15). The main EOC should be on-site, and the alternate EOC ought to be situated off-site. If neither is present, then Incident Response Team should seek further assistance from the authorities right away. Works Cited Council on Foundations. Disaster Preparedness and Recovery Plan. N.p, 2012. Web. Deneke, Kimberley. Recovering From Wildfire: A Guide for Arizonas Forest Owners. Arizona: The University of Arizona, 2009. Print. Drabek, Thomas E. Human System Responses to Disaster. New York: Springer-Verlag, 1986. Print. Harris, Richard. Recovering from Wildfire: A Guide for Californias Forest Landowners. Oakland, California: University of California, 2001. Print. Kristen, Nelson. “The Look of the Land: Homeowner Landscape Management and Wildfire Preparedness in Minnesota and Florida”. International Journal of Wildland Fire 13.5 (2004): 321-336. Print. McCaffrey, Sarah. “Public Response to Wildfires: Is the Australian (Stay and Defend or Leave Early) Approach an Option for Wildfire Management in the United States”. Journal of Forestry 107.4 (2009): 9-15. Print. McGee, Tara K. “Its Just a Natural Way of Life ... An Investigation of Wildfire Preparedness in Rural Australia”. Environmental Hazards 5.2 (2003) 1-12. Print. Petak, William. “Emergency Management: A Challenge for Public Administration”. Public Administration Review 45.4 (1985): 3-7. Print. Pyne, Stephen. Introduction to Wildland Fire. New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 2010. Print. Sylves, Richard. Disaster Policy & Politics: Emergency Management and Homeland Security. Newark, DE: University of Delaware, 2008. Print. Read More