Tab 3 – Public Information Operating Procedures.doc

ANNEX NPUBLIC INFORMATION

Crisis Public Information Communications Supplement

STATE OF VERMONT EMERGENCY OPERATIONS PLANApril 30, 2005 (Final Draft)

Table of Contents

Purpose of the CPI Communications Supplement........................................................................3Perspective........................................................................................................................5

Plan Objectives..............................................................................................................................6Using This Plan..............................................................................................................................6

Ideal Public Communications Team Activities...................................................................7Before Event........................................................................................................7During Event.......................................................................................................8After Event.........................................................................................................10

Communications Resources............................................................................................11Decisions and Decision Support......................................................................................12Terrorist Threats – A Special Case..................................................................................15Decision Support Resources...........................................................................................16

Communications Readiness........................................................................................................16Management Readiness..................................................................................................17Public Readiness.............................................................................................................18

Follow Up.....................................................................................................................................22

Appendix Index..............................................................................................................................

Section 1 - Decision Support Information Resources............................................................24

Appendix A: Index of Vermont Information Resources................................................................25Web Sites by Organization..............................................................................................25Web Sites by Threat or Incident.......................................................................................27Index of Vermont State approved Subject Matter Experts...............................................28

Appendix B: Index of Non-Vermont Information Resources........................................................30Federal Emergency Management and Response Services.............................................30Federal Threat Support Information Resources and Web Sites......................................35Internet References For Terrorism Response: Most of these titles are also internet links..........................................................................................................................................43

Appendix C: Index of Vermont Public Media Resources.............................................................45

Section 2 - Assistance and Guidelines on the development of content..............................51

Appendix D: Behavioral Response to Threats & Emergencies...................................................52Individual Decision Mechanisms in the Human Mind.......................................................52Group Decision Mechanisms in the Human Mind............................................................54Avoiding Group Think......................................................................................................57The Outrage Factor..........................................................................................................58

Appendix E: Media Relations Guidelines.....................................................................................61Media Relations Reminders.............................................................................................62Handling Media Interviews...............................................................................................62Do's and Don'ts During the Interview process.................................................................63

Appendix F: Sample Scripts........................................................................................................65Sample News Release.....................................................................................................65

TAB 3 - ANNEX N - PUBLIC INFORMATION | Page 1 | 04/30/05


Purpose of the CPI Communications Supplement

The Crisis Public Information (CPI) Communications Supplement is intended to be a guide and decision support resource for local and unified incident commands and emergency operations managers. It is an information resource supplement to the Vermont Emergency Operations Plan (VEOP) and to State Support Function (SSF) #14, titled, ”Public Information”. The policies, procedures, functions, duties, responsibilities and operational actions of the State and local emergency response managers and decision makers is well defined in the VEOP and other State and local EMS documents and are not repeated in this document.

A CPI Communications Supplement provides information, references, guidelines and procedures for the coordination of communications within the State of Vermont, and between the State and any applicable outside agencies (e.g. - the media, regulatory agencies and the public) in the event of an emergency or natural disaster. The emphasis is on collecting together, in one place, a comprehensive information resource that can be used by emergency response managers and the general public to support decisions necessary before, during and after a crisis event. Much of this document would be very useful as the basis for building a training or educational course of study on crisis public communications.

The cognizant authority for this guide is the Vermont Emergency Management (VEM) office of the Vermont Department of Public Safety (VDPS) and will be referred to as the author and resource manager throughout this document.

The reason that this plan exists is to provide Vermont State and local agencies with a list of general guidelines, information resources and decision support that can be used as an initial orientation or training for new emergency public service managers and as a reference resource for ongoing support before, during and after a crisis. The emphasis of this plan is addressing media relations and public communications issues but it is not intended to replace or repeat policy or procedures defined in other emergency management response documents. Specifically, this plan will not provide assessment of potentially harmful situations nor the methods for responding to those situations.

The act of communicating with the public has three critical decisions associated with that action:

Decision Support Information Resources: The emergency response manager needs to have a detailed understanding of the technical aspects of the threat to public safety and the optimum response desired from the public. This is a function of gathering information about the threat and almost always involves more than just a situation report of threat progress. The progression or interlinking of potential public threats as a result of a developing crisis needs to be understood. For instance, a river flood may threaten road and bridge travel but it can also contaminate water supplies, interrupt utility and fuel distribution, block emergency vehicle traffic and cause structural damage to roads, bridges and buildings. The local incident commander needs to understand all of these implications and potential threats. These decisions are supported by information in Section 1 of the Appendices.

Response Operations Assets and Resources: No one emergency response agency can be prepared to respond to every emergency. In the process of dealing with the emergency, communications with the public may be by way of an assisting agency or organization. It is important to understand that communications with this third party is as



important as communicating directly with the public but it requires some additional special knowledge and content considerations. It is critical to know who to contact and what to say when the time comes to ask for help. The VEM office is well equipped to support such requests and has an array of subject matter experts, information resources and agencies to support local emergency response managers. The support from State and federal resources is often specific to one kind of threat, one level of threat or a limited level of asset support. This guide will help both local and State emergency response managers in selecting the right resource to call. These decisions are supported by information in Section 2 of the Appendices.

Assistance and Guidelines on the development of content: For all emergency response managers, State and local, and for all crisis situations, the issue of informing the public and eliciting the desired response can be surprisingly complex. Although the psychology of human and group response to serious threats is a well studied science, it remains a complex and potentially difficult subject to deal with. There are also styles, methods and syntax of public announcements that should change depending on who is the audience and what is the nature of the threat. The rural resident might need an entirely different message than a urban business owner or given at a press conference to media reporters. This guide will discuss the decisions associated with the difficulty of content development. These decisions are supported by information in Section 3 of the Appendices.

This plan is designed to be used in conjunction with the normal decision-making hierarchy of the emergency response managers as a supplement to that decision-making process.

A key point to consider: if a risk to the community exists, the community deserves to be informed and/or consulted.

The nature of this decision making process is that it is best supported if the emergency management professionals involved have an understanding, in advance, of the decision making process and the availability of information resources. To that end, one goal of this communications guide is to provide the core material for learning and training in advance of a crisis. Ideally, emergency response managers will use this guide to establish their own basic guidelines and to select and study resources available for dealing with a variety of public communications situations, and to ensure that emergency response personnel and official public communicators are familiar with those resources and procedures.

Using this guide to provide basic information to emergency management professionals in State and local agencies allows them to establish their own risk communication program to guide them in times of crisis to effectively and efficiently make decisions about who, when and how to contact to communicate risk issues related to the community. It is directed towards the emergency management professionals who may be called upon before, during and after an incident to decide when and how to make presentations to the public as to how this incident may affect them. This guide is not intended to provide State and local government public information officers with methods of "spin control."

The issue of crisis public communications is complex because of the many variables of timing, risk, threat, resources and public response. These are subjects that independently vary from one crisis to the next and within each crisis making it difficult to provide a simple checklist of actions for any given scenario. Instead, this plan provides a compendium of useful information



resources and communication guidelines to assist in the decisions and process related to public communication of emergency/disaster issues. This guide is a supplement to SSF #14 of the Vermont Emergency Operations Plan (VEOP) and is not designed to replace training or more comprehensive emergency response management documents, guides or tutorials on public communication.

Throughout this guide, important information resources are identified that exist in other forms, from other sources and on other media. It is important to know this information exists but it is not useful to try to reproduce this information in this document. Such information is often too large, too complex or needs updating too often to be limited by a hardcopy document. Because of the accessibility from most locations to such large and complex information resources, internet sources are the primary resource listed, however, it is not the only source of such information. Large databases on CD-ROM, reference books and telephone resources can also be used. The VEM office also provides a large and in-depth information resource for most emergency management situations.

Perspective

VEM recognizes key decisions must be made by the public communicator before undertaking the public communication task. For instance:

· What is the real nature of the hazard - modest or serious?

· If a modest hazard, is the objective to reassure or prepare the public?

· If a serious hazard, is the objective to alert or evacuate? (Even if the hazard is serious, there is a need to reassure - panic benefits nobody).

Even if an incident commander views itself as “informing” its community, rather than alerting or reassuring it, a fundamental distinction in public communication is deciding whether people are likely to be more concerned than considered appropriate (overreact) or be less concerned than considered appropriate (under-react). Generally, experience has indicated that the public will tend to overreact and the media will focus on the most negative aspects of the public announcement. In such cases, emergency management agencies must focus much of their energies for handling an event by trying to:

Before Prepare the public for an impending threat possibility. Reduce the anxiety about potential emergencies that the agency considers unlikely.

During Prevent panic in mid-crisis and direct desired actions on the part of the public.

After Provide coping and recovery information. Prevent or reduce outrage about prior agency actions (or inaction).

Most emergency situation managers and agencies are experienced and familiar with providing information that alerts people to serious hazards. There are, however a lot of important



considerations that may not be immediately obvious that can make a significant difference in how the public will react to the information. Some of these considerations are listed in Section 2 of the Appendices. These special considerations pertain to the psychology and social responses that might be expected from the public as a group of individuals and as individual groups. There are also special considerations that should be given to dealing with the news and broadcast media. The media usually have a completely different agenda and perspective than the individual members of the public. Any flaws in the content or method of delivery of the crisis public announcement can be amplified by the media, potentially creating a more serious situation.

Plan Objectives

The objectives of this plan are to facilitate decisions related to communications with the public in times of crisis. These objectives can be reduced to the following three:

1. To support the factual assessment of the situation and determine whether a communications response is warranted. This is accomplished by providing information resources to make this assessment across most threats and hazards. This objective is supported by information in Section 1 of the Appendices.

2. To support the communications with other local, State and federal resources that should be informed about the situation and that can provide appropriate responses. . This objective is supported by information in Section 2 of the Appendices.

3. To support direct communications with the public to inform them and to support communications with the public utilizing various media sources for the purpose of:

Communicating facts about the crisis. Elicit a desired response from the public Minimize rumours. Restore order and/or confidence.

This objective is supported by information in Section 3 of the Appendices.

Using This Plan

The unique nature of the decision process of dealing with the public and the media is surprisingly complex and often underestimated by incident commands and emergency operations managers. Every emergency or crisis incident is different and has its own unique requirements. The variables of incident details, public response and available resources create such a large number of possible scenarios that it would be impossible to specify a plan of action for every contingency. As a result, the Crisis Public Information (CPI) Communications Information Supplement is intended to be a guide and decision support resource for local and unified incident commands and emergency operations managers.

Ideal Public Communications Team Activities



Under ideal circumstance, the distribution of public information at a time of crisis should best be handled by a team of experts in each of several aspects of the communications process. Although such an ideal team is rarely possible, the tasks involved almost always need to be performed by someone – in most cases, one person takes on the tasks and responsibilities of several people. It is, however, useful to examine the ideal and then adjust that ideal to the real-world situation of a given crisis and to specific position titles. To that end, the following is a list of generic actions, assignments, preparations and tasks for an ideal communications team that might be necessary in the period just before, during and after a crisis:

Before Event

An important and necessary communications activity exists in the pre-event and planning phases for a crisis. This period may be months or years before an event happens and involves an entirely different set of skills, resources, people and organizations. Specifically:

1. The director of communications has overall responsibility for planning and implementing a coordinated public education and awareness outreach plan for all emergency situations. Such plans usually take the form of public presentations at meetings, schools and special events as well as published information in pamphlets, web sites, door hangers, mailed literature and free handouts at public events. They may also include working with the media to deliver public awareness and educational presentations, reminders and discussion forums on radio and TV.

2. All public information officers assigned to the VEM crisis communications center should have access to all of these published resources as well as other information resources specific to the full range of possible threats to the public, including subject matter experts and applicable regulations and federal involvement requirements.

3. A team of public information officers (PIO) or Spokespersons are responsible for having preparing the content of these media releases, written pamphlets, guides and handouts, and delivering presentations and for editing and distributing other written, informational materials. This will often involve confirmation of facts with information resources, subject matter experts and applicable regulations and federal requirements. Other PIO duties may include:

a. A trained and qualified public information officer is assigned to write media releases of a general information nature about a wide variety of potential threats. This includes working with on-line (internet) resources within and outside the Vermont State government.

b. One or more public information officers or other trained officials are assigned to answer calls from the public and from news media and to gather information to provide answers to those inquiries. This may be include preparation of news packages, internet files and other information that can be prepared in advance but not released until an actual threat develops.

c. A public information officer or other trained official is assigned to work interactively with newspapers and radio and broadcast and cable television to develop a campaign of public awareness and outreach on every expected threat.



These broadcast presentations may be as small as a 15 second announcement of where other information can be found to an entire series of formal presentations on all aspects of a potential threat. Video tapes can also be made of these presentations for distribution to local communities.

d. A public information officer is responsible for arranging visits to local communities to make in-person presentations and to host discussion forum of threats to specific communities and environments. These visits can be coordinated with events (town meetings, fairs), groups (PTA, Boy Scouts, church groups) or as special events during local safety awareness campaigns

4. The publications specialist, or other public communications subject matter expert, is responsible for coordinating and/or preparing information for placement on the Internet and Intranet sites; for preparing and distributing information to local health departments and county public health nursing services

5. The VEM web coordinator is responsible for reviewing, approving and for placing appropriate materials relating to the emergency situation on the department’s Internet and Intranet sites.

6. The individual who serves as support staff for the Office of Communications, or as a replacement for that individual, has assumed responsibility for taking telephone messages; for distributing news releases and news advisories; for making copies; for obtaining supplies for public information officers; and for performing other support staff functions that may be required.

During Event

There are a number of people in both the local and State government that assume certain roles and responsibilities only upon being “activated” by a crisis event. These people usually have other duties within the government outside of a crisis event but often assume new titles and/or duties during an emergency situation. There are also authorities and management positions that change from one person to another as a crisis event evolves. For instance, the incident (on-scene) command (IC) might shift from a local fire department chief to a county or regional fire manager and then to a State fire authority. The IC title moves as each level of management authority takes over the crisis.

Management authority can also become more fragmented as an incident evolves. For instance, initially, the local fire department chief is also in charge of communications with the public and with the media. As the event evolves and the State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC) becomes involved, the duties of on-scene crisis management and communications with the public and with the media may be assumed by three or more different people, each with specialized skills in their areas.

In an idealized crisis event, the following duties and responsibilities might take place, performed by one or more people or an evolving group of people as the crisis develops:

1. The director of emergency operations has overall responsibility for handling communications for the emergency situation. This authority lies in the incident (on-scene) command (IC) or



unified command (UC) provided by the local emergency response managers, the State-Rapid Assessment and Assistance Team (S-RAAT), the Hazardous Materials Response Team (HMRT) or other special teams and SSFs.

2. In times of crisis, the director of communications reports directly to the IC or UC for actions related to communications within and outside of the local and State emergency response organizations. This includes any communications with the public.

3. All public information officers assigned to the VEM crisis communications center have been provided with equipment and information required to do their work with emphasis on information resources specific to the objective incident, including subject matter experts and applicable regulations and federal involvement requirements.

4. A team of public information officers (PIO) or Spokespersons are responsible for having news releases written, edited and distributed and for having news media inquiries handled. This involves confirmation of facts with the IC and release approval from the proper authority.

a) A trained and qualified public information officer is assigned to write news releases.

b) One or more public information officers or other trained officials are assigned to answer calls from the news media and to gather information to answers those inquiries.

c) A public information officer or other trained official is assigned to monitor newspapers and radio and television coverage of the emergency situation; to prepare regular briefing packets of newspaper stories; and to maintain a notebook(s) of news releases and other pertinent information regarding the emergency. This function also provides rumor control or corrections to public announcements that are in error or that have changed.

d) A public information officer is responsible for arranging news conferences, news briefings and television interviews or is assigned to assist in these tasks as needed.

5. The publications specialist, or other public communications subject matter expert, is responsible to preparing and distributing information and messages to department employees, as needed; for preparing information for placement on the department’s Internet and Intranet sites; for preparing and distributing information to local health departments and county public health nursing services; and for editing and distributing other written, informational materials as may be required.

6. The VEM web coordinator is responsible for reviewing, approving and for placing appropriate materials relating to the emergency situation on the department’s Internet and Intranet sites.

7. The individual who serves as support staff for the Office of Communications, or as a replacement for that individual, has assumed responsibility for taking telephone messages; for distributing news releases and news advisories; for making copies; for obtaining supplies for public information officers; and for performing any additional support staff functions that may be required.



After Event

After a crisis event, there are three primary communications tasks that should be implemented as soon as possible:

Establish an information center for the public affected by the crisis to call, visit on a web site or to go to, in person, to obtain information about the event and recovery from it. Such information might contain details of how to apply for financial assistance, insurance claims, clean up, decontamination supplies and other recovery details. It would also provide status reports on the condition of utilities, roads, water and other public and private infrastructure support damaged by the event.

Contact and collect information from the IC’s and UC’s, the SEOC and other local and State officials and emergency response managers that were involved in the crisis to obtain details of how the event developed and how well the response to the event was handled. This is essential to record “lessons learned” by the State officials and emergency response managers for future improvement and training as well as to support financial assistance, insurance claims, decontamination, clean up and other recovery events.

Formulate a series of news and information releases to be provided to the media and to local governments about the history and status of the crisis. The focus of these releases is to support the education and general preparation by the public for the next similar crisis. This action blends in with the duties cited above in the Before Event section.

1. The director of communications has overall responsibility for planning and implementing a coordinated public preparation education for all post-event situations. The focus is on the specific actions and public responses to the most recent crisis event with an emphasis on lauding the good actions and critiquing the poor responses.

2. The VEM crisis communications center should operate for a short period of time following an event to coordinate and finalize post-event activities and to refer people to other information resources specific to the most recent crisis event.

3. A team of public information officers (PIO) or Spokespersons are responsible for preparing the content of media releases, written pamphlets, guides and handouts, and delivering presentations and for editing and distributing other written, informational materials for public preparation education for the most recent and future similar event situations.

a) A public information officer or other trained official is assigned to work interactively with newspapers and radio and broadcast and cable television to develop a campaign of public awareness and outreach the most recent and future similar event situations. These broadcast presentations may be as small as a 15 second announcement of where other information can be found to an entire series of formal presentations on all aspects of the most recent and future similar crisis events. Video tapes can also be made of these presentations for distribution to local communities.



b) A public information officer is responsible for arranging visits to local communities to make in-person presentations and to host discussion forum of the most recent and future similar event situations to the specific communities and environments that were most affected by the crisis. These visits can be coordinated with local events (town meetings, fairs), groups (PTA, Boy Scouts, church groups) or as special events during local safety awareness campaigns

4. The publications specialist, or other public communications subject matter expert, is responsible for coordinating and/or preparing information for placement on the Internet and Intranet sites; for preparing and distributing information to local health departments and county public health nursing services relating to the most recent and future similar event situations.

5. The VEM web coordinator is responsible for reviewing, approving and for placing appropriate materials relating to the most recent and future similar event situations on the department’s Internet and Intranet sites.

6. The individual who serves as support staff for the Office of Communications, or as a replacement for that individual, has assumed responsibility for taking telephone messages; for distributing news releases and news advisories; for making copies; for obtaining supplies for public information officers; and for performing any additional support staff functions that may be required related to the most recent and future similar event situations.

Communications Resources

The on-scene incident commander (IC) or manager and all other decision makers involved with a given emergency event will, at some time, make a judgement call to notify additional resources or to ask for additional assistance. This help might come in the form of additional (1) decision support information, or (2) response operations assets and resources, or (3) to request assistance in event management. These three options all require information specific to the immediate need and situation. In some cases, these communications resources are intended to be accessed before an emergency event. For instance, resources related to regulations, general guidelines and training aids should be studied and learned before an event. Some resources are for slowly developing emergency events, such as a predicted storm or a spring flood. Still other resources are intended for those emergency response situations that require immediate decision support for a rapidly developing issue such as a hazmat spill.

To that end, this plan provides a number of contact, resource and asset lists that are sorted by various list elements to provide the on-scene incident manager the best and fastest information to meet his/her requirements.

Section 1, Appendices A, B, C:

Decision Support Information is provided in the form of lists of people, organizations and information resources. These lists include web sites, subject matter experts, libraries, documents, guidelines, and other information and decision support resources.

Section 2, Appendices D, E, F;



Assistance and Guidelines on the development of content. This is a general guideline of how to anticipate the response of the public to your announcement and how to word it so that it will have the desired response. This section also covers the special cautions that must be used in dealing with the news media.

Decisions and Decision Support

There are a number of critical decisions that are related to the final delivery of useful information to the public. The development of the content of that information is a function of information, experience and expert advice from a number of sources. Such a crisis public communications decision process might be simplified to look like this chart:

The above chart reflects an idealized but generic flow of critical information that allows the PIO or crisis spokesperson to make the appropriate decisions concerning the content and method of information distribution to the public. In actual practice, several of these functions may be handled by the same person. The lists and sources of the resources used to make these decisions are included in this plan and are described more in the next section titled “Decision Support”.

Although the above chart reflects the general flow of information for most situations, the players involved can change as a crisis develops. The public information decision makers may change as a result of escalation from one level of the event to the next. Making that decision to ask for outside help is one of the major decisions made by any incident command.


Public Communications Subject Matter Expert

IncidentOn-Site Information

SourcesIncident Command

EOC Duty Officer

(Crisis Manager)

Subject Matter Expertsand other information

resources

PIO or Spokesperson

MEDIAInformationDistribution


Implicit in this decision is the need to prepare the next level of decision makers for the impending pass of control to them. This is done by notifying them in the early stages of the crisis that they might be called upon for assistance and then keeping them in the look of information development as the incident progresses. This allows them to follow along with your actions and the threat development while preparing their own resources for potential future support. It might also allow them to make independent offers of assistance if they are aware of assets that they have that might not be readily available to the local incident command.

Any and all collected information about the incident must also be prepared to pass to this next level. This can be facilitated if a log is kept of the progression of events and assets used. Having someone other than the incident command (IC) record these events as their sole responsibility assure that the log is kept current, complete and relieves the IC of that task.

A decision sequence such as that just described might be displayed in its generic form like this:

The green lines reflect the process of transferring on-scene control to the next level of emergency managers. The blue lines reflect the exchange of information and notification leading up to the transfer on-scene control to the next level of emergency managers. The red lines and grey person icons represents the communications by the on-scene control to the ever growing public.

The three levels of the crisis that might be followed in this escalation process are these:

Level I – Local Single or multiple communities. Response within the capabilities of the town or routine mutual aid partners.


Agency StateEscalation

Decision

LocalPublic

ExtendedLocalPublic

ExpandedPublic

Escalation

Decision

Local

Authorities

FEDGov

Level I Level II Level III


Level II – Minor Single or Multiple Communities - Regional within the State. Beyond the capabilities of Local Responders & routine Mutual Aid Partners. Local Emergencies may be Requested & Declared, State Request for Federal Assistance Considered & Requested, if needed.

Level III – Major State/Multi-State/Federal. State Declaration of Emergency and/or Request for Federal Assistance likely.

More details of these three levels are provided in Appendix D.

Although the above chart represents the general sequence of decisions as a crisis evolves, the processes, resources and information needed by decision makers at each escalation decision is more complex than portrayed in this simple view.

It is important to note that any decision to escalate to the next level in support or resource involvement cannot be made in isolation by the incident command. It must be fully coordinated with the next higher level of management, control and support to allow them to prepare for the assumption of the duties and responsibilities and to properly prepare the resources needed. This decision process might be portrayed in a general manner in the following chart:

The above chart reflects the potential sequence of events to make each decision to escalate. Note that the crisis public information (CPI) plan is a supporting resource for several of the process steps by providing decision support information. That decision support information is described more in the following section.

Terrorist Threats – A Special Case

The above decision process will serve as a general guideline for the majority of threats and emergencies, however, there is one threat that is so unique that it deserves special treatment. In this era of post-9/11 and Middle East conflicts, the risk of a terrorist threat is much greater. Such threats or attacks have many possible implications that are unique. Among these is the


Evaluate Crisis

Decision

toEscalate

Initiate Appropriate Actions

Appropriate PIO &/or Spokesperso

n

POC's ofNext LevelSupport

SME's and Other Resources

Projections of Crisis

Weather

CPI & EMSPlans

On-sceneEvent

Authority

No

Yes

Public

Internet

Leveraged Technologyfor Public

Outreach

Public Emergency Action Information


intelligence aspects of those involved. It is unlikely that the threat originates from one or two individuals. More likely, it will be the concerted efforts of a larger, more organized group that may be planning other actions against citizens of the US. It is for this reason that the VEM office requires that ANY threat or implication of a threat that might have any possibility of being a terrorist action should be reported immediately to the State VEM office to:

Vermont Emergency Management 103 South Main Street

Waterbury, VT 05671-2101 (802) 244-8721 - 1-800-347-0488

The Homeland Security Unit of the Vermont Department of Public Safety has created a very comprehensive resource on their website titled “VERMONT FIRST RESPONDER GUIDE TO AN ACT OF TERRORIST”. By clicking on this link or by visiting this site:

http://www.dps.state.vt.us/homeland/response_index.html

You should access this guide for training, planning and preparation for this kind of crisis. See Appendix B for additional internet accessible resources related to the response to a Terrorist act.

Decision Support Resources

Decision support is the process of providing the decision maker with all of the resources and information in order to apply his experience and knowledge of the current events of the crisis to make the best possible choices at that time. In order to do that, the incident command needs ready access to information resources and other support information. Several of the Appendices of this plan are designed to provide that information in as easy to use format as possible. In some cases, the Appendices will refer to resources that are only available from other sources that are also provided by the VEM office or by other State and federal information resources.

Appendix A: Index of Vermont Information ResourcesA sorted listing and reference to other Vermont information resources including documents, web sites, offices, subject matter experts and reference library/collections.

Appendix B: Index of Non-Vermont Information ResourcesA sorted listing and reference to other academic, State and federal information resources (outside of Vermont) including documents, web sites, offices, subject matter experts and reference library/collections.

Appendix C: Index of Public Media ResourcesA series of tables providing various sorted lists of the radio, television and newspapers in and near the State of Vermont. This list includes the primary point of contact, phone number and email of the organization.

Communications Readiness

Communications readiness falls into two categories:






1. Management Readiness for the crisis response mangers, incident command and other emergency responders. Communications readiness for the emergency response manager pertains primarily to pre-event preparation, study and learning in anticipation of the challenges that may be faced during an emergency.

2. Public Readiness of the general public to prepare for and deal with an impending or future crisis. Communications readiness also applies to the general public in the form of public education, training, outreach and public awareness campaigns to allow them to best prepare of an emergency and to allow the emergency response manager to establish the proper attitudes, expectations and mind-set in the public’s perspective of what might be the challenges that may be faced during a crisis.

With a focus on the content, format and form of the crisis public communication, this section provides insights, guidelines and lessons learned about how to produce safe, effective and informative public notifications using public accessible media and ad hoc commentary.

Management ReadinessThe most important aspect of communicating to the public and media concerning an emergency or crisis is to not add to the distress, panic or confusion of the event. This is, in fact, a difficult challenge because of the wide range of interests, responses and personalities involved. It is complicated by an equally wide range of attitudes, aptitudes and pre-conceived notions about the threat or the source of the information. As a result of years of trial and error, a number of general lessons learned have evolved out of the experience of hundreds of other public service organizations that have proven to be useful in planning, preparing and delivery of information to the general public and to the media. Some of these “lessons learned” are listed in Section 3 of the Appendices (D, E, F).

Training and mock exercises are among the most effective methods to prepare emergency response managers for the real events. Such exercises are commonly used for training in medical, homeland security, nuclear power and command center training. There is, however, a common omission from the usual training exercise. In most cases, the training syllabus or lesson plan calls for various public announcements to be made by the emergency response managers but they often fail to simulate the variety of potential public responses to these announcements. As you will see in Appendix Section 3, there can be a variety of good and bad reactions to these public announcements that can range from compliance to panic. If the exercise has a moderator or exercise judge, they can add to the realism by carefully examining the content, method and syntax of the simulated announcements and provide a simulated response in the context of the exercise scenario. For instance, an improperly worded announcement of a fast moving forest fire might prompt homeowners to attempt to fight the fire rather than flee the area – creating a serious rescue problem for the already burdened fire fighters. In a flood scenario exercise, the omission of a timely warning that the water supply might be contaminated might lead to a delayed burden on the healthcare services and medical supplies. A delay in a simulated evacuation order might not take into consideration that many residents and business owners might further delay departure to attempt to save their belongings – creating greater risks and perhaps compounding the traffic control problem with overloaded cars and trucks. There can be a large variety of simulated response by the general public, simulated issues of putting together the announcement and getting the media or other information distribution involved and in the implications and impacts of these problems. It is



important for emergency response managers to include these aspects in their training and exercise efforts in order to better prepare for similar problems in a real crisis.

The Crisis Public Information Communications Supplement should be reviewed and studied well in advance of any anticipated emergency. Local and State officials can make use of this information to pre-plan and prepare their own internal forms, templates and guidelines to support generic and specific events based on the guidelines, lessons learned and studies provided in this section and it’s appendices.

In support of the readiness of the emergency response manager, there are several Appendices referred to that contain various guidelines, research studies and sample templates for the emergency or crisis spokesperson or PIO. These include:

Appendix D: Behavioral Response to Threats & EmergenciesA extensive set of reports and discussions of how people, as individuals and in groups, react, make decisions and respond to information that affects their safety which includes the following:

Individual Decision Mechanisms in the Human MindGroup Decision Mechanisms in the Human MindAvoiding Group ThinkThe Outrage Factor

Appendix E: Media Relations Guidelines A compilation of do’s and don’t when making public announcement related to a threat to public safety which includes the following:

Media Relations RemindersHandling Media InterviewsDo's and Don'ts During the Interview process

Appendix F: Sample ScriptsSample News Release - Fill-in the blank forms of typical announcements for the generic crisis situation.

Public Readiness

Readiness of the general public to prepare for and deal with an impending or future crisis begins with the ability to communicate with them. This is often a choice of which technology to use under different circumstances. It can also be limited by access, budget and operator skills in smaller communities and rural areas. Exploring various technologies that can be applied at different periods of time in the evolution of a crisis or under various conditions of the emergency can be a useful exercise to do before the technology is needed. Establishing priorities and requirements under various scenarios can help you determine where to invest time, effort and money. For instance, determining that your community wants to maintain contact under the most adverse weather conditions will probably limit your technology choices to battery operated broadcast radios, 2-way radios and cell phones. If, however, you are confident that most emergencies will allow for contact with affected residents while power and phone service is still working, then your choices open up to other communications technologies. Below is listed a few



of the most common technologies but there are others – such as wireless internet, shortwave/ham radio, sirens and others.

Technology Selection

· Web sites: The easiest and among the most effective is the use of the internet. Even small communities can make effective use of existing online information resources such as those described in Appendix Section A. There are numerous offers to post free web sites that can be used for local creation of an informative online resource that can provide very localized and specific information. It can be nearly as effective to provide a printed brochure listing VEM and other Vermont and federal online resources – some of which can be extracted from this document. Web sites are effective in the Pre-Event phase and for the delivery of in-depth details about all aspects of a threat. They are less effective as the crisis evolves because they may need constant maintenance or those accessing it may lose their means of connection.

· Voice Mail: Not every Vermont citizen has or makes use of an internet capable computer but they may still want to access a large variety of information. One way to do this is with voice mail. The simplest form of voice mail is a telephone answering device (TAD). Many TAD’s have an “announcement only” feature that can be used to get out a single but important message. Some TADs allow for the creation of “mail boxes” in which you can place different outgoing messages on any of 2 to 5 mailboxes. A much more powerful use of voice mail can be achieved with a computer. Even a relatively old or slow computer can be used effectively as a voice mail server. Software for this use is inexpensive (usually under $50) and can be set up with hundreds of messages and very sophisticated message handling. In its most advanced form, a brochure or mailed flyer is provided to local citizens that lists dozens or perhaps hundreds of topics of interest and provides a “message number” for each. A citizen can look up a topic he or she wants to know about and note its message number. Then they would call the listed number and enter the message number. The voice mail server then recites the message on that topic over the phone. The topics and messages are created in small, well defined areas of interest. A single threat, such as flooding, might have dozens of message topics associated with it. For instance – topics might include: How to prepare your farm equipment for a flood; What to do to your house to prepare for a flood; Who to contact for emergency aid; What are the nearest shelters, etc. Voice mail can service people in the Pre-Event phase for a variety of short information bites or for one-time, very important real-time updates in the During Phase. Voice mail’s greatest offering is in rapid, flexible, inexpensive information deployment to people without internet connections.

· Broadcast Phone Calls: A variation on the voice mail theme is to use a device that proactively calls out to private numbers and provides a recorded message. Devices that perform this function can be preprogrammed with every number that might be affected by any threat and then selectively chosen by geographic area, or by age of residents or other parameters. The devices can be set to call back any numbers that do not answer and or that are answered by a recording device. An example of the use of this kind of device is to call homes that are affected by a hazmat spill. It is most useful in the During Phase for short and explicit messages of immediate action.



· Television and Radio: Collectively referred to as the broadcast media, radio and television also includes cable channels. Their use depends on a variety of factors that cannot be verified such as whether a resident has their radio or TV on and are listening to it; whether they have it on the channel(s) that are broadcasting the emergency message and whether the nature of the emergency has already interrupted their ability to receive the messages. In general, Television is regarded as being useful as a general tool for early warning and updates in the Pre-Event and Post phases while radio is regarded a more useful in the late preparation and early During phase of an event. Appendix C lists all of the public media sources in Vermont but the VEM office can assist you in the selection of the specific one that can be most useful to you for a given emergency.

· Two-Way Radios: In some communities, the use of radios that can transmit and receive (transceivers or “walkie-talkies”) may have some uses to reach certain residents. This also includes cell phones. If a rural route is particularly isolated, the residents can form a relay and forwarding network to remain in contact in the bad weather that might down power and phone lines and limit vehicle access. The shortest distances (up to 4-5 miles) can be reliably covered by license free FRS or GMRS 2-way radios. Longer ranges (out to 8 miles) can be achieved with licensed VHF and UHF radios. Using car or home-based external antennas and a single-sideband CB radio can achieve ranges of up to 20 miles. All of these choices are relatively inexpensive, can be powered by batteries and used by the average citizen. They can also be used by people as they are in transit during an emergency and can report progress or stuck or blocked vehicles. Most have a call or alert signal that “rings” the number to announce an incoming call. It should be noted that even powerful radios and cell phones can have shadow effects of lost signal behind ridge lines, mountains or in deep valleys and ravines. Any investment in this technology should be tested in the actual areas of use before purchase.

Readiness of the general public to prepare for and deal with an impending or future crisis involves a combination of several communications techniques including public education, training, outreach and public awareness campaigns. Such readiness may also involve the use of a variety of media such as internet information resources, movies and film strips for libraries and schools, brochures and pamphlets and local presentations by guest speakers. The intent is to provide the public with information that will allow them to best prepare for an emergency and to establish the proper attitudes, expectations and mind-set in the public’s perspective of the challenges that may be faced during a crisis.

When Mt. St. Helens, in Washington State, blew up, there were 57 people that died because they did not heed warnings because they did not think they were in any imminent danger. Those residents that had been to local public meetings and presentations understood that the blast might reach out five to seven miles from the base of the mountain (which it did) and threaten lives and destroy property. These educated residents evacuated the area well in advance of the final explosion. It was public education and outreach programs that saved lives.

Public education can be delivered in many forms from mailed out pamphlets and brochures to live group presentations. Flyers and meeting announcements may be combined with other mailings from local businesses such as added it to the local electric power company’s monthly billing. Bulk mailing rates from the US Postal service can also be an inexpensive way to distribute larger documents or brochures.



Live group presentation is by far the most effective and can be combined with other kinds of meetings such as annual town meetings, school events or during special holiday events. At such meetings, an emergency response professional would make a presentation of his/her area of expertise – such as fire fighting, flood control, public health, etc. The real value of these meetings is to receive and make note of the questions asked by the residents and to respond to their specific needs. By listening to the trends of questions and the detail being asked, you can get a good idea of the level of awareness, attitudes and perspectives of the residents. If they seem very concerned about a specific threat such as forest fire, flood or severe weather, then you can direct your education efforts in those areas. If they are asking questions about how to fight a forest fire or protect their home from a flood, you might want to address the risks of such actions by untrained people. Such discussions can be as much help to the public as it is to the emergency responders and future incident commands.

One of the most effective methods of public education is to get people involved in the emergency response itself. The American Red Cross offers numerous safety and first aid courses that can result in certifications at various skill levels. Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, hospitals, fire departments and other groups have a variety of training and certification programs that can result in trained people that can provide additional assistance in a crisis. This also results in a more educated and informed populace that will have a better understanding of the nature of the threat they might face.



Follow Up

In an earlier section, the post-event activities related to public communications were discussed. In addition to those activities, there are other follow-up actions that can provide for a continuous process improvement in addresses future emergencies. These follow-up actions fall into three categories:

1. Inter and intra-organizational collaboration, communications and cooperation; During and in the immediate aftermath of an event, senior and mid-level emergency managers and responders should make notes of what they are doing and why. After the event, these notes should be formalized into a central collection of archived information about the event. Comments or recommendations about how inter and intra-organizational collaboration, communications and cooperation could be improved should be collated into an “after-action report” that provides the collective benefit of insights and improvements from all levels of the crisis management.

2. Media relationships and the mechanics and technology of public communications: The PIOs, spokespersons and others related and involved in the actual contact with the public should review the content, methods used and responses achieved of all of the public announcements during and following the crisis event. A central authority, such as VEM or the State PIO’s office, should provide a means for the collection of these reviews using a web site or other automated survey and analysis tool. The review should include an examination of the effectiveness of the content, media and technology used to delivery information to the public and how well the public responded to the information. Comments or recommendations about how to improve the process of public communications and media cooperation should be collated into an “after-action report” that provides the collective benefit of insights and improvements from all levels of the public communications management.

3. Event Evaluation and Emergency Response Improvement: Ideally, a board of review consisting of a senior VEM manager, representatives of the lead IC/UC and representatives of the lead PIO or spokesperson involved in the incident would meet and review all of the collected information and issue a final event evaluation. This report should be used by the highest authorities within the State and local governments to make and prioritize changes and formulate budgets.



Appendix Index

Appendix Section 1 - Decision Support Information Resources..........................................24

Appendix A: Index of Vermont Information Resources................................................................25Web Sites by Organization..............................................................................................25Web Sites by Threat or Incident.......................................................................................27Index of Vermont State approved Subject Matter Experts...............................................28

Appendix B: Index of Non-Vermont Information Resources........................................................30Federal Emergency Management and Response Services.............................................30Federal Threat Support Information Resources and Web Sites......................................35Internet References For Terrorism Response: Most of these titles are also internet links..........................................................................................................................................43

Appendix C: Index of Vermont Public Media Resources.............................................................45

Appendix Section 2 - Assistance and Guidelines on the development of content.............51

Appendix D: Behavioral Response to Threats & Emergencies...................................................52Individual Decision Mechanisms in the Human Mind.......................................................52Group Decision Mechanisms in the Human Mind............................................................54Avoiding Group Think......................................................................................................57The Outrage Factor..........................................................................................................58

Appendix E: Media Relations Guidelines.....................................................................................61Media Relations Reminders.............................................................................................62Handling Media Interviews...............................................................................................62Do's and Don'ts During the Interview process.................................................................63

Appendix F: Sample Scripts........................................................................................................65Sample News Release.....................................................................................................65



Appendix Section 1 - Decision Support Information Resources

Section 1, Appendices A, B, C:

Decision Support Information is provided in the form of lists of people, organizations and information resources. These lists include web sites, subject matter experts, libraries, documents, guidelines, and other information and decision support resources.



Appendix A: Index of Vermont Information Resources

Web Sites by Organization

The following are internet-based information sources the Vermont State government that are provided for reference and research purposes in the Pre, During and Post (After) incident periods. In the periods before and after an incident, it can be useful to have a wide range of information resources that can be used for a variety of research topics.

In the following tables, the column:

WHEN shows which Phase of an incident that the information source might be best used – P = Pre-event, D = During the incident and A = After the incident.

WHAT column gives some indication of the general nature of the content of the information source: M=Medical, T=Transportation, C=Chemical and Hazardous Materials, W=Weather, F=Fire, S=Safety, L=Law, P=Management Planning, : I=General Information, research material and links to other information sources, R=Recovery, H=Homeland Security and Terrorism, E=Environmental

Elected State-wide Officials When WhatGovernor (Office of ) <http://www.vermont.gov/governor/> P,D,A I,P,R,HLieutenant Governor (Office of) <http://www.ltgov.state.vt.us/> P,D,A I,P,R,HSecretary of State (Office of) <http://www.sec.state.vt.us/> P,A I,P,R

Agencies When WhatAgriculture, Food & Markets (Agency of)

<http://www.vermontagriculture.com/>

P,D,A C,E,S,I,P

Commerce & Community Development (Agency of) (CCD)

<http://www.state.vt.us/dca/> P,A I,P,R

Human Services (Agency of) (AHS)

<http://www.ahs.state.vt.us/> P,A I,P

Natural Resources (Agency of)(ANR)

<http://www.anr.state.vt.us/> P,D,A I,P,E,R

Transportation (Agency of) (AOT)

<http://www.aot.state.vt.us/> P,D,A T,C,S,L,P,I,R

Departments When WhatAging & Disabilities (Dept. of)(AHS)

<http://www.dad.state.vt.us/> P I,P

Banking, Insurance, Securities & Health Care Administration (Dept. of)

<http://www.bishca.state.vt.us/> P,A I,P,M,L,R

Buildings and General Services (Dept. of)(Admin)

<http://www.bgs.state.vt.us/> P,A I,P,R

Chief Information Officer (Office <http://www.cio.stat7e.vt.us/> P,A I,P



Departments When Whatof)(CIO) Children and Families (Dept. for)(AHS) - formerly Social & Rehabilitation Services (SRS)

<http://www.dcf.state.vt.us/> P,A I,P,M

Defender General (Office of) <http://www.defgen.state.vt.us> P,A LDevelopmental & Mental Health Services (Dept. of) (AHS)

<http://www.ddmhs.state.vt.us/> P,A M,I,P

Economic Development (Dept. of)(CCD)

<http://www.thinkvermont.com/> P,A I,P,R

Emergency Management <http://www.dps.state.vt.us/vem/> P,D,A I,P,H,R,W,S

Environmental Conservation (Dept. of)(ANR)

<http://www.anr.state.vt.us/dec/dec.htm>

P,A E,I,P

Fish & Wildlife (Dept. of)(ANR) <http://www.vtfishandwildlife.com> P,D,A E,I,PForests, Parks & Recreation (Dept. of)(ANR)

<http://www.state.vt.us/anr/fpr/index.htm>

P,D,A E,I,P,S

Health (Dept. of)(AHS) <http://www.healthyvermonters.info/> P,D,A M,S,I,PHomeland Security <http://www.vthomelandsecurity.org/> P,D,A HHousing & Community Affairs (Dept. of)(CCD)

<http://www.state.vt.us/dca/housing> P,A I,P,R

Information & Innovation (Dept. of)(Admin)

<http://www.dii.state.vt.us/> P,A I,P

Libraries (Dept. of)(Admin) <http://dol.state.vt.us> P,A I,PMotor Vehicles (Dept. of)(AOT) <http://www.aot.state.vt.us/dmv/

dmvhp.htm>P,D,A T,S,I,P

Prevention, Assistance, Transition & Health Access (Dept. of)(AHS) - formerly Social Welfare

<http://www.dpath.state.vt.us/> P,A M,I,P

Public Safety (Dept. of) <http://www.dps.state.vt.us/> P,D,A S,P,IPublic Service (Dept. of) <http://www.state.vt.us/psd/> P,A P,IVermont State Police <http://www.vtsp.org/> P,D,A H,I,P,TTourism & Marketing (Dept. of)(CCD)

<http://www.VermontVacation.com/> P,A R,P,I

Veterans Affairs (Dept. of) <http://www.va.state.vt.us/> P,A P,I,R

Boards, Commissions, Councils, etc. When WhatCrime Victim Services (Center for)

<http://www.ccvs.state.vt.us/> P,D,A H,I,P

Economic Development Authority (VEDA)

<http://www.state.vt.us/veda/> P,A R,P,I

Economic Progress Council (VEPC)

<http://www.thinkvermont.com/vepc/vepc_intro.cfm>

P,A R,P,I

Enhanced 9-1-1 Board

<http://www.state.vt.us/e911/> P,D,A R,P,I



Boards, Commissions, Councils, etc. When WhatEnvironmental Board

<http://www.state.vt.us/envboard/> P,A E,P,I

Vermont Fire Service Training Council

<http://www.vtfireacademy.org/> P,A F,C,P,I

Geographic Information System

<http://www.vcgi.org/> P,A P,I

Governor's Bipartisan Commission on Health Care Availability & Affordability

<http://www.state.vt.us/health/commission/> P,A M,P,I,R

Governor's Highway Safety Program (Dept. of Public Safety)

<http://www.vthighwaysafety.com/> P,A S,T,P,I

Military Property and Installations Office

<http://www.mil.state.vt.us/> P,D,A P,I,T,R

National and Community Service (Commission on)

<http://www.state.vt.us/cncs/> P,A P,I,R

Natural Resources Board

<http://www.nrb.state.vt.us> P,A E,P,I

Nuclear Safety at Vermont Yankee

<http://www.vtnuclearsafety.com/> P,D,A C,E,M,P,I

Transportation Board

<http://www.aot.state.vt.us/tboard.htm> P,A T,L,C,P,I

Water Resources Board

<http://www.state.vt.us/wtrboard/> P,A E,C,P,I

Other Divisions When WhatAir National Guard <http://www.vtang.org/> P,D,A H,TNational Guard <http://www.vtguard.com/> P,D,A H,TServiceNet - a guide to services to help Vermont citizens within their own communities

<http://www.ahs.state.vt.us/services/> P,A R,I,P

State Parks (Dept. of Forest, Parks & Recreation)

<http://www.vtstateparks.com/> P,A E,P,I

VALS (Vermont Automated Libraries System)

<http://www.state.vt.us/libraries/dol/dol.htm> P,A I,P

Appendix A: Cont’d - Vermont Information Resources



Web Sites by Threat or Incident

Threat or IncidentTerrorism VT First

ResponderGuide to an Act of Terrorism


Ambulance and First Responder

VT Ambulance and First Responder Services

http://www.healthyvermonters.info/hp/ems/emstemplate2.shtml

Water Systems

Water Systems Security Breach First Response Assistance

http://www.anr.state.vt.us/site/html/contact.htm

Hazardous Materials

VT Hazardous Materials Response Team

http://170.222.24.9/vem/haz_mat.html

Hazardous Materials Spill

Emergency Hazardous Materials Spill Reporting


Emergency Response Child Care

Emergency Response Planning Guide For Child Care

http://www.state.vt.us/srs/childcare/erp.htm

Vermont Road Travel

VT Road and Travel Conditions

http://67.106.3.242/

Reportable Diseases

Reportable Disease List and Regulations

http://www.healthyvermonters.info/hs/epi/idepi/reportable/reportable.shtml

Health Emergency Preparedness

Health Emergency Preparedness Information Resources

http://www.healthyvermonters.info/prepared.shtml

Emergency Radiological

Emergency Management

http://170.222.24.9/vem/request.html


http://170.222.24.9/vem/request.html

http://www.healthyvermonters.info/prepared.shtml

http://www.healthyvermonters.info/hs/epi/idepi/reportable/reportable.shtml

http://67.106.3.242/

http://www.state.vt.us/srs/childcare/erp.htm


http://170.222.24.9/vem/haz_mat.html


http://www.healthyvermonters.info/hp/ems/emstemplate2.shtml



Threat or IncidentResponse Radiological

Emergency Response

Boating Accidents

Reporting of all Boating Accidents

http://www.boatsafe.com/nauticalknowhow/accident.htm

Fire Incident Reporting

VT Fire Incident Reporting System (VFIRS)

http://www.state.vt.us/labind/Fire/fireprevention.htm

Local Emergency Management Director's Guide

The Local Emergency Management Director's Guide

http://www.dps.state.vt.us/vem/emd/director_menu.html

Vermont’s Child Abduction Alert

Vermont’s Amber Child Abduction Alert

http://www.dps.state.vt.us/vtsp/amber/about.htm

All Emergency Management Information Links

VT Emergency Management Information Links

http://www.dps.state.vt.us/vem/vem_links.htm

All VT State Government

Access VT State Government

http://www.vermont.gov/egovernment/govindex.html


http://www.vermont.gov/egovernment/govindex.html

http://www.dps.state.vt.us/vem/vem_links.htm

http://www.dps.state.vt.us/vtsp/amber/about.htm

http://www.dps.state.vt.us/vem/emd/director_menu.html

http://www.state.vt.us/labind/Fire/fireprevention.htm

http://www.boatsafe.com/nauticalknowhow/accident.htm


Appendix A: Cont’d - Vermont Information Resources

Index of Vermont State approved Subject Matter Experts

There is a limit to the training, preparation and planning that an emergency response manager or incident command can do prior to a crisis. The large number of variables as well as the complexity of some events, such as HAZMAT or biohazards, can make it absolutely essential that there be subject matter experts (SMEs) available to refer these complex questions to. The VEM office maintains a list of the currently qualified SMEs, their locations and areas of expertise. By contacting the VEM office, you can tap into this valuable resource.

It should be noted that the available SMEs can be and should be used for a variety of reasons:

1. The most obvious is because of their education, experience and knowledge of their field of expertise. For instance the biohazard SMEs are doctors or other highly qualified medical and healthcare professionals. The HAZMAT SMEs may be chemists with advanced degrees. In all cases, the SME will have an in-depth knowledge of their field of expertise that can support your decisions and assist you in providing the correct information to the public during and after the crisis.

2. The SMEs can also assist you in making on-site decisions related to a rapidly evolving crisis. You may be able to find the information you need if you have enough time to research it but during an evolving event, you need answers fast and accurately about the nature of the threat and how best to respond to it. Such advise can come from your SME.

3. You may be very experienced in dealing with a threat such as a fire or flood but there are often aspects of such events that have far reaching implications. Floods can contaminate the water supply or interrupt underground utilities and cause other ancillary damage. Floods can also cause damage or create problems that are not so apparent such as causing underground fuel tanks or cemetery coffins to float out of the ground. An SME with specific experience in flood damage may be able to advise you on what and when to expect such uncommon events in the context of a much larger crisis. SMEs in other skill areas can assist in fires, hazmat, biohazards and most other threats. They can provide you with the insight and the timely reminder of all of the implications and expectations of the crisis so that you can make better decisions about what to tell or ask of the affected public.

4. The support that can be offered by the SMEs can also be applied to areas that you feel very comfortable with performing yourself. You might want to consider this for several reasons. It allows you to delegate an important aspect of the crisis management to someone that can handle it. It also allows you to take advantage of the specialized experience that the SME may have that you do not. One area that is of particular concern in this regard is the development of the content of public announcements during a crisis. An SME with specific experience in this area, such as a trained PIO or a qualified spokesperson, will know how to collect the right information and formulate it into the most effective content for a given situation. The complexity of this task may become more



apparent after you have read Appendix Section 3 of this document which discusses the difficulty of communications with the public and with the media.

In all cases, remember that most SMEs that you contact through the VEM office may need time to respond and to get up to speed on the situation. You cannot call them and expect quick answers over the phone without giving them that time to fully understand the situation. They will help you anticipate the development of the crisis you face but you have to anticipate the need for calling them in advance of using their services.



Appendix B: Index of Non-Vermont Information Resources

Federal Emergency Management and Response Services

Federal emergency response services and assets are available from a variety of sources. Below is a list of federal resources divided into the type of service provided.

Federal Communications Assuring the provision of federal telecommunications support to federal, state and local response efforts.

Emergency Managers Weather Information Network - As an integral part of its mission, the National Weather Service (NWS) recognizes the need to provide the emergency management community with access to a set of NWS warnings, watches, forecasts, and other products at no recurring cost. Toward that end, the Emergency Managers Weather Information Network (EMWIN) system was developed. EMWIN is a suite of data access methods which make available a live stream of weather and other critical emergency information.

FEMA: Media Resources - FEMA's Media web page was created to assist the press in covering the agency and in gathering information for disaster-related news stories. The media section includes the latest advisories, breaking news, and disaster archives. It also provides downloadable, high-resolution photos and graphics, audio spots, biographies, speeches, background information and fact sheets, and a listing of FEMA public affairs officers. In addition, reporters can enroll in a list-serve to receive FEMA press releases via e-mail.

Federal Energy Helping to restore the nation’s energy systems following a Presidentially declared disaster or emergency.

U.S. Department of Energy - The DOE site contains technical information as well as scientific and educational programs for technology, policy, and institutional leadership relevant to achieving efficiency in energy use.

Federal Firefighting Detecting and suppressing wild land, rural and urban fires resulting from or occurring coincidentally with a major disaster or emergency.

Air Force Reserve Command Fire - This site contains information regarding fire department training, including FEMA/NFA training products. It also contains information about IFSTA certification and provides many resources to help in certification. Also located at the site are fire safety materials, links, and other helpful information. If you're in the fire protection business, you'll want to visit this site. Of course all materials are free of charge.

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) - The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) is a federal law enforcement agency that is responsible for investigating arson and bombing incidents of a federal nature. ATF has 4 National Response Teams (NRTs) that respond to major arson and bombing incidents within 24



hours. ATF also signed a Memorandum of Agreement with USFA and others to produce a state-of-the-art CD/ROM/virtual reality arson investigation training program

U.S. Fire Administration - USFA provides national leadership in fire training, data collection, technology and public education and awareness, supporting the efforts of local communities to save lives and reduce injuries and property loss due to fire.

Federal Food Identifying, securing and arranging for the transportation of food assistance to affected areas and/or authorizing disaster Food Stamp assistance.

Department of Agriculture - USDA program missions, agencies and programs, USDA's news and current information, Government Information Locator Service, and Topical Guide to Agricultural Programs.

Federal Hazardous Materials Providing federal assistance to state and local governments in response to an actual or potential discharge and/or release of hazardous materials.

Environmental Protection Agency - Access to EPA documents describing environmental information, as well as a number of links to Information Locators that can be obtained from the EPA and related organizations. Also, EPA's Public Information Center available to provide assistance in accessing environmental information.

Environmental Protection Agency's Global Warming Web Site - At this web site you will find information pertaining to the science of global warming; current and projected impacts of global warming; international and U.S. Government policies and programs; opportunities for individuals and corporations to help stop global warming; and state and local actions that help mitigate greenhouse gas emissions.

EPA Chemical Emergency Preparedness and Prevention Office (CEPPO) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Chemical Emergency Preparedness and Prevention Office (CEPPO) provides leadership, advocacy, and assistance to: 1) prevent and prepare for chemical emergencies; 2) respond to environmental crises; and 3) inform the public about chemical hazards in their community. To protect human health and the environment CEPPO develops, implements, and coordinates regulatory and nonregulatory programs. The office's Web site includes pages on Prevention and Risk Management, Preparedness - Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know, Emergency Response, International Programs, and Counter-Terrorism. It also provides sections on Databases and Software, Laws and Regulations, and Publications.

National Response Team - The National Response Team's membership consists of 16 federal agencies with interests and expertise in various aspects of emergency response to pollution incidents. The NRT provides policy guidance prior to an incident and assistance as requested by an On-Scene Coordinator via a Regional Response Team during an incident. NRT assistance usually takes the form of technical advice, access to additional resources/equipment or coordination with other RRTs.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) - The NRC offers programs to make agency, licensee, and nuclear industry information available to the public. Includes improved



standard technical specifications, NRC occupational radiation exposure information, plant information books and public documents.

Federal Health and Medical Providing supplemental assistance to state and local governments to help them meet the health and medical needs of victims in a major disaster.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) - This mission of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is to promote health and quality of life by preventing and controlling disease, injury, and disability. The CDC is located in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, and is an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Emergency Preparedness (OEP) - The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Emergency Preparedness (OEP) has responsibility for managing and coordinating federal health, medical, and health-related social services and recovery to major emergencies and federally declared disasters. Working in partnership with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and other federal agencies, OEP serves as the lead agency for health and medical services within the Federal Response Plan. OEP also directs and manages the National Disaster Medical System (NDMS) - a cooperative asset-sharing partnership among HHS, the Department of Defense, the Department of Veterans Affairs, FEMA, state and local governments, private businesses, and civilian volunteers. The OEP Web site provides background information about the office and the NDMS system, as well as contacts, links, and information about the annual NDMS conference.

Federal Information and Planning Collecting, processing and disseminating information about a potential or actual emergency and for facilitating the overall activities of the federal government in providing response and recovery assistance to an affected state.

Critical Infrastructure Assurance Office - The Critical Infrastructure Assurance Office is a national plan coordination office charged with integrating various sector plans into a National Infrastructure Assurance Plan and coordinating analyses of the U.S. Government's own dependencies on critical infrastructures. The Office also assists in the coordination of a national education and awareness program as well as associated legislative and public affairs.

DoD Directorate for Emergency Preparedness Policy - The Directorate for Emergency Preparedness Policy (EPP) within the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Policy) has a wide variety of responsibilities relating to a broad spectrum of emergency situations worldwide. Included in these responsibilities are Continuity of Operations, key asset protection, Military Support to Civil Authorities (MCSA), Military Assistance for Civil Disturbances (MACDIS), disaster planning, and assuring that information concerning emergency preparedness and planning is available to the appropriate audiences on an international basis.

Global Disaster Information Network (GDIN) - The Global Disaster Information Network (GDIN) is a U.S. initiative the purpose of which is to make the information needed to conduct effective disaster relief operations available when and where needed



via the Internet. For persons interested in the progress of the development of the GDIN, this U.S. Department of State web page provides information about past and future international meetings devoted to the creation this network. Included are the proceedings of the May 1999 GDIN meeting in Mexico City and several background papers.

Internal Revenue Service - The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) allows certain casualty losses to be deducted on Federal income tax returns for the year of the loss or through an immediate amendment to the previous year's return. You may need a copy of a tax return to qualify for assistance from some organizations. IRS will provide you copies or transcripts of previously filed tax returns free of charge.

USGS: Center for Integration of Natural Disaster Information(CINDI) - The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) extensively monitors and evaluates threats from many natural hazards. Its resources include a global seismic network, a national stream flow monitoring program, regional volcano observatories, and long-standing interagency partnerships in disaster mitigation and response. To help synthesize the vast amount of information available on hazards, the USGS has created the Center for Integration of Natural Disaster Information (CINDI) - a research facility for 1) developing and evaluating technology for information integration and dissemination; 2) performing research in data integration, analysis, modeling, and decision support; and 3) supporting the ongoing evolution of the USGS processing and delivery of hazards data. The CINDI Web site provides background information about the center, and serves as "a gateway to information about natural hazards and disasters. The center itself selects individual disasters as case studies. The current focus is Hurricane Mitch, and this site includes much information about that Central American disaster.

Federal Mass Care The American Red Cross has primary responsibility for coordinating federal government efforts to provide sheltering, feeding and emergency first aid following a Presidentially declared disaster or emergency.

American Red Cross - The American Red Cross, a humanitarian organization led by volunteers and guided by its Congressional Charter and the Fundamental Principles of the International Red Cross Movement, will provide relief to victims of disasters and help people prevent, prepare for, and respond to emergencies.

Federal Public Works and Engineering Providing public works and engineering support to assist the state(s) in needs related to lifesaving or life protection following a Presidentially declared disaster or emergency.

United States Army Corps of Engineers - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers provides comprehensive engineering, management and technical support to the U.S. Department of Defense, other agencies, and to state and local governments. They help defend America's security -- militarily, economically and environmentally, in peace and war.

Federal Resource Support



Providing logistical/resource support including emergency relief supplies, space, office equipment, office supplies, telecommunications, contracting services, transportation services and personnel.

United States Army Corps of Engineers - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers provides comprehensive engineering, management and technical support to the U.S. Department of Defense, other agencies, and to state and local governments. They help defend America's security -- militarily, economically and environmentally, in peace and war.

Federal Transportation Coordinating federal transportation support to state and local governmental entities, voluntary organizations and federal agencies requiring transportation capacity to perform disaster assistance missions.

The National Guard (Department of Defense) - This home page provides virtual, on-demand information about the National Guard Bureau, the Army National Guard, the Air National Guard and National Guard sponsored organizations and events -- including their vital support role in disaster and emergency response operations.

Federal Emergency Management Agency - The Federal Emergency Management Agency -- FEMA -- is an independent agency of the federal government, reporting to the President. Since its founding in 1979, FEMA's mission has been clear: to reduce loss of life and property and protect our nation's critical infrastructure from all types of hazards through a comprehensive, risk-based, emergency management program of mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery.

Federal Urban Search and Rescue Planning, coordinating and managing the use of federal Urban Search and Rescue assets following a disaster or emergency.

Civil Air Patrol (National Headquarters) - The Civil Air Patrol (CAP) is the civilian Auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force and is organized along military lines. There are more than 1,700 units; half of which have both senior members and cadets attached. For more than 50 years, CAP has performed three congressionally mandated missions: Aerospace Education, Cadet Programs and Emergency Services.

The National Guard (Department of Defense) - This home page provides virtual, on-demand information about the National Guard Bureau, the Army National Guard, the Air National Guard and National Guard sponsored organizations and events -- including their vital support role in disaster and emergency response operations.

Federal Emergency Management Agency - The Federal Emergency Management Agency -- FEMA -- is an independent agency of the federal government, reporting to the President. Since its founding in 1979, FEMA's mission has been clear: to reduce loss of life and property and protect our nation's critical infrastructure from all types of hazards through a comprehensive, risk-based, emergency management program of mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery.

Federal Threat Support Information Resources and Web Sites



The following are internet-based information sources provided for reference and research purposes in the Pre and Post incident periods. In these periods before and after an incident, it can be useful to have a wide range of information resources that can be used for a variety of research topics.

Many of these below listed sites are from other State governments or from local communities and are provided as examples of the format, content and user interface navigation being used by other emergency management organizations.

In the following tables, the column:

WHEN shows which Phase of an incident that the information source might be best used – P = Pre-event, D = During the incident and A = After the incident.

WHO column reflects the source of the information: F=Federal, S=States, V=Vermont, C=County, M=Municipal, A=Academic, B=Commercial Businesses, N=Information from other Nations

WHAT column gives some indication of the general nature of the content of the information source: M=Medical, T=Transportation, C=Chemical and Hazardous Materials, W=Weather, F=Fire, S=Safety, L=Law, P=Management Planning, : I=General Information, research material and links to other information sources, R=Recovery, H=Homeland Security and Terrorism, E=Environmental

FEDERAL/FEDERAL AGENCIES

Whe

n

Who

Wha

t

U.S. Federal Agencies http://www.lib.lsu.edu/gov/fedgov.html P F I,P

FirstGov http://www.firstgov.gov P F I,P

FedWorld Information Net

http://www.fedworld.gov/ P F I,P

Government Law Research for every State

http://www.lawresearch.com/cstate7.htm P S I,L

Chemical Safety Board http://www.csb.gov P,D F C,I

Federal Emergency Management Agency

http://www.fema.govP,D F I,P,R

Centers of Disease Control(CDC)

http://www.cdc.gov/cdc.html P,D F I,M,P


http://www.cdc.gov/cdc.html

http://www.fema.gov/

http://www.csb.gov/

http://www.lawresearch.com/cstate7.htm

http://www.fedworld.gov/

http://www.firstgov.gov/

http://www.lib.lsu.edu/gov/fedgov.html


FEDERAL/FEDERAL AGENCIES

Whe

n

Who

Wha

t

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)

http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/homepage.html P F I,S,M

Occupational Safety and Health Agency (OSHA)

http://www.osha.gov P F I,S

EPA Chemical Engineering Preparedness and Prevention

http://www.epa.gov/swerceppP F I,P,C

Superintendent of Documents

http://www.gpoaccess.gov/index.html P F I

National Technical Information Service

http://www.ntis.gov/ P F I,P

U.S. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry

http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/ P,D F C,S,M

National Climatic Data Center of NOAA

http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/ol/reports/billionz.html P,D F W

The Code of Federal Regulations

http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/index.html P F L

U.S. House of Representatives Searchable Code Library

http://uscode.house.gov./usc.htm P F L,P,I

Chemical Emergency Preparedness and Prevention Office

http://www.epa.gov/ceppo/P F C,I,P

National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

http://www.niehs.nih.gov/P F M,I,P

National Response Center

http://www.nrc.uscg.mil/ P,D F P,I

National Transportation Safety Board

http://www.ntsb.gov/ P F T,S,I

DOE Chemical Safety Program

http://tis-hq.eh.doe.gov/web/chem_safety/ P F C,S,I,P

The Oak Ridge Emergency Management Center

http://emc.ornl.gov/ P F I,P


http://emc.ornl.gov/

http://tis-hq.eh.doe.gov/web/chem_safety/

http://www.ntsb.gov/

http://www.nrc.uscg.mil/

http://www.niehs.nih.gov/

http://www.epa.gov/ceppo/

http://uscode.house.gov./usc.htm

http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/index.html

http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/ol/reports/billionz.html

http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/

http://www.ntis.gov/

http://www.gpoaccess.gov/index.html

http://www.epa.gov/swercepp

http://www.osha.gov/

http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/homepage.html


HAZMAT INFORMATION RESOURCES

When

Who

What

Medical NBC Defense

http://www.nbc-med.org P F M,P,I

Safety Information Resources MSDS Collection

http://hazard.com/msds P,D V,B S,I,C,M

Hazardous Material Emergency Information

http://www.emergency.com/hzmtpage.htm P B C,I,M

Physical and Chemical Data

http://chemfinder.cambridgesoft.com/ D B C

Agency for Toxic and Hazardous Substance Information

http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/hazdat.html D F C

Canadian Centre for Emergency Preparedness

http://www.ccep.ca P N P,I

Chemical Information on the Internet

http://www.nsc.org/library/chemical/index.htm D F C,L,R

National Toxicology Program

http://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/ P F C,M,S,I

Chemical Reactivity Worksheet

http://response.restoration.noaa.gov/chemaids/react.html P,D F C,M,S,I

Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program (CSEPP)

http://www.fema.gov/preparedness/csepp.shtm

P,D F C,M,S,I

Office of Radiation, Chemical & Biological Safety (ORCBS)

http://www.orcbs.msu.edu/chemical/chem_toc.htm

P,D A C,S,I,P

NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards

http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npg/npg.html P,D F C,M

VT Safety Info. Resources

http://www.hazard.comP V,B C,S,I,P


http://www.hazard.com/

http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npg/npg.html

http://www.orcbs.msu.edu/chemical/chem_toc.htm

http://www.fema.gov/preparedness/csepp.shtm

http://response.restoration.noaa.gov/chemaids/react.html

http://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/

http://www.nsc.org/library/chemical/index.htm

http://www.ccep.ca/

http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/hazdat.html

http://chemfinder.cambridgesoft.com/

http://www.emergency.com/hzmtpage.htm

http://hazard.com/msds

http://www.nbc-med.org/


EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT INFORMATION RESOURCES

WH

EN

WH

O

WH

AT

Counter-terrorism Information

http://www.terrorism.com P,D F H,P,I

Disaster Resource Guide http://disaster-resource.com P,A B R,P,IDisaster Relief http://www.disasterrelief.org P,A A,B R,P,I PROJECT SAFESIDE http://www.weather.com/safeside P,D B W,P,IEPA Envirofacts Warehouse

http://www.epa.gov/enviro/index_java.html

P F E,C,L,I

Emergency Information Interchange Partnership

http://www.emforum.org P A I,P

Illinois Emergency Management Agency

http://www.state.il.us/iema/ P S I,P,L

Emergency Response and Research Institute

http://www.emergency.com/ P B,A I,P

California Office of Emergency Services

http://www.oes.ca.gov/ P,A S I,P

Phoenix Fire Department http://www.ci.phoenix.az.us/phxfire.html P M F,I,PBuilding and Fire Research Laboratory

http://www.bfrl.nist.gov/ P F F,I,P

Disaster Recovery Journal http://www.drj.com/ P,A B R,I,P Community Alert Network (CAN) Home Page

http://www.can-intl.com P,D B I,P

Natural Hazards Information Center University of Colorado

http://www.Colorado.EDU/hazards/ P A E,C,I

Natural Disaster Safety Tips USA Today

http://www.usatoday.com/weather/wsafe0.htm

P B W

National Drought Mitigation Center (NDMC)

http://enso.unl.edu/ndmc/ P,D F W

Society for Chemical Hazard Communication

http://www.schc.org/ P A C,I

Emergency Management Research at Oak Ridge National Laboratory

http://emc.ornl.gov/ P F P,I

FEMA http://fema.gov/ P,A F P,I


http://fema.gov/

http://emc.ornl.gov/

http://www.schc.org/

http://enso.unl.edu/ndmc/



http://www.Colorado.EDU/hazards/

http://www.can-intl.com/

http://www.drj.com/

http://www.bfrl.nist.gov/

http://www.ci.phoenix.az.us/phxfire.html

http://www.oes.ca.gov/

http://www.emergency.com/

http://www.state.il.us/iema/

http://www.emforum.org/



http://www.weather.com/safeside

http://www.disasterrelief.org/

http://disaster-resource.com/

http://www.terrorism.com/



Wh

en

Wh

o

Wh

at

University of Wisconsin – Disaster Management Center

http://epdweb.engr.wisc.edu/dmc/

P A P,I

Hurricane Preparedness Checklist

http://www.dem.dcc.state.nc.us/ P S W,P,I

The Committee on Earth Observance Satellites Disaster Management Support

http://www.ceos.org/pages/DMSG/index.html

P A W,I

Florida Division of Emergency Management

http://www.floridadisaster.org/bpr/EMTOOLS/index.htmP S I

Disaster Management Institute

http://www.disastermanagement.org/ P B P,I

Disaster Recovery Institute of Canada

http://www.dri.ca P,A N R,P,I

Disaster Recovery Information Exchange

http://www.drie-swo.org/ P,A N R,P,I

Center for Preparedness and Training

http://www.preparedness-center.com/ P B P

Northeastern States Emergency Consortium

http://www.nesec.org/ P S P,I

Association of Contingency Planners

http://www.acp-crmc-colorado.com/ P S P,I

Florida Emergency Preparedness Association

http://www.fepa.org/ P S P,I

Business http://www.ContinuityPlanner.com P B P,I


http://www.ContinuityPlanner.com/

http://www.fepa.org/

http://www.acp-crmc-colorado.com/

http://www.nesec.org/

http://www.preparedness-center.com/

http://www.drie-swo.org/

http://www.dri.ca/

http://www.disastermanagement.org/

http://www.floridadisaster.org/bpr/EMTOOLS/index.htm

http://www.ceos.org/pages/DMSG/index.html

http://www.dem.dcc.state.nc.us/

http://epdweb.engr.wisc.edu/dmc/



Wh

en

Wh

o

Wh

at

ContinuityFirefighting http://www.firefighting.com P B FEnvironmental Systems Research Institute

http://www.esri.com/index.html

P A E

Disaster Warning Network

http://www.disasterwarning.com/ P B I

American Red Cross-Disaster Services

http://www.redcross.org/services/disaster/beprepared/ P A P,I,R

LAFD-Disaster Preparedness Unit

http://www.lafd.org/ P M F

Insurance Information Institute

http://www.iii.org P B I

The Rothstein Disaster Recovery

http://www.rothstein.com/wwwboard/forum.htmlP,A B R,I

Emergency and Disaster Management Inc.

http://www.disaster-management.net/

P B I

Provincial Emergency Program

http://www.pep.bc.caP N I

Disaster Relief Aid and Information)

http://www.disasterrelief.org/P,A A R,I

Hazard Reduction and Recovery Center

http://hrrc.tamu.edu/ P,A B R

Illinois Environmental Protection Agency

http://www.epa.state.il.us/about/index.html P S E

North American Emergency Management

http://www.naem.com/ P B I,P


http://www.naem.com/

http://hrrc.tamu.edu/

http://www.disasterrelief.org/

http://www.pep.bc.ca/

http://www.disaster-management.net/

http://www.rothstein.com/wwwboard/forum.html

http://www.iii.org/

http://www.lafd.org/

http://www.redcross.org/services/disaster/beprepared/

http://www.disasterwarning.com/

http://www.esri.com/index.html

http://www.firefighting.com/


ORGANIZATIONS

Wh

en

Wh

o

Wh

at

National Fire Protection Association

http://www.nfpa.org/ P B F

American Red Cross http://www.redcross.org/ P,D A P,I,RAmerican Chemical Society

http://www.acs.org P B C

American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH)

http://www.acgih.org

P B C

American Industrial Hygiene Association

http://www.aiha.org P B C

National Safety Council

http://safety.webfirst.com/index.htmP F S

American Society of Safety Engineers

http://www.ASSE.org/ P B S

American Institute of Chemical Engineers

http://www.aiche.org/ P B C

International Association of Emergency Managers

http://www.iaem.comP B P

Association of State Flood Plain Managers

http://www.floods.org/ P A W,P

The ChemAlliance Website

http://www.chemalliance.org P P C,L

EARTHQUAKE INFORMATIONW

hen

Wh

o

Wh

atEarthquake Information

http://quake.wr.usgs.gov/recenteqs/P F E

CalTech Seismological Laboratory

http://www.gps.caltech.edu/seismo/seismo.page.htmlP A E

Risk Assessment http://www.eqe.com P B I

LOCAL EMERGENCY PLANNING COMMITTEES

Wh

en

Wh

o

Wh

at

Hanford County, Maryland LEPC

http://www.co.ha.md.us/lepc/P C I,P

Southwest Florida, Regional Planning Commission

http://www.swfrpc.org/haz.htm P C I,P

Hampton Roads http://www.hremc.org/ P M I,P


http://www.hremc.org/

http://www.swfrpc.org/haz.htm

http://www.co.ha.md.us/lepc/

http://www.eqe.com/

http://www.gps.caltech.edu/seismo/seismo.page.html

http://quake.wr.usgs.gov/recenteqs/

http://www.chemalliance.org/

http://www.floods.org/

http://www.iaem.com/

http://www.aiche.org/

http://www.ASSE.org/

http://safety.webfirst.com/index.htm

http://www.aiha.org/

http://www.acgih.org/

http://www.acs.org/

http://www.redcross.org/

http://www.nfpa.org/


LOCAL EMERGENCY PLANNING COMMITTEES

Wh

en

Wh

o

Wh

at

Emergency Management Committee LEPC Information Exchange

http://www.lepcinfoexchange.com P C I,P

Lake County, IN LEPC

http://www.lepc.co.lake.in.us/P C I,P

MISCELLANEOUS

Wh

en

Wh

o

Wh

at

National Safety Council

http://www.nsc.org/P F S,I,P

Dive Rescue International

http://www.diverescueintl.com P,D B S,I

The National Association of Amateur Radio

http://www.arrl.org/ P A I


http://www.arrl.org/

http://www.diverescueintl.com/

http://www.nsc.org/

http://www.lepc.co.lake.in.us/

http://www.lepcinfoexchange.com/


Internet References For Terrorism Response: Most of these titles are also internet links.

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) Frequently Asked Questions

Vermont Emergency Management Terrorism Resource Page

Counter-terrorism Page - Site for general terrorism information. Many links to other sites.

Disaster Management Central Resource (http://206.39.77.2/DMCR/dmrhome.html) Lackland AFB site with information on civilian support resources, triage of mass casualty situations, medicine and terrorism, terrorism injuries and NBC Medical Library.

Disaster Resource Guide (http://disaster-resource.com) Source of information on commercial firms which can assist during emergencies.

DOD Report to Congress on Domestic Preparedness Against Weapons of Mass Destruction, May 1, 1997 (http://www.fas.org/spp/starwars/program/domestic/execsumm.html) Assesses types of CB threats, identifies unmet CB training, and equipment requirements for first responders, identifies CB warfare information, expertise, and equipment that could be adapted to civilian use, and the DOD plan for assisting first responders.

Emergency Response to Chemical/Biological Terrorism Incidents (http://www.emergency.com/cbwlesn1.html) Emergency Response and Research Institute. Good article on response operations. Has links to other info including CB agents and related emergency response articles.

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) (http://www.fema.gov): Information regarding hazardous materials response handling.

FEMA – Emergency Management – Related Bibliography (www.fema.gov/emi/edu/biblo12.html) Currently 35 links to various Emergency Management related bibliographies. At least ten of these related to NBC.

FEMA Preparedness (www.fema.gov/fema/pre2.html) Provides links to Planning, Training, Exercises, Information, Community and Family Preparedness Program.

FEMA Preparedness, Training, & Exercises Directorate (www.fema.gov/pte/) Site helps emergency managers prepare to respond quickly and efficiently. Has a link to the Emergency Education Network and Emergency Management Institute.

Internet Disaster Information Network (www.disaster.net/index.html)

Local Terrorism Planning Model (http://www.emergency.com/hzmtpage.html) Hazardous Materials Operation Page lists related articles and research as well as web links to related topics including medical treatment. An excellent first search resource.

Personnel Safety Management/Risk Management Program (http://www.infoassets.com/kbi/psmlink.html) Excellent links to government health and safety, DOD HAZMAT, state health and safety, MSDSs, DOT RSPA Hazardous materials safety, DOE environment, safety, and health.


http://www.infoassets.com/kbi/psmlink.html

http://www.emergency.com/hzmtpage.html

http://www.disaster.net/index.html

http://www.fema.gov/pte/

http://www.fema.gov/fema/pre2.html

http://www.fema.gov/emi/edu/biblo12.html

http://www.fema.gov/

http://www.emergency.com/cbwlesn1.html

http://www.fas.org/spp/starwars/program/domestic/execsumm.html

http://www.dps.state.vt.us/homeland/(http:/disaster-resource.com)

http://206.39.77.2/DMCR/dmrhome.html

http://www.terrorism.com/

http://www.dps.state.vt.us/vem/resource.html

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dbmd/diseaseinfo/anthrax_g.htm


Emergency Response Guidebook (First Responder’s Guide for HAZMAT operations), DOT. 2000. http://hazmat.dot.gov/erg2000/erg2000.pdf www.tc.gc.ca/canutec/en/guide/guide.htm

Emergency Response to Terrorism Job Aid, National Fire Academy http://www.usfa.fema.gov/nfa/tr_ssadd.htm

Field Operations Guide, Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance, USAID http://www.info.usaid.gov/ofda/fog/

Field Operating Guide, US Coast Guard http://www.uscg.mil/hq/g-m/mor/Articles/ICS.htm

Firefighters. “Guidelines for Incident Commander’s Use of Firefighter Protective Ensemble (FFPE) with Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) for Rescue Operations During a Terrorist Chemical Agent Incident” August 1999. USASBCCOM http://www2.sbccom.army.mil/hld/cwirp/cwirp_final_incident_command_download.htm


http://www2.sbccom.army.mil/hld/cwirp/cwirp_final_incident_command_download.htm

http://www.uscg.mil/hq/g-m/mor/Articles/ICS.htm

http://www.info.usaid.gov/ofda/fog/

http://www.usfa.fema.gov/nfa/tr_ssadd.htm

http://hazmat.dot.gov/erg2000/erg2000.pdf


Appendix C: Index of Vermont Public Media ResourcesCompany Cat. City Contact Phone Fax E-mail

Addison County Independent NP Middlebury Peter Conlon 802-388-4944

[email protected] (news)

Adelphia Channel 15 TV Montpelier Kenric Kite 802-225-3159 [email protected] Morgan Horse Association Mag Shelburne Howard Stump 802-985-4944

802-985-8897 [email protected]

AMI Publication Management NP Waterbury Anne M. Imhoff 802-244-8433 [email protected]

Art Mail Web Montpelier Andrea Stander 802-828-5422802-828-3363 [email protected]

Associated Press RNP Montpelier Chris Graff 802-229-0577802-223-0654 [email protected]

Behind The Times LNP Bradford Frances Mallary 802-222-9690802-222-4942

[email protected]

Bellows Falls Town Crier LNP Bellows Falls Jennifer Murphy 802-463-9591


Bennington Banner NP Bennington Sabina Haskell 802-447-7567


Bennington Magazine Mag Bennington

Becca MacLaren 802-440-4344


Black River Tribune LNP Ludlow Janet Upton 802-228-8817

802-228-8000

Boston Globe - Stringers RNP Boston Peter Mancusi 617-929-2000


Brandon-Pittsford Reporter LNP Brandon none 802-247-8080


Brattleboro community television (BCTV) TV Brattleboro Chaia Mide 802-257-0888


Brattleboro Reformer NP Brattleboro Kate Casa 802-254-2311


Brattleboro Town Crier LNP Brattleboro Lois Mono 802-254-2311


Burlington Free NP Burlington Mike Townsend 802-865-0940 802-660- [email protected]


http://www.vermontmediadirectory.com/vmd/search_results.php?MediaID=15






























Company Cat. City Contact Phone Fax E-mailPress 1802 omBurlington Magazine Mag Williston Rick Kisonak 802-658-3328


Business People Mag WillistonRebecca Awodey 802-862-4109


Business People's Business Travel Guide Mag Williston

Rebecca Awodey 802-862-4109


Buyer's Digest LNP FairfaxTammy Shannon 802-893-4214


Caledonian-Record NP St.Johnsbury Ellie Dixon 802-748-8121


Catamount Access television--CAT-TV TV Bennington

Lisa Byer DeAngelis 802-442-8868


Champlain Business Journal Mag Rutland Lee Rohe 802-775-9500


Channel 17 TV Burlington Nat Ayer802-862-3966,


Charlotte News LNP Charlotte Peter Coleman 802-425-4949802-425-5959 [email protected]

Christian Science Monitor--Stringers RNP Boston Clayton Jones 617-450-2000

617-450-7575

Chronicle LNP Barton Bethany Dunbar 802-525-3531802-525-3200 [email protected]

CMI Radio Network R Essex Ric McClary 802-878-8885


Colchester Chronicle LNP Colchester Guy Page 802-288-9458


Common Voice MagCraftsbury Common

Dvlpmnt & Alumni Ofc 802-586-7711


Community Access TV (Norwich/Hartford) TV Hanover Neal Boutin 603-643-2288 [email protected] Valley Spectator NP

West Lebanon Aaron Nobel 603-298-7755

603298-8772 [email protected]
























Company Cat. City Contact Phone Fax E-mail

County Courier LNPEnosburg Falls Ethan Dezotelle 802-933-4375


CVTV Channel 7 (Barre) TV Barre Tony Campos 802-479-1075


Deerfield Valley News LNP West Dover Dawn Nieters 802-464-3388

802-464-7255 [email protected];

Divot Communications (Golf magazines) Mag Waitsfield Ken Baron 802-496-7575


Eagle Publications, LLC LNP Middlebury Louis Varricchio 802-388-6397


Eagle Times NP Claremont Matt DeRienzo 603-543-3100603-542-9705 [email protected]

Elders' Advocate LNP Winooski Kim R. Gural 802-865-0360802-865-0363 [email protected]

Essex Reporter LNPEssex Junction Warren Baker 802-878-5282


Ever Changing Magazine Mag Burlington none 802-860-7176Falls Area community TV-FACT TV Bellows Falls David Longsmith 802-463-1613


Farming: The Journal of NE Agriculture Mag St. Johnsbury none 802-748-8908

802-748-1866

[email protected]

Five Town News LNP Bristol John Lea 802-453-5307 [email protected]

Fox 44 TV Colchester none 802-660-9333802-660-8673 [email protected]

Greater Northshire AccessTV TV Manchester Garrett McCarey 802-362-7070


Green Living Mag WilliamsvilleMarshall Glickman 802-348-7441


Greenfield Town Crier LNP Greenfield Louis Mono 413-774-7226


Hanley Wood, LLC Mag Williston Don Jackson 802-879-3335

802-879-9384































Hard Hat News NP Reading Scott Duffy 800-653-2700802-484-3235 [email protected]

Hardwick Gazette LNP Hardwick Ross Connelly 802-472-6521 [email protected] Courant - Stringers RNP Hartford John Zakarian 860-241-6200

860-241-3865

Healthcare Review Mag Nashua Lorraine Savage 603-579-8900


Hemmings Motor News Mag Bennington

James C. Menneto

802-442-3101,


Herald of Randolph LNP Randolph

M. Dickey Drysdale 802-728-3232

802-728-9275

[email protected], [email protected]

Hinesburg Record, Inc. LNP Hinesburg June T. Giroux 802-482-2350


It's Classified LNP Bradford none 802-222-5152802-222-4942 [email protected]

Journal of Light Construction Mag Williston Dan Jackson 802-879-3335

802-879-9384

Journal Opinion LNP BradfordCicely Richardson 802-222-5281


Kids VT LNP Burlington Susan Holson 802-865-0272802-865-0595 [email protected]

Lake Champlain Access TV - Channel 15 TV Colchester

Kevin Christopher 802-862-5724


LPC-TV (Ludlow Area) TV Ludlow Patrick Cody 802-228-8808


Mad River Valley TV TV Waitsfield Adam Tyksinski 802-583-4488


Manchester and the Mountain Area Guide Mag Dorset Lee Romano 802-362-7200 [email protected] Journal LNP

Manchester Ctr Annette Sharon 802-362-2222


Message for the Week LNP Chester Wesley Johnson 802-875-4790



































Company Cat. City Contact Phone Fax E-mailMiddlebury Campus LNP Middlebury

Call for information. 802-443-5736

Middlebury community TV - Channel 15 TV Middlebury Dick Thodal 802-388-3062 [email protected] Independent LNP Milton Lynn Delaney 802-893-2028


Morrisville television TV Hyde Park Steve Ames 877-357-8484 ext. 7925 [email protected]

Mountain Times LNP KillingtonRoyal W. Barnard 802-422-2399


Mt. Mansfield community TV TV Richmond Rebecca Padula 802-434-2550 [email protected] Gardening Association

online S. Burlington Valerie Kelsey 802-863-5251


NEK-TV (Newport area) TV Newport Randy Williams 802-334-0264


New England Cable News Net. (NECN) TV Colchester Anya Huneke

802-264-3300;


New England Showcase Mag Brattleboro Randall Current 802-257-4387

802-257-1453

[email protected]

New Mosket Press, LLC NP Middlebury Louis Varricchio 802-388-6397


New York Times - Stringers RNP New York Dean Baquet 212-556-1234


Newport Daily Express NP Newport

Barbara Duquette 802-334-6568


News and Citizen LNP Morrisville J.B. McKinley 802-888-2212802-888-2173 [email protected]

Nonprofit Vermont state ShaftsburyChristine Graham 802-862-0327


North Star Monthly LNP Danville Terry Hoffer 802-684-1056802-684-1056 [email protected]

Northern Mag Corinth Stephen Long 802-439-6292 802-439- [email protected]



































Company Cat. City Contact Phone Fax E-mailWoodlands 6296

Northfield News LNP Northfield Celia Barnes 802-485-3681802-485-7909 [email protected]

Northwest Access TV (St. Albans Area) TV St. Albans Paul Legassey 802-527-6474


Norwich University Record Mag Northfield Diana Weggler 802-485-2318


Notown Communications Company Mag Montpelier Bob Labbance 802-233-7372


Okemo Valley Regnl Guide Mag Dorset none 802-362-7200 [email protected]

Other Paper LNP S. BurlingtonGeorge Chamberland 802-864-6670


Outdoors Magazine Mag Colchester James Ehlers 802-879-2013


Peace and Justice News LNP Burlington Wendy Coe

802-863-8326,


Pennysaver Press LNP Bennington Beth Traver 802-447-3381802-447-3270 [email protected]

Portland Press Herald - Stringers RNP Portland Eric Blom 207-791-6650

207-791-6920

[email protected]

Press Republican NP Plattsburgh Jim Dynko 518-561-2300518-561-3362 [email protected]

Radio Vermont Group R Waterbury Eric Michaels 802-244-7321


REA-TV Channel 20 TV Rutland

Chris McCormack 802-747-0151


Regional Educ. Technology Net. Ch. 16 TV S. Burlington Barbara Brisson 802-654-7980


RETN (Channel 16) TV S. Burlington Barb Brisson 802-654-7980


Russian Life Magazine Mag Montpelier none 802-223-4955




































Company Cat. City Contact Phone Fax E-mailRutland Business Journal Mag Rutland Lee Rohe 802-775-9500


Rutland Herald NP RutlandJo-Anne MacKenzie 802-747-6121

802-773-0311

Rutland Regional community TV - Ch 15 TV Rutland Mike Valentine 802-747-0151


Rutland Tribune LNP RutlandThomas Jackson 802-775-4221


SAPA-TV (Springfield Area) TV Springfield Bruce Johnson 802-885-6248 [email protected]

Seven Days LNP Burlington Ethan Covey 802-864-5684802-865-1015 [email protected]

Shelburne News LNP Shelburne Susan Davis 802-985-3091802-985-5403 [email protected] ;

Sison Broadcasting Inc R Colchester Mark Esbjerg 802-655-1620


Ski Magazine Mag S. Burlington none 802-863-8287802-863-0529

Springfield Reporter LNP Springfield

Rodney W. Arnold 802-885-2246


St. Albans Messenger NP St. Albans Josh Kaufmann 802-524-9771


Stowe Guide and Magazine Mag Stowe Gregory Popa 802-827-3154


Stowe Reporter LNP Stowe Peter Hartt 802-253-2101802-253-8332 [email protected]

Stratton Magazine Mag Dorset Marsha Norman 802-362-7200 [email protected]

Strictly Business Mag Plattsburgh Mary Carpenter 518-563-8214518-563-3320 [email protected]

Tales of Tinmouth LNP Tinmouth Gail Fallar 802-446-2498802-446-2498 [email protected]

The Adelphia Channel - Channel 74 TV

So. Burlington Lori Murphy 802-419-6616































Company Cat. City Contact Phone Fax E-mailThe Charlotte Observer LNP Charlotte none 802-425-3738


The Islander LNP South HeroGeorge D. Fowler 802-372-5600


The Montpelier Bridge LNP Montpelier Jake Brown 802-223-5112


The North Avenue News, Inc. LNP Burlington Ellen Cooper 802-864-7530


The Norwich Times NP Hanover Amanda Waibel 603-643-1441


The Quechee Times NP Hanover Amanda Waibel 603-643-1441


The Times Ink of Richmond & Huntington LNP Richmond Heidi Racht 802-434-2690 [email protected] Upper Valley Parents' Paper NP Hanover Amanda Waibel 603-643-1441


Times Argus NP Barre Tom Sivret 802-479-0191802-479-4096 [email protected]

Toward Freedom Mag Burlington Greg Guma 802-657-3733 [email protected]

Transcript LNP Morrisville J.B. McKinley 802-888-2212802-888-2173 [email protected]

Turf Magazine Mag St. JohnsburyDavid G. Cassidy 802-748-8908


Union Leader - Stringers RNP Manchester Charles Perkins 603-668-4321


University of Vermont--The View LNP Burlington Lee Griffin 802-656-2005


Upper Valley Education Connection TV

White River Junc. Bob Franzoni 802-295-6688

USA Today - Stringers RNP Arlington none 703-276-3400Valley Advocate, Advocate

LNP Easthampton Tom Vannah 413-529-2840 413-529-2844

[email protected]



































Company Cat. City Contact Phone Fax E-mailNewspapersValley Business Journal Mag Rutland Lee Rohe 802-775-9500


Valley News NPWhite River Junc Jeff Good 603-298-8711


Valley Reporter LNP Waitsfield Lisa Loomis 802-496-3928802-496-4703 [email protected]

Valley Voice LNP Middlebury Tammy White 802-388-6366802-388-6368 [email protected]

VCAM Channel 15 TV Burlington none 802-651-9692802-651-0736 [email protected]

Vermont Bar Association Mag Montpelier none 802-223-2020


Vermont Business Magazine Mag Burlington

Timothy McQuiston 802-863-8038


Vermont Catholic Tribune LNP Burlington Pat Gore 802-658-6110


Vermont community Access Media TV Burlington Rob Chapman 802-651-9692


VT Connections/VT Travel Connections Mag Montpelier

Vicky P. Tebbetts 802-223-3443


Vermont Cynic LNP Burlington Kristin Dobbs 802-656-8482802-656-0337 [email protected]

Vermont Environmental Monitor LNP Newfane Jake Brown 802-365-7991


Vermont Environmental Report Mag Montpelier

Stephanie Mueller 802-223-2328

802-223-0287

[email protected]; [email protected]

Vermont Guardian NP Winooski Greg Guma 802-861-4880802-861-6388 [email protected]

Vermont Journal LNP Waitsfield Robert Miller 802-496-6628802-496-3009 [email protected]































Company Cat. City Contact Phone Fax E-mailVermont Life Magazine Mag Montpelier Tom Slayton 802-828-3241


Vermont Magazine Mag Middlebury Joseph Healy 802-388-8480


Vermont Manufacturers Dir. LNP Burlington

Timothy McQuiston 802-862-8038


Vermont Maturity Magazine Mag Williston

Marianne Apfelbaum 802-878-0051


Vermont News Guide LNP

Manchester Ctr

Bohdan Berezansky 802-362-3535


Vermont Press Bureau RNP Montpelier Darren Allen 802-223-3931


Vermont Property Owners Report LNP Montpelier Philip K. Dodd 802-229-2433


Vermont Public Radio R Colchester Jody Evans 802-655-9451


Vermont Public television TV Colchester Dan Harvey 802-655-4800


Vermont Quarterly Magazine Mag Burlington Tom Weaver 802-656-7996


Vermont Rentals/Cyber Rentals.com

online Ludlow Hunter Melville 802-228-7158


Vermont Ski News LNP Brandon Roy M. Newton 802-247-8080802-247-8080 [email protected]

Vermont Sports Today LNP Waterbury Kate Carter 802-244-5796


Vermont Standard, Ltd. LNP Woodstock Kevin Forrest 802-457-1313


Vermont Times LNP ShelburneBarbara Duquette 802-985-2400


Vermont Vacations Mag N.Bennington Dick Jones 802-447-4836


Vermont-NEA Today LNP Montpelier Laurie B. Huse 802-223-6375






































Company Cat. City Contact Phone Fax E-mailVermontGuides.com

online Williston

Rebecca Awodey 802-862-4109


Wall Street Journal - Stringers RNP New York none 212-416-2500

212-416-2658

Wallingford Historical Society Newsletter LNP Wallingford Donald Emery 802-446-3366 [email protected]

WBTN - 1370 AM R Bennington Joe Woodruff 802-442-6321802-442-3112 [email protected]

WBTN - FM R ColchesterJohn Van Hoesen 802-655-9451


WBTZ - 99.9 FM R Burlington Monkey and Iain 802-860-2465802-860-2462 [email protected]

WCAX-TV Channel 3 TV Burlington

Marselis Parsons 802-652-6397


WCKJ - FM R Essex Mark Kinsley 802-878-8885802-879-6835 [email protected]

WCLX Radio - The Album Station 102.9 R Bristol Diane Desmond 802-759-4000 [email protected]

WCMD - FM R Essex none 802-878-8885802-879-6835 [email protected]

WCPV - 101.3 FM R Burlington Karen Marshall 802-655-0093802-655-3224 [email protected]

WCVR - 102.1 FM R Randolph Ctr Joel O'Brien 802-728-4411802-728-4013

[email protected]

WCVT - 101.7 FM R Waterbury none 802-244-1764802-244-1771 [email protected]

WDEV - AM/FM R Waterbury Eric Michaels 802-244-7321802-244-1771 [email protected]

WEAV - 960 AM R Burlington Tim Buskey 802-655-0093802-655-1993 [email protected]

WEBK - 105.3 FM R RutlandHarry Weinhagen 802-775-7500


WEQX - 102.7 FM R Manchester Josh Klemme 802-362-4800802-362-5555 [email protected]



























Company Cat. City Contact Phone Fax E-mailWEXP 101.5 FM (WVAY) R Rutland John Gales 802-773-9264


WEZF - 92.9 FM R Burlington Karen Marshall 802-655-0093802-655-1993 [email protected]

WFAD - 1490 AM R Middlebury David John 802-388-9000802-388-3000 [email protected]

WGDR - 91.1 FM R PlainfieldAmanda Gustafson 802-454-7762 [email protected]

WGLY - 91.5 FM R EssexRichard McClairy 802-878-8885


WGMK 01.9 R Essex Darilyn McClary 802-878-8885 [email protected]

WGMT - 97.7 FM R Lyndonville Bruce James 802-626-9800802-626-8500 [email protected]

WGXL - 92.3 FM & 93.5 FM R Lebanon Tim Plante 603-448-1400

603-448-1755

WHDQ -1230 AM R Claremont Doug Daniel 603-542-7735603-542-8721

WHMQ--1240 AM R Greenfield Hugh Massey 413-774-4301413-773-5637 [email protected]

WIKE - 1490 AM R Newport Bill Maxwell 802-766-4485802-766-8067 [email protected]

Williston Observer LNP Williston Greg Elias 802-879-4839802-872-0151 [email protected]

Windsor Chronicle LNP Windsor none 802-674-2975802-674-6426 [email protected]

Windsor On Air (TV, Windsor Area) TV Windsor Kate Stillson 802-674-5200


WIPS - 1250 AM R Ticonderoga Dave Downing 518-585-2868518-585-2869

WIRY - 1340 AM R Plattsburgh Alan Drake 518-563-1340518-563-1343 [email protected]

WIZN - 106.7 FM R BurlingtonJennifer McCann 802-860-2440


WJAN - 95.1 FM R Rutland D.B. James 802-775-7500 802-775- [email protected]

























Company Cat. City Contact Phone Fax E-mail7555 m

WJEN - 94.5 FM R Rutland D.B. James 802-775-7500802-775-7555

[email protected]

WJJR - 98.1 FM R Rutland Terry Jaye 802-775-7500802-775-7555 [email protected]

WJOY - 1230 AM R Burlington Dan Dubonnet 802-658-1230802-862-0786 [email protected]

WKOL - 105.1 FM R Burlington Dan Dubonnet 802-658-1230802-862-0786 [email protected]

WKVT - 1490 AM/92.7 FM R Brattleboro Peter Case 802-254-2343


WKXH - 105.5 FM R St. Johnsbury Joe Donelan 802-748-2362802-748-2361 [email protected]

WLFE - 102.3 FM R St. Albans Pete Ferrand 802-524-2133802-527-1450 [email protected]

WLVB - 93.9 FM R Morrisville Roland Lajoie 802-888-4294802-888-8523 [email protected]

WMOO - 92.1 FM R Derby Bill Maxwell 802-766-9236802-766-8067 [email protected]

WNCS – WRJT - WDOT R Montpelier Mark Miller 802-223-2396

802-223-1520 103.1, 107.7, 104.7, 100.3

WNHV - 910 AM/WTSV - 1230 AM R Claremont Doug Daniels 603-542-7735


WNNE-TV Channel 31 TV

White River Junc

Andrew Wormser 802-295-3100


WNYV - 94.1 FM REast Poultney Judith Leech 802-287-9031 [email protected]

WOKO - 98.9 FM R Burlington Dan Dubonnet 802-658-1230802-862-0786 [email protected]

Woodstock Area TV TV Woodstock Stephen Schultz 802-457-1317


WORK - 107.1 FM R Barre Jim Severance 802-476-4168802-479-5893

Works In Progress LNP S. Burlington Larry A. Cain 802-658-3797




























World LNP Barre Patricia Wieja 802-479-2582802-479-7916 [email protected]

WPTZ-TV Channel 5 TV Plattsburgh Susan Acklen 518-561-5555

802-655-5451

[email protected]

WPVQ - 95.3 FM R Northampton Will Stanley 413-585-9555413-585-8501 [email protected]

WRJT - 103.1 FM The Point R

White River Jct.

Mark Abuzzahab 802-296-7064

802-223-1520

WRSA - 1420 AM R St. Albans Pete Ferrand 802-524-2133802-527-1450 [email protected]

WRSI - 93.9 FM R Northampton Will Stanley 413-585-9555413-585-8501 [email protected]

WRUV - 90.1 FM R Burlington Josie Freeman802-656-8700/on-air: 656-4399 [email protected]

WRVT - 88.7 FM R ColchesterJohn Van Hoesen 802-655-9451


WSKI - 1240 AM R Montpelier Tom Bruce 802-223-5275802-223-1520 [email protected]

WSNO - 1450 AM R Barre Jim Severance 802-476-4168802-479-5893 [email protected]

WSSH - 101.5 FM R Claremont Art Steinberg 802-254-9474603-542-8721

WSTJ - 1340 AM R St. Johnsbury Joe Donellan 802-748-2362802-748-2361 [email protected]

WSYB - 1380 AM/92.1 FM R Rutland Tim Plante 802-775-5597


WTSA - 1450 AM/96.7 AM/FM R Brattleboro Tim Johnson 802-254-4577


WTSL - 1400 AM R Lebanon Dan Pierce 603-448-1400603-448-1755 [email protected]

WTSV - 1230 AM R Claremont Doug Daniels 603-542-7735603-542-8721

WTWK - 1070 AM R Saint AlbansMary Whitehouse 802-542-2133


WTWN - 1100 AM R Wells River Glenn Hatch 802-757-3311 802-757- [email protected]

























Company Cat. City Contact Phone Fax E-mail2774

WVAA - 1390 AM R Winooski George Goldring 802-655-6754802-655-4284 [email protected]

WVAY - 101 FM R W. Dover Kelly Kowalski 802-464-1111802-747-0553 [email protected]

WVBK - Channel 49 TV Brattleboro Dan Carbonara 802-258-2200


WVMT - 620 AM R Colchester Paul Goldman 802-655-1620802-655-1329 [email protected]

WVNR - 1340 AM R Poultney Helen Willis 802-287-9031WVNY TV - Channel 22/Cable 4 TV Burlington Linda Noyes 802-860-2222


WVPR - 89.5 FM R ColchesterJohn Van Hoesen 802-655-9451


WVPS - 107.9 FM R ColchesterJohn Van Hoesen 802-655-9451


WVRR - 101.7 FM R Lebanon Chris Garrett 603-448-1400603-448-1755 [email protected]

WVTK - 96.7 FM R Burlington Karen Marshall 802-655-0093802-655-0478

WWBI-TV Channel 27 TV Rouses Point Gary Clarke 518-297-2727


WWFY R Barre Jim Severance 802-476-4168802-479-5893

WWLR - 91.5 FM R Lyndonville News Director 802-626-6214802-626-9770

WWPV - 88.7 FM R Colchester Mike Balch 802-654-2334802-654-2336 [email protected]

WWSH/WZSH - 95.3, 107.1, 107.5FM R Claremont Art Steinberg 603-298-2953

603-542-3780

WWWT - 1320 AM R Randolph Ctr Joel O'Brien 802-728-4411802-728-4013

[email protected]

WXAL - FM R Middlebury David John 802-388-9000 802-388- [email protected]


























Company Cat. City Contact Phone Fax E-mail3000

WXXK - 100.5 FM R Lebanon Dan Pierce 603-448-5229603-448-5231

WXXX - 95.5 FM R Colchester Paul Goldman 802-655-9550802-655-1329 [email protected]

WXZO - 96.7 FM R Burlington John Hill 802-655-0093802-655-1993 [email protected]

WXZO - 96.7 FM R Burlington John Hill 802-655-0093802-655-0478

WYKR - 101.3 FM R Wells RiverStephen J. Puffer 802-757-2773


WYRY - 104.9 FM R WinchesterBrian McCormick 603-239-8200


WZRT - 97.1 FM R Rutland Tim Plante 802-775-5597802-775-6637 [email protected]

WZSH - 107.1 FM R Claremont none 603-298-2953603-542-8721

Categories = R=Radio, TV=television, NP=State newspapers, LNP=local community newspapers, RNP=regional, Mag=magazines, Web=online electronic newsletters











Appendix Section 2 - Assistance and Guidelines on the development of content

Section 2, Appendices D, E, F;

Assistance and Guidelines on the development of content. This is a general guideline of how to anticipate the response of the public to your announcement and how to word it so that it will have the desired response. This section also covers the special cautions that must be used in dealing with the news media.



Appendix D: Behavioral Response to Threats & Emergencies

The response by and from individuals and people in groups is not always logical, linear or what would be expected. There is a large array of psychological and behavioural responses that are known to occur in response to threats and dangers that are counter-intuitive to the average person. Such responses are not 100% consistent but are common enough that it is prudent for emergency management professionals and public communicators to be aware of these responses and to make allowances for them in the content and methods used for public announcements and information distribution.

These innate human responses fall into two categories – (1) individual – thinking patterns, decision making and responses to information of individuals and (2) groups – the collective response of a group of people that act and think as if the group were a single person. Although the in-depth discussion of these psychological and behavioural responses is beyond the scope of this document, it is useful to identify some basic and common response for each of these two categories.

Individual Decision Mechanisms in the Human Mind

The human mind is the result of millions of years of evolution that has created a wonderful ability to deal with a wide variety of diverse situations and threats but this same innate mental ability can also introduce problems. Our brains are wired to have a preference for certain kinds of thinking and decision making processes that are well known and relatively well defined. These mental mechanisms are common in most people and applied by people most of the time that they are faced with any situation that requires an analysis of information and a conclusion or decision. These mental mechanisms are well enough understood that they have been given names:

Representativeness is a mental problem-solving method that is a sort of short-cut the mind takes in dealing with real-world problems that are so complicated they would choke a computer. The mind handles these complex problems by assessing the evidence intuitively and compares it to some mental model. If the two match, then the mind concludes that the event is more likely. For instance, to decide if a particular danger will be a threat to their personal safety, the mind compares the danger to its internal model of what a real threat to personal safety is like. If the two models match, then the mind concludes that the danger will is a real threat to personal safety. This works well for most of the time but does poorly when the derived conclusion runs counter to the laws of chance and probability. An example of this mental short-cut not working properly is when 19 people refused to believe that there was a threat and leave their homes when they were told that Mt. St. Helens was going to explode.

A public announcement that seeks to reach people that think like this might be oriented toward establishing a greater degree of understanding and appreciation of the threat as a way to build a more realistic internal mental image that will allow them to conclude that the threat is real and possible.

Availability is a mental short-cut that occurs when people judge the likelihood of something happening by how easily they can call other examples of the same thing to mind. Availability, too, appears to be a wonderful way to tackle complex problems because, in general, commoner events are more easily remembered. However, it does not always work for less well known



subjects. For instance - does the letter K appear more often as the first letter in a work or the third letter in a word? Most people judge that K is commoner at the beginning of words because its easy to recall words that begin with K. Actually K appears about twice as often as the third letter in words. Every year, people are reported as “caught off guard” by record setting weather or freak accidents and natural disasters resulting in deaths and injuries. This is the theory of Availability at work because these people cannot relate to the degree of danger that they are faced with because it is not in their common experience.

People overestimate the probability of large vividly imaginable causes of death and underestimate the likelihood of more common but less dramatic causes of death simple because vivid accidents are easier to picture in the mind. Many people are much more afraid of lightning than of floods, despite the facts that the odds of being struck by lightning are 1 in 250 million whereas the odds of drowning are 1 in 20,000. Drowning is 12,500 times more likely.

How do people formulate strategy? They first decide what is the danger they face. Then they decide how they will respond. Then they decide how the threat to their safety will change as a result of their response, and so on. The theory of Availability dictates that the more detailed these future scenarios become, the more likely they will seem - since detail makes an account more strongly resemble the real world.

A response to a danger can be significantly altered by the media coverage it receives. If the media limit the coverage, downplay the threat or make light of the danger, it reduces the detail of the mental image of the threat and lowers the sense of danger in the minds of the public. Actions that acknowledge a high degree of uncertainty are often very different than actions that don’t. A frequent example is a weather forecast of a “possible” serious storm. People were unprepared for the October 1991 super storm that hit New England because it was much more serious than even the weathermen predicted and all announcements to the public reported a high degree of uncertainty about how severe it might be. The result was that most people, civic governments and emergency response organizations took no action to prepare.

Ignoring the Base Rate or background data against which the probability of an event is judged is a common error. People will think the odds are in their favor - “it won’t happen to me”. Fires, landslides, auto accidents, cancer from smoking, criminal activity are all examples of this. This leads to a strong overconfidence effect. This is a classic example of how the human mind suppresses uncertainty. We’re not only convinced that we know more than we do but that we what we don’t know must be unimportant.

The notion that people are “risk averse” as decision theorists put it, has endured since the 17th century and has become a part of many economic models. People tend to avoid risks when seeking gains but choose risks to avoid losses. People need a strong inducement to gamble but they will expose themselves to tremendous risks in order to avoid a loss. The effect is particularly pronounced in life and death situations. People avoid risks when seeking to save lives, but choose risks when seeking to avoid deaths. This is the mental thinking that makes people stay in their homes when a flood or forest fire is coming their way because they are seeking to avoid the loss of their homes rather than save their life.

Prospect Theory says that there is something about the human mind that so abhors a loss that giving up some quantity of money, commodity or privilege is never fully offset by an equivalent gain. “Losses loom larger than gains”. People avoid fair bets not because they are “risk averse” but because they are “loss averse” - the prospect of the gain isn’t worth the pain of the



loss. People find it easier to give up a discount (forgo a gain) than pay a cost (suffer a loss). A loss seems less painful when it is an increment to a larger loss than when it is considered alone.

A public safety announcement should not be worded as a comparison of gaining safety at the expense of the loss of a home. To acknowledge the potential influence of the Prospect Theory, an announcement might emphasize the potential loss of homes (the incremental loss) as a less painful loss than the loss of life and family members (the larger potential loss). The wording would be more effective if it presented a request for evacuation, not as a gain of safety, but rather as a prevention of the loss of life and loved ones. This is a subtle nuance in the wording but it can make a significant difference in the manner in which the announcement is perceived and responded to by the public.

Framing is the principle that if a problem is framed (presented in a different manner) then the response will be different, even if the problem has not changed. In general, the frame that takes the broader view of a situation is more easily defended and is often more easily accepted as fact.

Most people find solving a problem quantitatively very unsatisfying and so they’ll re-frame and re-frame the problem until they find a qualitative difference that’s decisive. For example, a homeowner might say, “Five inches of rain is a lot but it has been dry lately and the plants need water. This rain is a good thing”. A public announcement warning of the possible effects of five inches of rain might be more effective if it points out the impact of similar amounts of rain in other locations or at other times. By reframing the threat into one that can be more easily understood and appreciated for its danger, the public safety official can achieve an improved response from the public.

Group Decision Mechanisms in the Human Mind

The very nature of emergency management is that it presents with difficult situations to the public in the form of information about or requested responses to potential dangers to life or property. The response to this information is often influenced by a collective or group reaction that might not be the same for individual members of the same group. In different situations, this response has been referred to as “group think”. The group may be a town, community, home owners association or simply the collective group of people that might be impacted by the danger or threat.

Group Think is a form of decision making often characterised by uncritical acceptance of a prevailing point of view. It is a form of collective delusion, where bizarre policies are rationalised collectively and contradictory evidence is discredited. Members of the group suffer an illusion of both invulnerability and morality, and construct negative stereotypes of outsiders. The group’s decision-making can be enhanced by becoming more aware of the pitfalls of "group think."

The term refers to the various pressures that can cause people to alter the expression of their individual opinions. The main symptoms of group think include an illusion of invulnerability; self-censorship; the pressure of conformity; and group members acting as guards — protecting others from negative information that might hinder compliance. When group think takes hold, silence from some members can be seen as acceptance as others push a particular decision through.

Responses to Reduce the Bad Effects of Group Think



Expanding input is a step in the right direction, as are regular meetings of independent directors. Involving more people, and rotating in new people with fresh perspectives, also improve response time. More critical eyes help root out potential problems and facilitate solutions.

Numerous deaths can be traced to slow emergency response. A significant reason is "bystander inaction" — the tendency of people in a group not to respond to an emergency when they likely would if they were on their own. This stems from not wanting to be the first to act different than the group, so no one acts. If one opinion is expressed and met with some degree of acceptance, it can quickly become the common position of the entire group. This can be dangerous since the group may collectively think of themselves as invulnerable to any threat or unlikely to be affected by it.

Communities are more likely to be responsive to agency ideas when they are involved early in the decision-making process. However, a recognized paradox of community involvement is the harder you work to involve people, the less interested they are in being involved.Key reasons for involving stakeholders in your program include:

· secures input from people who know something you need to know· gives people a chance to tell you what they feel you need to know· ensures that everyone is aware that they are welcome to get involved

Boards can take simple steps on their own to help solve bystander inaction and group think. First, a smaller group will act more cohesively and effectively, in part because there is less diffusion of responsibility. Dividing the board into smaller groups to each address the situation separately makes discussion easier and gives everyone more time to speak. This applies as well to key board panels, such as the audit and compensation committees.

Second, a board chairman can use the "executive sessions" of the outside directors to create a "devil's advocate" role to argue the pluses and minuses of major board decisions. By creating a formal role for skepticism, a board can overcome the natural tendency of "bystanders" to wait for someone else to speak up or take action. The role of independent chairman or lead director is crucial in this process.

The story of Victor Steinbrueck shows the success of a devil's advocate in turning a group (in this case the entire city) around on an important issue (the preservation of Pike Place Market). In 1963, Seattle's business and political establishment, in the throes of urban-renewal fever, unveiled a plan to replace the market with terraced garages and high-rise office buildings. Over an eight-year period, Steinbrueck, gradually joined by supporters, articulated the importance of what is now generally recognized as the soul of urban Seattle. His efforts led to a citywide referendum in 1971 that voters chose — over a watered-down alternative supported by the mayor, City Council and other city leaders — to preserve the market for what it is today.

Empowering groups to consider all sides of an issue requires leadership that supports contradiction. Directors need to place a high priority on the airing of objections — guiding all to place deep analysis over quick agreement. The leader should also be neutral, withholding preferences and expectations as much as possible. Members who shoot down dissenting opinions should be asked to listen to be sure no stone is left unturned. Lastly, the dangers of group think should be openly discussed and understood.

Research on group decision-making shows a powerful tendency for individuals to revert to overly consensus-seeking behavior when making group decisions under stress. To reduce stress levels, prepare the board with information well in advance of its meeting; reduce time



allotted to ministerial or noncritical reporting matters; and schedule ample committee or board time for thoughtful consideration of key decisions. It may sound simple but it often does not happen.

Most important is the culture created from the top. The selection of the CEO is the key job of the board; the CEO sets the tone for everyone in the organization. With good teamwork and communication between the board and CEO, "surprises" (good or bad) rarely occur.

A board that recognizes the dangers of group decision-making, and that has a proper structure and a healthy culture of debate in place, will be more likely to recognize an emerging problem and take timely, appropriate action.

Thoughtful board leadership can ask good questions and suggest alternative courses of action. Experienced board members will often have lived through similar changes and emergencies in their own corporations and will have sound advice for the company's problem. Hearing all of these voices may do more for corporate governance than Sarbanes-Oxley compliance could ever hope to.

The symptoms of group think are divided into three main categories:

Overestimation: Illusions of invulnerability Belief in inherent group morality Closed Mindedness: Rationalization Isolationism Uniformity pressure: Self-censorship Direct pressure Mind guards Unanimity illusion

These three categories are subdivided into 8 main symptoms of group think:

1. Illusions of invulnerability Members believe that they cannot be defeated by any external or internal force. Members ignore obvious danger, take extreme risk, and are overly optimistic. This is done by ignoring warnings, depending on safety nets, and/or overconfidence in personal abilities.

2. Belief in inherent group morality: Members believe their decisions are morally correct, ignoring the ethical consequences of their decisions. Members assume that the 'right' thing will always be done. In doing so, factors that influence the decision making process are discounted, resulting in flawed (incomplete) assumptions.

3. Collective Rationalization: Members discredit and explain away warning contrary to group thinking. Members promote closed mindedness by downplaying information contrary to previous group assumptions and/or conclusions. This is usually done in a proud intellectual manner.

4. Isolationism Members may promote an esoteric way of thought that distances them from external opinions or influences. This distancing often happens when external sources are



viewed as overly critical or cynical. In addition, isolationism may result in discounting valid criticism.

5. Self-censorship Members withhold their dissenting views and counter-arguments. Members can allow subtle pressure caused by a desire to achieve group agreement to restrict the expression of personal convictions or concerns.

6. Pressure for Conformity: Members pressure any in the group who express arguments against the group's stereotypes, illusions, or commitments, viewing such opposition as disloyalty. The group constructs negative stereotypes of rivals outside the group. Direct pressure is a more pronounced self-censorship where group power is imposed to bring about conformity. Mockery and disrespect often accompany this phenomenon.

7. Mind guards Mind guards are natural defenses of the human brain that prevent the possibility of damage (challenged assumptions, etc.) Some members appoint themselves to the role of protecting the group from adverse information that might threaten group complacency. These guards usually stop further exploration of assumptions or accepted data and breed complacency.

8. Illusion of Unanimity: The previous symptoms, when present, result in an illusion that the group cohesively agrees. However, if the previous symptoms do exist, real group unity cannot occur. Members are demanded not to threaten group 'goals' with disagreements or doubts (often viewed as disloyalty). Members perceive falsely that everyone agrees with the group's decision; silence is seen as consent

Avoiding Group Think

The group should be made aware of the causes and consequences of group think.

1. The leader should be neutral when assigning a decision-making task to a group, initially withholding all preferences and expectations. This practice will be especially effective if the leaders consistently encourages an atmosphere of open inquiry.

2. The leader should give high priority to airing objections and doubts, and be accepting of criticism.

3. Groups should always consider unpopular alternatives, assigning the role of devil's advocate to several strong members of the group.

4. Sometimes it is useful to divide the group into two separate deliberative bodies as feasibilities are evaluated.

5. Spend a sizable amount of time surveying all warning signals from rival group and organizations.

6. After reaching a preliminary consensus on a decision, all residual doubts should be expressed and the matter reconsidered.

7. Outside experts should be included in vital decision making.

8. Tentative decisions should be discussed with trusted colleagues not in the decision-making group.



9. The organization should routinely follow the administrative practice of establishing several independent decision-making groups to work on the same critical issue or policy.

The Outrage Factor

By their nature, emergency management professionals must focus on the technical issues associated with emergency preparation and response, whereas the public considers many other factors. It is generally true that what the public sees as the risk and their related fears often have no correlation to the technical issues. In risk management and communication circles, these non-technical factors are often referred to as the “outrage" dimension of risk.

The person who communicates with the public must be aware that the public is usually more concerned with the outrage issues than the technical aspects, and their perception of the risk(s) is likely to be very different from the agency’s assessment.

Some actions that are guaranteed to raise the level of hostility between community members and agency representatives and may ultimately stand in the way of successful public communication include:

· Ignoring the variables that influence community risk perception.

· Labelling the variables as irrational and then discounting them.

Some key variables that can underlie community perception of risk:

· Voluntary risks are accepted more readily than those that are imposed. When communities feel coerced into accepting risks, they tend to feel anger and resentment. As a result, the community may pay far less attention to a substantive risk issue because a less serious coerced risk generates more controversy.

· Natural risks seem more acceptable than artificial risks. An act of nature, such as an earthquake or tornado, is more acceptable than one caused by people, such as a chemical leak or airplane crash. Natural disasters provide no focus for anger because there is no one to blame, whereas man-made disasters can usually be attributed to human error and thus become a focal point for public anger.

· Risks under individual control are accepted more readily than those subject to industry or government control. Most people feel safer dealing with risks under their own control. For example, most of us feel safer driving than riding as a passenger. Our feeling has nothing to do with our driving record versus the driving record of others.

· Risk information that comes from a trustworthy source is more readily believed than information from an untrustworthy source. If a mechanic with whom you have quarrelled in the past suggests he can not find a



problem with a car that seems faulty to you, you will respond quite differently than if a friend delivers the same news. You are more apt to demand justification from the mechanic rather than ask neutral questions.

· Exotic risks seem more dangerous than familiar risks. A cabinet full of household cleansers, for example, generates much less concern than a high-tech chemical facility that makes the cleansers.

The greater the number and seriousness of outrage factors, the greater the likelihood of public concern about the risk, regardless of the technical data. As government agencies have seen many times, the risks that elicit public concern may not be the same ones that scientists have identified as most dangerous. When officials dismiss the public's concern as misguided, the result is controversy, anger, distrust, and still greater concern. None of this is meant to suggest that people disregard scientific information and make decisions based only on the other variables (the outrage factors). However, it does suggest that outrage also matters, and that by ignoring the outrage factors, agencies skew the balance and cause people to become even more outraged. This logic leads to the following guideline:

Pay as much attention to outrage factors and to the community's concerns as to scientific data. At the same time, do not underestimate the public's ability to understand technical information.

Benefits of proactively considering and addressing community outrage factors

Emergency management professionals too often focus on the scientific data and ignore the outrage factors. In a democracy, controversial issues are not those solely determined by technical experts. If outrage factors and people's concerns are not addressed from the outset, you will often be forced to attend to them later, after angering the public - a far more challenging situation.

Some primary benefits of considering and addressing community outrage factors, as well as the technical issues, from the beginning are:

· If you merely convey technical information and ignore the outrage factors, you will enrage the public. As a result, risks the agency deems minimal will become battlegrounds. Addressing the outrage factor reduces this likelihood.

· Data is not always complete and management options are rarely perfect. Including other concerns raised by the public may lead to better technical solutions.



Appendix E: Media Relations Guidelines

Guidelines For Conducting A News Conference

1. When you notify media of news conferences/availabilities, be sure to define what kind of event you are having. News conferences are held to announce something for the first time. Press availabilities are held simply to make individuals available to answer questions or demonstrate something.

2. Don't call unnecessary news conferences/availabilities. If it's not worth their time, the media will only be angered.

3. If holding a news conference, try to tell media in advance some details of what you will be announcing.

4. Gauge the size of your crowd carefully when reserving a room; better to have too much than too little space. Make sure microphones, chairs, lighting and water are in place at least 30 minutes prior to the event.

5. Decide format in advance -- who will introduce speakers, who decides when question/answer period ends, and other details.

6. Decide in advance whether handouts are needed. If speaker is giving a talk for which there is a text, you may want to wait and hand out material after the talk so media will stay and listen. However, it's advisable to tell the media you will provide a text of the speech so they are not irritated by having to take unnecessary notes.

7. Check to see what else is happening in your organization or in the community before scheduling a press conference.

8. Consider whether you need to let other organizations and agencies know you are having a news conference. (You may wish to invite others to attend or participate in your event.)

9. Decide who will maintain control at the news conference, who will decide where cameras are set up, who sits where.

10. Try to plan the length of the news conference, but be flexible.

11. Consider the time of the news conference. If you want to make the noon, 6 p.m. or 11 p.m. TV and radio news, you need to allow time for crews to travel and edit tape.

12. If you are going to set restrictions on an event such as limited photo access, try to put the restrictions in writing and communicate to the media at least 24 hours in advance.



Media Relations Reminders

1. Always return media calls. The more co-operative you appear, the better.

2. Communicate with the media -- talk to them as well as listen to them. During crisis time, you may learn a great deal from the media that can be useful to you in further dealing with the crisis.

3. Avoid antagonizing the media. A short tone at a press conference, during a phone call, or elsewhere can affect your future relationship with an individual or other media who may hear the conversation.

4. Consider establishing a dedicated call-in phone line that will offer information to media or others. Information on news conferences, rumour control information, newly acquired information, can be placed on a tape that can be updated. This is particularly useful when regular phone lines are tied up with calls.

5. Consider how information you release to media may affect other agencies, businesses or individuals. If you say things that may result in media calling other agencies, call those agencies first to warn them of impending calls.

6. When talking to the media, be sure to give credit to other agencies, groups or individuals working on the crisis, including your own staff.

7. Try to be pro-active with new information. Even those things may be frantic; if you acquire new information regarding the crisis, reach out to the media.

8. Be honest. Don’t make false or misleading statements.

Handling Media Interviews

How to prepare for Broadcast Interviews - Prepare "talking paper" on primary points you want to make. - Anticipate questions--prepare responses. - Practice answering questions. - Cover controversial areas ahead of time. - Know who will be interviewing you, if possible. - Determine how much time is available. - Audiences often remember impressions, not facts.



Do's and Don'ts During the Interview process

- Do build bridges. - Do use specifics. - Do use analogies. - Do use contrasts, comparisons. - Do be enthusiastic/animated. - Do be your casual likable self. - Do be a listener. - Do be cool. - Do be correct. - Do be anecdotal. - If you don't have the answer or can't answer, do admit it and move on to another topic. - Don't fall for that "A or B" dilemma. - Don't accept "what if" questions. - Don't accept "laundry list" questions. - Don't go off the record. - Don't think you have to answer every question. - Don't speak for someone else --beware of the absent-party trap.

How To Handle Yourself During A TV Talk Show Interview - Talk "over " lavaliere mike. - Audio check-- use regular voice. - If makeup is offered, use it. - Sit far back in the chair, back erect...but lean forward to appear enthusiastic and force

yourself to use hands. - Remember... TV will frame your face--be calm, use high hand gestures, if possible. - Keep eyes on interviewer-- not on camera. - Smile, be friendly.

Tips On Appearance - Avoid wearing pronounced strips, checks or small patterns. - Grey, brown, blue or mixed colored suits/dressed are best. - Grey, light-blue, off-white or pastel shirts or blouses are best. - Avoid having hair cut right before interview.

How To Respond During A Newspaper Interview - Obtain advanced knowledge of interview topics. - Make sure you are prepared in detail; print reporters are often more knowledgeable

than broadcast reporters and may ask more detailed questions. - Begin the interview by making your point in statement by making your major points in

statement form. - Try to maintain control of the interview . - Don't let reporter wear you down. - Set a time limit in advance. - Don't let so relaxed that you say something you wish you hadn't. - Avoid jargon or professional expressions. - Reporter may repeat self in different ways to gain information you may no want to give.



- Don't answer inappropriate questions; simply say it is "not an appropriate topic for you to address at this time," or "it's proprietary" for example.

- Be prepared for interruptions with questions...it is legitimate for reporters to do that. - Do not speak "off the record." - Remember, the interview lasts as long as a reporter is there.

After The Interview - You can ask to check technical points, but do not ask to see advance copy of the story. - Never try to go over reporter's head to stop a story. - Do not send gifts to reporters--it is considered unethical for them to accept them.



Appendix F: Sample Scripts

<This section will contain some pre-formatted press release or press conference scripts which can be used or modified quickly during initial incident response, during the on-going crisis and follow up.>

Sample News Release

A ___________________ at ____________________ involving __________________ occurred today at ________________ . The incident is under investigation and more information is forthcoming.

A __________________(what happened)_________________ at __________(location)______________ involving ____________(who)____________ occurred today at _______________(time)____________. The incident is under investigation and more information is forthcoming.

For instance:

An explosion at 1210 Market Street, the main plant for the Acme Toy Company occurred today at 3 p.m. The incident is under investigation and more information will be forthcoming.

You could put down a definitive time for the next news conference or release of information if you know it but it is not necessary. This will not solve your problems, but may buy you enough time to prepare for the next news conference or release.

You could also add information if it is available such as how many casualty's there are known up to this point or any other pertinent information available. Once again, this information should be definitive and not speculative, verify everything you say. This will help your credibility in the long run.
