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The MPA in Emergency and Disaster Management
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ResourceMCNY's Emergency and Disaster Management Blog Joe Flood of “The Fires” – Part IIDecember 8, 2010
“Standing on the roof or floor above a blaze is the most dangerous place a fireman can position himself. Before the terrorists attacks of September 11th, 2001, the deadliest day in the history of the Fire Department of New York came when the first floor of a brownstone apartment building collapsed into a burning basement below, killing twelve firemen. Most of the deadliest blazes for American firefighters… were all collapses. But getting above the fire is precisely what the “Truckies” of a ladder company like Billy O’Connor’s do for a living.” –Joe Flood, The Fires
Chris Horan — On Tuesday, November 23rd, 2010, book author Joe Flood stood at a podium in the front of a packed room at Metropolitan College of New York, reading from the first chapter of his book, The Fires. His audience was composed of Emergency Management students and professors from the graduate program at MCNY, as well as visiting guests from the field. The opening chapter of the book, from which Mr. Flood was reading, tells the story of a city in turmoil and its’ firefighters during a period of history the FDNY refers to as “The War Years”. During this period, budgetary limitations, mistakes, and corruption left the city vulnerable to a plague of fires which turned areas, including large portions of the South Bronx, to ashy rubble. The city was struggling to manage and contain fires, poverty, crime, and outbreaks of disease. At that time the city was in the early stages of using computational analysis to make policy decisions, with The Fires taking a look at the work of the RAND Corporation and the role it played. Putting down the text, Flood points out that he originally was motivated to look into the possibility of racism being behind the politics that allowed so many fires to burn, but that as he researched more deeply, he found that truth to be far less complicated; it was political ineptitude. The use of computational analysis is important, he argued that policy decisions cannot be based on numbers alone; they lack “humanity and context”. Flood found that a “utopian, machinistic policy”, wherein computers could solve all of mankind’s trouble, was in vogue at the time. Use of these new ideas and techniques to counteract the policies of poor spending, left effects that can still be seen in the five boroughs today, in neighborhoods that never truly recovered. The evenings’ discussion touched on race, politics, disease, pestilence, firefighting procedure, and economics from a period in time many modern New Yorkers may have forgotten. The dark times for the city in the 1960’s and 1970’s cannot be summed up in one book, though the smell of charred wood and ruined lives rises from the very pages of Joe Flood’s work. However, standing before his attentive audience, Mr. Flood was able to give life to a reality modern New Yorkers, in this field and others, hope never to see again. Email this · Subscribe to this Feed · Bookmark This! Posted by Disaster Central in Disaster Central, Events, Government. Comments Off Disaster Central is also a resource for information relating to MCNY’s MPA program in Emergency Management and Homeland Security, as well as providing insight and commentary on the topics of Disaster Management, Emergency Management and Homeland Security. Joe Flood of “The Fires”November 16, 2010Metropolitan of New York (MCNY) MPA Emergency & Disaster Management announces reading/talk with book author Joe Flood (joe-flood.com) of “The Fires“ on Tuesday, November 23rd, 2010 from 6-8 PM at 431 Canal Street – Room 11K.
A former Bronx-based journalist examines the epidemic of fires that swept New York City in the 1960s and ’70s. Flood focuses on John O’Hagan, the fire commissioner who presided over the worst of “the Wars,” as the era is known in FDNY lore. Ambitious and self-educated, O’Hagan came up from the ranks to become the youngest chief in the department’s history. When reformer John Lindsay was elected mayor in 1966, O’Hagan, who strongly believed in the use of statistics and systems analysis to organize the department, became one of his leading allies. The new mayor sought the advice of the RAND Corporation, the legendary think tank that had made its reputation analyzing nuclear warfare for the Air Force. On the surface, it was a perfect alliance. RAND needed new clients, Lindsay needed a blueprint for rational government and O’Hagan needed support for his ideas for making firefighting a scientific discipline. But as Flood shows, the reformers’ characteristic weakness was a lack of the local knowledge that had been the bread and butter of the machine politicians they had ousted. The author writes that harried fire captains, given stopwatches to time how long it took their men to reach a fire scene, often lost or broke them, then submitted figures they thought made them look good. RAND whiz kids used simplified formulas to analyze the flawed data they received. O’Hagan, eager to help Lindsay cut the city’s bloated budget, used the RAND results to close down firehouses he already ‘knew’ were underperforming-which often turned out to be the ones where union leaders were based. Flood casts a wide net, looking into New York machine politics, the development of systems analysis, the dynamics of urban growth and an array of unexpected byways of NYC history. While his conclusions perhaps go to far in generalizing from the excesses of Lindsay and RAND to condemn liberal reformers as a group, Flood provides a riveting look inside one of the most challenging eras of recent NYC history. Important reading for anyone who cares about cities and how they are governed.” -Kirkus Email this · Subscribe to this Feed · Bookmark This! Posted by Disaster Central in Disaster Central, Disaster Preparedness, Emergency Management Planning, Events, Natural Disasters. Comments Off Disaster Central is also a resource for information relating to MCNY’s MPA program in Emergency Management and Homeland Security, as well as providing insight and commentary on the topics of Disaster Management, Emergency Management and Homeland Security. ABC-TV’s coverage of MCNY’s Haiti EffortOctober 19, 2010MCNY-EDM program prepares students from Haiti to help rebuild their earthquake-stricken country. ABC-TV’s coverage of MCNY’s Haiti Effort NEW YORK (WABC) – Several Haitian nationals who survived that catastrophic earthquake are now here and learning about disaster relief. The hope is that they can teach others how to prepare for unforeseeable tragedies. “Suddenly, the earthquake happened and I said, ‘oh, my God,’” Elie Jerome explained. Jerome was at his office job, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti when last year’s earthquake devastated his country. “There (are) too many people that have been dying because we don’t know what to do and how to do,” he said. Jerome is working toward a master’s degree in emergency and disaster management at Metropolitan College of New York. The 16-month course began this semester, and includes five other hand-picked Haitian nationals on full scholarships. “We were looking for people who had a commitment to return to Haiti and in the mitigation of future disasters,” said Vinton Thompson, college president of MCNY. Ingrid St. Fermin was not in Haiti during the earthquake, but some of her relatives lost their homes and a close cousin lost his life. “The roof fell on his head and he died at the same moment,” she said. The course covers how emergency responders should handle both natural and man-made disasters. Those involved with this course were happy to share it because they believe in it, and because they want all of us to remember that the story of the earthquake in Haiti is not over. “I am learning here, so I don’t know what will happen later, tomorrow. But I have that feeling, that determination that I will do a good job in Haiti,” St. Fermin said. The college hopes to help place the graduates in key positions in Haiti. Email this · Subscribe to this Feed · Bookmark This! Posted by Disaster Central in Disaster Preparedness, Emergency Management Planning, MCNY EDM Program, Natural Disasters, Videos. Comments Off Disaster Central is also a resource for information relating to MCNY’s MPA program in Emergency Management and Homeland Security, as well as providing insight and commentary on the topics of Disaster Management, Emergency Management and Homeland Security. Public Safety/Homeland Security SymposiumOctober 18, 2010A small contingency of Purpose 1 students attended the first-ever Public Safety/Homeland Security symposium held on October 5, 2010, at the mid-town Hilton. Emergency and Disaster Management (EDM) students: Fritz Clairvil, Maybelle Jadotte, Shafiq Munir attended, along with Professor Lorraine Motola, who was representing DOHMH. Two other students in attendance had this to say about the event: “The future of public safety depends greatly on technological advancements in telecommunication”–-Ishoma John-Peters “The technologies of today bring the tools of empowerment into the hands and minds of those who use them. My lesson for the day.”—Richard Ricks While at the symposium, the group met EDM alum, Milton Johnson, who shared that earning his advanced degree from MCNY was a life-changing experience. He explained that before graduate school he was a security guard at OEM, while it was under construction. Mr. Johnson quit to attend MCNY, and is now a Program Specialist/Emergency Planner at Westchester County OEM!
Email this · Subscribe to this Feed · Bookmark This! Posted by Disaster Central in Events. Comments Off Disaster Central is also a resource for information relating to MCNY’s MPA program in Emergency Management and Homeland Security, as well as providing insight and commentary on the topics of Disaster Management, Emergency Management and Homeland Security. Tabletop Exercise at Wyckoff Heights Medical CenterOctober 18, 2010The MPA in Emergency and Disaster Management Program had another successful hands-on event on October 7, 2010. Purpose 2 students and Professor Contreras led a Tabletop exercise focusing on an evacuation due to a bomb threat for the leadership staff at Wyckoff Heights Medical Center. Approximately 20 staff members participated including the Chief Operating Officer, Harold McDonald. Although the event started after normal work hours on a Thursday before a holiday weekend (at 500PM), the participants were initially apprehensive about the exercise but eventually became fully engaged in the discussion-based exercise. The tabletop exercise was facilitated by MCNY graduate students Jack Finkelstein and Cliff Miller. The remaining Purpose 2 students, Najeeb Abubakar, Dilshad Jafarly, Madeline Tavarez and Jazzlyn Martinez, served as observers, evaluators and recorders. It was an interesting and valuable experience for all participants. Professor Contreras led the hotwash immediately after the exercise. A comprehensive After Action Report (AAR) will be prepared by the class and submitted to the hospital within 30 days. The exercise finally ended at 8:30 PM and a quick debriefing was conducted. All of the hospital staff was motivated to have more exercises. That being said, this tabletop exercise was a precursor for an evacuation drill to be held in November. Hospital staff was quick to acknowledge that this exercise was a very worthwhile activity. Among other healthcare-specific issues, the importance of the Incident Command System and NIMS were highlighted. Congratulations to all of the members of Purpose 2 for a job well done!  MCNY E &DM Purpose 2 students and Professor Contreras pose for a picture after a successful tabletop exercise at Wyckoff Heights Medical Center on October 7, 2010.  Staff at Wyckoff Heights Medical Center participated in a Tabletop Exercise facilitated by MCNY Emergency and Disaster Management students on October 7, 2010. Email this · Subscribe to this Feed · Bookmark This! Posted by Disaster Central in Emergency Management Planning, Emergency Preparedness, Events, MCNY EDM Program. Comments Off Disaster Central is also a resource for information relating to MCNY’s MPA program in Emergency Management and Homeland Security, as well as providing insight and commentary on the topics of Disaster Management, Emergency Management and Homeland Security. MPA Emergency and Disaster Management Program has reached another milestone!September 28, 2010The program recently hosted the Certified Emergency Management designation prep class and examination and the following professors, alumni and students have passed: Prof. Joan M. Thomas; Jean Paul Roggiero; Derek Powers; Prof. George Contreras; Ruben de la Concha; Matthew Khaled Having this designation is a major accomplishment for any Emergency Management practitioner and more and more is becoming a professional hiring requirement. With this in mind the EDM department will continue to sponsor prep classes and proctor exams and is now holding documentation review classes for students, faculty, staff and alumni of MCNY. For more information, please contact program director Ali Gheith at Email this · Subscribe to this Feed · Bookmark This! Posted by Disaster Central in Disaster Central, Emergency Management Planning, Events. Comments Off Disaster Central is also a resource for information relating to MCNY’s MPA program in Emergency Management and Homeland Security, as well as providing insight and commentary on the topics of Disaster Management, Emergency Management and Homeland Security. The Symposium at Brooklyn Borough HallSeptember 23, 2010
Twenty-One MCNY Emergency and Disaster students pose for a photo after moderating a Symposium recently at Brooklyn Borough Hall. The symposiums was sponsored by the New York City Office of Emergency Management. Email this · Subscribe to this Feed · Bookmark This! Posted by Disaster Central in Emergency Management Planning, Events. 1 Comment » Disaster Central is also a resource for information relating to MCNY’s MPA program in Emergency Management and Homeland Security, as well as providing insight and commentary on the topics of Disaster Management, Emergency Management and Homeland Security. September is National Preparedness MonthSeptember 23, 2009September is National Preparedness Month – Here’s where you can go to register your organization to Become a Coalition Member http://ready.adcouncil.org/. Email this · Subscribe to this Feed · Bookmark This! Posted by Disaster Central in Disaster Preparedness. Comments Off Disaster Central is also a resource for information relating to MCNY’s MPA program in Emergency Management and Homeland Security, as well as providing insight and commentary on the topics of Disaster Management, Emergency Management and Homeland Security. Financial Incentives – UpdateAugust 12, 2008On the morning of August 12, 2008, a large section of glass-cladding tumbled 51 stories from the new Bank of America Building near Times Square, sailed across 42nd Street, and shattered on the sidewalk shed in front of the former Verizon building. Thankfully, only one minor injury was reported. However, as the situation indicates, it could have been much worse. Since Emergency Management is often about prevention, the City of New York needs to take more strident steps toward mitigating the many hazards associated with construction sites in the City. Taking a page from New York City’s War on Big Tobacco, skyhigh fines levied against the property owners, construction companies, and others associated with these projects will go a long way toward reducing the threats to the public and our first responders from shoddy construction and safety practices. As the financial incentive argument contends, the City must make safety and responsibility a less expensive option than non-compliance. Therefore, fines on the order of several million dollars per violation are in order. Smoking is hazardous to your health – so are falling windows and debris, collapsing cranes, and improper construction practices. Hopefully, just as the City has led the way in stamping out smoking, it will now address another clear and present danger to the health and security of all New Yorkers. Email this · Subscribe to this Feed · Bookmark This! Posted by Disaster Central in Emergency Management Planning. Comments Off Disaster Central is also a resource for information relating to MCNY’s MPA program in Emergency Management and Homeland Security, as well as providing insight and commentary on the topics of Disaster Management, Emergency Management and Homeland Security. Politics and Major Disaster DeclarationsAugust 11, 2008It is not surprising that questions exist concerning the exact relationship between disaster preparedness, response, and recovery funding, and partisan politics. In its August 9, 2008, edition, The New York Times published an article by Austin Bogues that indicated that during the seven and a half years of his administration, President George W. Bush declared 422 major disasters, the most of any prior administration. The article further asks if there was (or is) a political connection between this seeming largess on the part of FEMA, and disaster-prone areas where the Bush administration has found its traditional support. But the mechanics of disaster relief are far more complicated (and far more important) than a simple game of partisan politics. Emergency Management is a profession, a noble endeavor with ethics and skills and traditions, which defies quantification as mere political pawns. Some theorists and practitioners define Emergency Management as a purely logistical undertaking, while others consider it a more hybrid creation, one where logistics plays one of many supporting roles aimed at restoring an injured community’s vitality. Emergency Management is often about saving lives through saving systems, and the rules of mitigation require that the endeavor touch upon preparedness, response, and recovery – the recovery of systems. The most prevalent of these systems is economic. President Calvin Coolidge once remarked that, “The business of America is business,” and in this sense all that we do as Emergency Managers is directed toward saving the systems – the commercial, retail, banking, health, education, and others – that sustain each of us; and in doing so, maintain our national standard of living. When one considers the mechanics of liberal democracy, a jurisdiction’s political affiliation is often less important to Washington decision-makers than the ability of that jurisdiction to provide its citizens, businesses, and neighbors with a stable, prosperous environment. By virtue of its obligations, the federal government is most concerned with the collection of taxes, as it is from this resource that its many other responsibilities can be fulfilled. It is therefore not surprising that the federal government would want to use disaster declarations as a means for offsetting the economic losses sustained by communities from hydrological, seismological, and technological disasters. On September 18, 1994, FEMA provided a disaster declaration – a major declaration – for California’s and Washington State’s salmon industry that had been disrupted by a strong El Nino configuration. A similar declaration was issued in 1953 and 1954 for Alaska’s salmon producers, indicating the often-economic impetus behind disaster declarations. In the June 2008 edition of Homeland Security Affairs Journal, Professor Christopher Bellavita provides a survey of disasters as defined by FEMA. In his article, “Changing Homeland Security: What is Homeland Security?” Bellavita indicates that between September 11, 2001, and December 31, 2007, there were some 1,205 disaster conditions in the United States and its overseas territories, including 336 wildfires (first place) and 224 severe storms (second place). In addition, during the same time, there were hurricanes (105 of them), winter storms (102), tornadoes (78), typhoons (in Guam and other North Pacific U.S. holdings), and coastal storms (3). A comparison between the number of major disaster declarations and the number of “disasters” indicates that if politics were being played, the field could have been potentially much larger. FEMA provides an excellent online resource that lists all disaster declarations (major and otherwise) by year, and by state and territory. The database (which can be accessed at http://www.fema.gov/news/disaster_totals_annual.fema) indicates that Texas has, between 1953 and 2008, had the most major disaster declarations – 82. The Lone Star State is closely followed by California, Florida, Oklahoma, and New York State. In addition, there were dozens of disaster declarations that were not considered “major” disasters based on magnitude. It should be noted that according to the FEMA database, 100% of Texas’ major disaster declarations were due to weather and/or fire-related conditions, while a disaster declaration (but not a major one) was issued for 47 states in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, to provide federal assistance to communities impacted by evacuees from the northern Gulf coast. Email this · Subscribe to this Feed · Bookmark This! Posted by Disaster Central in Natural Disasters. Comments Off Disaster Central is also a resource for information relating to MCNY’s MPA program in Emergency Management and Homeland Security, as well as providing insight and commentary on the topics of Disaster Management, Emergency Management and Homeland Security. | |
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