Transcript Title Master

Accessible Transportation and Emergency
Preparedness Planning
September 18, 2013
WWW.PROJECTACTION.ORG
Event Details
• The presentation can be downloaded from the ESPA
website (www.ProjectACTION.org)
• This event is being recorded and transcribed.
• Archived version available on our website in
approximately 30 days
• Accessible formats can be obtained by emailing
[email protected]
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Event Details (cont..)
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Meet Your Presenters
• Julie Bommelman, Transit Administrator, City of
Fargo, North Dakota
• Kevin Shanley, Senior Emergency Management
Coordinator, City of Chicago Office of
Emergency Management & Communications
• Carol Wright, Senior Director, Easter Seals
Accessible Transportation Programs
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Emergency Preparedness Planning
Carol Wright
Senior Director
Easter Seals Accessible Transportation Programs
WWW.PROJECTACTION.ORG
Emergency Preparedness
A Working Definition:
1) Actions you take to anticipate and minimize the
impact of emergency events
2) Planning measures taken to ensure reactions to
emergency events are efficient and effective
Planning
“In preparing for battle, I have always found that plans
are useless, but planning is indispensable.”
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Basics of Emergency Preparedness
1. Understand the threat
2. Integrate accessible transportation, people with
disabilities, and others who are transit-dependent
into the planning process
3. Identify all available resources
Common Types of Emergencies
1)Accidents/Incidents
2)Hazardous Materials
3)Criminal Activity
4)Organization Infrastructure
5)Domestic or International Terrorism
6)Acts of Nature/Severe Weather
Preparing for Emergencies
Many organizations are preparing for emergency events
just like you are, but not all of them are thinking from the
same point of view.
It is important to integrate transit
into the local emergency community.
Planning: Local Emergency Management
1. Who is involved in community emergency
preparedness planning?
2. Is your agency currently involved?
3. What is expected of transit?
4. Are people with disabilities and other transitdependent people represented in the planning
process?
5. Are written Emergency Service Agreements in
place?
Accessibility During an Emergency
Through inclusive conversations and extensive
outreach, people with disabilities can ensure that they
know their transportation options during an emergency.
Communities can make sure they are aware of the
different needs of transit-dependent
people in their communities, as well
as the locations of the homes of people
with disabilities should evacuation be
necessary.
Potential Accessible Transportation
Resources: Building a Database
1. Local school districts with lift-equipped buses
2. Community emergency medical vehicles
(ambulances)
3. Vans/buses from places of worship
4. Local assisted living facility vehicles
5. Local community and public transit vehicles
6. Paratransit vehicles
Potential Accessible Transportation
Resources: Building a Database
7. Area agencies on aging/senior citizen center
vehicles
8. Accessible taxis
9. Adult day care vehicles
10. Airport car rental shuttle
buses
11. Airport shuttle buses
Accessible Transportation & Emergency
Preparedness Planning
 Accessible transportation should be identified and
described in a city’s emergency preparedness plan.
 People with disabilities should be involved in the
planning meetings.
 If an emergency occurs and an evacuation is
necessary, the city can tap into all of its resources.
Preparing for Emergency Response
Perspectives of Emergency Operations
Kevin O’Hara Shanley
Senior Emergency Management Coordinator
City of Chicago
Office of Emergency Management and Communications
WWW.PROJECTACTION.ORG
Need for Participatory Planning
• Obligation by Emergency Planners to Include People
with disabilities (National Organization on Disability, 2009)
– Twenty-seven percent (27%) of emergency managers had
completed disability-related training (Fox, 2007).
– Sixty-six percent (66%) of counties had no intention of modifying
guidelines for people with mobility disabilities (Fox, 2007).
– Limitations in range of disabilities – significant disabilities not
represented.
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Know your Emergency Planning Office and
Help them Get to Know You
• Identify key office
– Understand procedures & people
– Review existing plans
• Learn about ways to be involved
– Participate in community planning
– Contribute to knowledge base around
transportation & disability
– Conduct practical exercises
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Benefits of Participation to Emergency
Planners
• Partnerships between emergency planners and
disability-related organizations improve planning and
response (Littman, 2006).
• People with disabilities provide expertise to enhance
emergency planner understanding of issues.
• Partnerships ensure inclusive and realistic plans
(Littman, 2006).
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COMMUNICATION IS KEY
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Emergency Public Information
• People with disabilities offer guidance to emergency
planners around communication modes, accessibility,
and notification.
– Improves information delivery by emergency
planners.
– Enhances emergency response.
– Increases responsibility for people with disabilities
to share communication preferences.
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Role of Transit
• Transit agencies and transportation providers can:
– Offer emergency planners information about their
capacity and services.
– Identify ways that transportation can support
emergency response.
– Participate in planning and practical exercises.
– Share information about mobility and assistive
devises to support evacuation
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Resources
•
State and local emergency planning offices
– City of Chicago Mayors Office
http://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/mopd/supp_info/emerg
ency_preparednessresourcesforpeoplewithdisabilities.html
– City of Boston
http://www.cityofboston.gov/disability/
– International Association of Emergency Managers
http://www.iaem.com/search.cfm
– National Emergency Management Association
http://www.nemaweb.org/
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Public Transit Emergency Preparedness
Julie Bommelman
Transit Administrator
City of Fargo, North Dakota
WWW.PROJECTACTION.ORG
PUBLIC TRANSIT
EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS
 What is the emergency?





Safety
Security
Vehicle Issue (fire, breakdown)
Weather Related Emergency (tornado, blizzard)
Flood
EMERGENCY
PREPAREDNESS
 Identify Events and Prepare as Practicable
 National Incident Management System (NIMS)
 Driver and Staff Training
 Outside Speakers/Trainers
 Tabletop Exercises
 Take Advantage of Vendor Training (lifts, safety
equip)
EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS – DATA COLLECTION
 Identify (plan ahead) Staff/Employee Responsibilities
 Have a telephone calling tree and update it semi-annually
 List emergency contacts with phone numbers for work,
home and cell, plus email addresses
 Provide backup contacts for each aspect of the system:
•
Fixed route supervisors
•
Paratransit supervisors
•
Vehicle maintenance and fueling
•
Storage facility access (redundancies)
•
Driver’s and operations managers
EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS – DATA COLLECTION
 Equipment Inventory
Maintain an inventory of available equipment with specific
features:
•





Accessibility
Vehicle size
Fuel Source
Seating capacity
Wheelchair capacity
EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS – DATA COLLECTION
 Facility Inventory
•
 Identify and make arrangements for alternative storage and fueling
facilities
 Identify drivers who live close and can reach the facility
 Provide sufficient parking for the buses and drivers
 Program two-way handheld radios for communication in area for
providers
 Cellular phones required for long-distance travel
 Don’t forget the rechargers for radios and cell phones
EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS – DATA
COLLECTION
 Have Current Maps
 Storm Tips & Procedures
 Update Rider Alerts/Website/Twitter/Facebook
Notices
 Fixed Route (pre-determined & published snow
routes)
 Paratransit - Registration through Self-Identification
 Phone Messages Up to Date
SAFETY
Drivers certified by Red
Cross First Aid
CPR training
Use of first aid/biohazard kits on vehicle
Treat all bodily fluids as infected
Contracted biohazard clean-up service
COLLISION
Secure vehicle and
check
Self, passengers, other
drivers
Notify dispatch
Location, injuries, tow
truck
Gather witness
information
Assist authorities
Evacuate if necessary
On-Board Equipment
 Fire extinguisher
 First aid kit
 Biohazard Clean-up kit
 Triangles
 Collision reports and procedures
 Emergency exit locations and operation
SECURITY
National Transit Institute DVD’s
Identify suspicious packages/devices
ID of strangers/trespassers
Unlocked doors/unsecured vehicle panels
Shifty or panicked behavior of persons
Video/Audio Equipment on vehicles and in
facilities
SNOW
 Predetermined Route Deviations:
 Approved list provided by city to all
drivers and dispatchers
 Specifies a shorter fixed-route to
maintain on-time compliance and
passenger transfers
 Major boarding points and snow
emergency routes are provided service
wherever possible
TORNADO
 Indicative sky conditions
 Watch vs. warning terminologies
 Dispatch will relay weather messages
 Evacuate vehicle to shelter if time allows
 Designated shelter locations
FIRE
Evacuate vehicle immediately
Use belt cutters and assist mobility impaired
Contact dispatch – radio enabled during fire?
Use extinguisher for small, internal incidents
Never open engine compartment
New vehicles have fire suppression systems
FLOOD
Partial
Evacuation – 2009
Event
Preparation – 2010
thru 2013
FLOOD PREPAREDNESS
2009
• City of Fargo Transit
 Planning started 2-3 weeks prior to flood
 Meetings included all management staff
 Potential flood areas identified by Engineering
 City maps distributed
 Plans developed to limit fixed route and paratransit
service
FLOOD PREPAREDNESS
2009
• Paratransit
 List of names and phone #’s of paratransit riders
 Asked residential providers to transport their clients
 MPO prepared map of all paratransit riders
 Asked riders to voluntarily limit rides
 All private transportation providers contacted
FLOOD EXPERIENCE
• Weather Affected Mobility
 Torrential rains followed by blizzard
 Travel restrictions encouraged by Mayor
 Only one bridge open between ND and MN
 Fixed Routes detoured around flooded areas
 Fixed Routes cancelled for snow storm
 Interstate highways closed
FLOOD EXPERIENCE
• Emergency Operations Center (EOC)
 Fargo EOC at Public Safety Building – Transit
Included
 Daily department meetings at City Hall
 Press releases issued by Public Information Officer
(PIO)
 Additional drivers/staff sent from Minneapolis
FLOOD EXPERIENCE
- EVACUATON
• Paratransit Helped Evacuate Nursing Homes and
Hospital
 Moorhead Nursing Home, Assisted & Catered Living
 Most Fargo Nursing Homes (over 5,000 residents)
 Hospital – ambulances, buses, planes
 Long trips to alternative nursing homes and hospitals (fueling
cards/contact other transit providers)
 Suggest plastic bags/pillowcases for medications/necessities for riders
 Trips to many outlying areas in ND and MN
 Some round-trips took 20 hours
FLOOD EXPERIENCE
• Metro Transit Garage
 Semi-tractors of sandbags staged at MTG
 Frozen sandbags thawed on heated floor
 Remote storage of buses at West Fargo Fairgrounds
and Moorhead Youth Hockey Arena
FLOOD EXPERIENCE
• Metro Transit Garage
 Paratransit buses staged for emergency evacuation
 National Guard and Police Department
 Mechanics utilized to transport National Guard
 Showers and locker rooms
FLOOD EXPERIENCE
• EOC Partners
 Transit
 Engineering / Planning
 Red Cross
 First Link Volunteer Call Center
 Law Enforcement – City and County
 Health Department
 National Guard
FLOOD EXPERIENCE
• City of Fargo Transit
 24/7 transportation between designated parking
areas and ‘Sandbag Central’
 Sandbagging locations established in neighborhoods
 Remote volunteer centers established at churches –
transportation provided to neighborhoods
 Transit staff distributed to manage transit at remote
sites
 “Code Red” utilized to motivate volunteers
FLOOD EXPERIENCE
• MAT Miles Driven
•
11,864Fargo
•
5,401 Moorhead
• MAT Passengers Transported
•
28,000 (15,000 transported by MAT) Fargo
•
12,000 (5,000 transported by MAT) Moorhead
FLOOD EXPERIENCE
• Sandbag’s made
•
3.5 Million - Fargo
•
2.5 Million – Moorhead
• Miles of dikes
•
48 miles of protection (40 ft in height) – Fargo
•
(29 clay, 8 Hesco, .03 Portadam, 10 sandbags)
•
8.14 clay & 9 of sandbags - Moorhead
LESSONS LEARNED
• Radio & Cellular Equipment
 Sufficient supply for EOC, Staff, Buses
 Preprogrammed for all buses
 Recharge regularly / Spares
• Telephone Communication
 Identify phone number for return transportation
 Posters or handouts inside the buses with phone
number
LESSONS LEARNED
• Site Management at Remote Locations
 Determine route for bus/separate route
for trucks
 “No parking” signs along street
 Food and water transported on buses
 Portable restrooms arranged in
advance (logistics)
LESSONS LEARNED
• Volunteers
 Utilize volunteers (registration, parking, riding bus)
 Don’t load buses with people who haven’t registered
 Traffic Flow in and around volunteer sites
 Food and Water at volunteer sites
 Establish waiting area of sufficient size
 Predetermine destinations with EOC / Engineers
 Communications between waiting and bus loading
areas
LESSONS LEARNED
• Maps & Road Closing
 Roads closed for flooding
 Dikes erected
 Bus route detours
 Communicate changes
ASAP
LESSONS LEARNED
• Selection of appropriate
vehicle
 School buses are higher off
ground for clearing water
 Low-floor transit buses good
for loading elderly
 Always have current
inventory, capacity
information
LESSONS LEARNED
• Storage and vehicle issues
 Identify locations for vehicle
storage outside flood areas
 Fueling away from site
 Starting buses left outside &
checking fluids
 Parking for drivers
EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS
 Establish Emergency Operations
Center
 Emergency Response/Preparedness
Team
 Calling Trees – Code Red
 NIMS (National Incident
Management System)
EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS
 Work with other agencies – respect
boundaries
 Place qualified personnel at EOC &
remote site locations
 Advance written agreements (i.e.
transportation providers)
 Advance training when possible (mock
drills)
 Identify Shelters/Respite Locations –
traffic controls/access
 Functional equipment plan (radios, land
lines, computers)
Contact Information
• Julie Bommelman
• City of Fargo Transit Administrator
• 650 23rd St N
• Fargo, ND 58102
• 701-476-6737
• [email protected]
Questions
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• Type your question into the chat section. Chat
section questions will be addressed as time permits.
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Easter Seals Project ACTION
1425 K Street NW, Suite 200
Washington, DC 20005
(800) 659-6428
www.ProjectACTION.org
@projectaction
WWW.PROJECTACTION.ORG