MEMO TO: Mayor and Members of the City Council
FROM: Tommy Smith, Fire Chief
SUBJECT:
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Review the Cascadia Rising Solutions 2019 Full-scale Emergency Management Exercise, After- Action Report and Recommendations
I. RECOMMENDED ACTION
recommendation
Accept the After-Action Report and support the recommendations for improvement.
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II. DEPARTMENT CONTACTS
Tommy Smith, Fire Chief 425-556-2202
Pattijean Hooper, Emergency Preparedness Manager 425-556-2219
III. DESCRIPTION/BACKGROUND
Cascadia Rising Solutions 2019 full-scale disaster response exercise
• In 2016 FEMA and WA State Emergency Management held a week-long exercise throughout the state titled Cascadia Rising 2016, with Redmond participating. There were gaps in planning and response capabilities, and the City has worked to close them. Cascadia Rising Solutions 2019 is the title of the full-scale exercise conducted to test the advancement of City response and recovery capabilities related to a catastrophic earthquake impacting the region. There will be another statewide exercise in 2022, so the 2019 exercise will identify improvements and remaining gaps, so the City continues to build its resilience and response capabilities.
Training
• For the past year, two employees from each City Department have attended an Emergency Management Division training. The Twelve Extraordinary Meetings were themed to provide depth and breadth of knowledge on how to apply principles of emergency management to the community. Participants were engaged and expanded their daily professional tasks to include emergency response operations. Sharing this information with each of their own Departments, the integration of emergency management into everyone’s job begins to take place. These individuals are the foundation to a successful activation of the Emergency Coordination Center to support field operations.
Exercise
• The exercise took place from 8 a.m. through 5 p.m. on Friday October 18th and Saturday October 19th. It was conducted in three rounds that progressed in operational conditions moving from low technology (no access to electricity), intermittent access to technology (because access is restored at different times) to access to high technology (available through public and private sector response partners).
o Exercise activities were conducted at City Hall conference rooms,
o In an activation of the Emergency Coordination Center (ECC),
o Fire Stations 11 and 17
o Police Training Room
o Microsoft campus
o Redmond High School
o The joint Information Center
• 36 partners from 7 states and the City of Vancouver BC Canada, Redmond community members, City employees, as-well-as County and regional emergency management partners and volunteers engaged in exercise organization, participation, and evaluation.
• A debriefing called a Hot Wash was conducted at the end of each round of the exercise and evaluators took notes and provided feedback to the Lead Evaluator who constructed the After-Action Report
After-Action Report Summary
Major Strengths
• The Redmond Police and Fire departments provided excellent leadership by manning the Emergency Coordination Center’s (ECC) Operations Section during both days of the exercise.
• 35 exercise partners, volunteers and the Redmond community were totally engaged in the exercise.
• Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) and Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), members were committed to assisting the ECC throughout the exercise.
• The use of ARES, drones, OWL Network and the KYMETA Satellite Communications System were instrumental in establishing and maintaining communications throughout the exercise.
Primary Areas for Improvement
• Additional disaster preparedness training is required for all city employees working in the Emergency Coordination Center during a disaster or exercise.
• The City needs to establish policies for how and when the following resources will be used during a disaster or any emergency response:
o Drones
o OWL Network
o KYMETA - Satellite Communications System
• Extensive training is required for the following ECC areas:
o The roles and responsibilities for each position in the ECC
o Documenting Incident Action Plans (IAPs), Situation Reports (SIT Reps) and other key ICS Forms
o Maintaining Unit Logs in every area of the ECC
• Address State requirements for response communications in languages other than English to address the critical communication requirements of community members with Access and Functional Needs.
IV. PREVIOUS DISCUSSIONS HELD
Public Safety Committee of the Whole November 19, 2019
V. IMPACT
A. Service/Delivery:
Acceptance of the After-Action Report and Recommendations will provide the City with a structured approach to identify remaining gaps, identify and measure advancements in Emergency Management, and continue to build its resilience and response capabilities.
B. Fiscal Note:
N/A
VI. ALTERNATIVES TO STAFF RECOMMENDATION
A. Accept the After-Action Report
B. Support the training and exercises solutions suggested
VII. TIME CONSTRAINTS
N/A
VIII. LIST OF ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A: After Action Report and Recommendations