CITY OF CROOKSTON

EMERGENCY OPERATIONS PLAN

COMMAND SECTION

REVISION: 5/1/2010
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I. PURPOSE

To describe how the overall direction, control and dissemination of public information by the City of Crookston will be accomplished in the event of a major incident.


II. OFFICIALS RESPONSIBLE FOR DIRECTION & CONTROL AND PUBLIC INFORMATION

A. The Mayor will be responsible for providing overall direction and control of city resources involved in a response to a disaster. The line of succession to the Mayor is as follows: Mayor, Acting Mayor, Senior Council Member.

B. The only official(s) authorized to serve, as the public information officer (PIO) for the City of Crookston is the Mayor, the Mayor’s designee or the City Administrator. The PIO will serve as the official point of contact for the media.

C. The Crookston Emergency Management Director (EMD) or the Assistant EMD will serve in a staff capacity to the Mayor and as Liaison with other outside agencies. The EMD will coordinate all aspects of this plan and will be responsible for all changes to the plan. The line of succession to the EMD is as follows: EMD/Fire Chief, Assistant EMD/Police Chief, Fulltime Firefighters, Police Lieutenant.


III. CROOKSTON EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER (EOC)

Direction and Control of the City of Crookston response to a disaster will be carried out at the Crookston EOC. The EOC is located at the Crookston Police Department. If, for some reason the EOC is not usable at the time of disaster, the Crookston City Hall will serve as the alternate EOC.

Functions of the EOC

A. Coordinating the City’s response to the disaster.
B. Coordinating with any local government/city affected by/or responding to the disaster through the Polk County EOC.
C. Coordinating with any businesses/industries directly affected by/or responding to the disaster.
D. Generating appropriate public information.
E. Special event logs will be maintained for EOC operations.
Emergency Management Incident Checklists for Command, PIO and Liaison positions are filed as attachments to this section.
The EOC has the capability of communicating with other agencies, e.g., fire, police, public works, ambulance, sheriff by telephone and radio communications. Backup communications will be coordinated with the local amateur radio club.

IV. EOC ACTIVATION

A. Operational Readiness

The Crookston EMD and Assistant EMD are responsible for maintaining the operational readiness of the primary and secondary EOC’s. This involves ensuring the EOC has the necessary communications equipment, maps, displays, tables, chairs, message logs, etc. The EOC is routinely used in daily business and after hours, it can be activated within 20 minutes.

B. Responsibility for EOC Activation

The Mayor of Crookston, with the EMD and City Administrator implementing city policy, will activate the
EOC and staff it as required to meet the emergency.

In the event of a major disaster, EOC staff would be expected to automatically report to the EOC.

C. Criteria for EOC Activation by severity of the incident

1. The EOC may be partially activated in response to a potential threat to life or property from severe weather, tornado, flooding, fire, blizzard, or HAZMAT incident/accident that is an uncontrolled release of a reportable product (Response Level I).

2. The EOC would be fully activated in response to an emergency resulting in a threat to life and/or property. This would include, but is not limited to; a tornado touchdown, flooding that causes damage to the private and public sector and requires a coordinated response effort, or HAZMAT incident/accident involving surrounding municipalities/counties (Response level II and III).

D. Staffing of the EOC

The staffing list for the EOC is on file with the EMD. Each department/agency, which is represented in the EOC, should be familiar with the duties, which he/she is expected to perform at the EOC. Staff can be contacted by telephone, pager or two-way radio. If a protracted stay at the EOC is expected, staff will bring along personal use items they may need.

E. On scene control of disaster situations will be handled per the National Incident Management System (NIMS) protocol.

F. Local, state and federal officials will check in with the Liaison officer at the EOC before beginning any official functions.

G. Staging areas for equipment and personnel will be set up as appropriate, depending on the number of personnel and equipment expected.

H. Normal office supplies are on hand at the EOC, as the facility is used daily as an office.

I. Communications equipment including radios, telephones and fax machine are available at the EOC. A detailed listing will be found in the Logistics section of this plan.


V. EMERGENCY PUBLIC INFORMATION

The Mayor, Mayor’s designee or the City Administrator will serve as the Public Information Officer (PIO) and will be the official spokesperson for the government of Crookston.

A. City government personnel in the field will be responsible for relaying timely information to the Command staff about the emergency so the PIO can release timely and factual information.

B. In the event of a protracted disaster/emergency, the PIO will be responsible for disseminating information and instructions to the public on a timely basis and will coordinate all city press releases.

C. If it becomes necessary to establish a news briefing room, the Crookston City Hall will be used for this purpose. News media will be asked to report to that area.

D. At a minimum, the following radio station will be used for the dissemination of public information:
KROX-AM.

E. The PIO will be responsible for (handling or arranging for) rumor control and establishing a public information telephone inquiry system.

F. The PIO will coordinate with the Logistics Chief to ensure a system exists for responding to the inquiries of families regarding the status and location evacuated family members.

G. Polk County Public Health will be responsible for the preparation of material that describe the health risks associated with each hazard, the appropriate self-help or first aid actions, and other appropriate survival measures. Any release of information will be done by or in coordination with the PIO.

H. The Emergency Management Director (EMD) or Assistant EMD in consultation with law enforcement and fire department personnel will be responsible for the preparation of: instructions for people who must evacuate from a high-risk area and instructions for sheltering in place. Coordination with LOGISTICS is vital in ensuring a shelter is ready to take in the evacuees. This information will be relayed to the PIO.

I. The EMD or Assistant EMD will be responsible for relaying instructions to the PIO that identify centrally located staging areas and pick-up points for evacuees without private vehicles or other means or transportation, or designating specific routes of travel or areas that are closed to travel.


EOC - PERSONNEL DIRECTORY - ATTACHMENT 2


POSITION NAME

COMMAND

LIAISON ____________________________________________________

PUBLIC INFORMATION _______________________________________

OPERATIONS

SEARCH/RESCUE _____________________________________________

EVACUATION/TRAFFIC CONTROL ______________________________

FIRE PROTECTION ____________________________________________

DEBRIS CLEARANCE __________________________________________

UTILITIES RESTORATION ______________________________________

EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES ______________________________

STAGING ____________________________________________________

PLANNING

DOCUMENTATION ___________________________________________

NOTIFICATION/WARNING ____________________________________

RADIOLOGICAL/HAZMAT/TECHNICAL SPECIALISTS _____________

LOGISTICS

HEALTH/MEDICAL ___________________________________________

CONGREGATE CARE _________________________________________

SUPPLIESRESOURCE GUIDE __________________________________

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT __________________________________

FACILITIES/FOOD __________________________________________

FINANCE

ADMINISTRATIVE ISSUES ____________________________________

DAMAGE ASSESSMENT ______________________________________

COST RECOVERY ___________________________________________