Emergency Response Communications Emergency Communications Specialist

Question: Discuss about the case study Emergency Response Communications for Emergency Communications Specialists. Answer: Introduction Emergencies can best be defined as incidents that are deemed to endanger or threaten the safety of the populace lives. This threat can be regarding their welfare or their health. These disasters may even exceed the capability of law enforcement officials, first responders and also the local fire fighters if these emergencies go on for a very long time. These emergency disasters can range from location, effect, and cause. All of these are said to have an environment component. The response can be defined as a way of reducing the impacts of these disasters on both the environment and public (Bartholomew, 2013). Meaning of Emergency Response Plan Emergency response may be defined as the coordinating, directing, and organizing of available assets so as to effectively counter to different emergency situations that occur. This will make it possible to control these emergency disasters or situations. The main objective of the emergency response plan is to protect the people and the environment against the harsh impacts of the occurrence of these disasters. It is very important for all emergency response plans to give out the adequate information and resources that are required for the evaluation of the impacts of these emergencies on the health impacts on the environment and human beings. This will help in assessing and finding better ways of mitigating the exposure of people to these impacts like contaminants and also come up with scientific-based strategies that will help in rebuilding and remedying the effects of these emergencies (Blythe Fry, 2016). How to plan for Emergence Response There are different factors, which determine the procedures that we need to follow when developing effective contingency plans. Some of these factors include the physical layout of buildings; the degree of emergencies; the organization size; the actual nature of the emergency at hand; how an organization is prepared when it comes to dealing with emergencies; the availability of the outside help (Campbell, 2007). As we all know, disasters and emergencies are always bound to happen at any time without any notice for us to prepare. These incidences can be spontaneous and unpredictable. This is more reason as to why we have to be prepared to deal with such incidence immediately they occur. The more different organizations get prepared for them, the better they will be capable of acting and responding swiftly to emergencies. This will even help in minimizing the confusion and panic in organizations when these incidences take place. Speaking from my point of view, when these incidences occur, the bigger businesses will end up having a lesser impact compared to the smaller businesses that can be drastically affected by these disasters. Most of the smaller businesses lack resources and capital to enable them to have a more rigorous business continuity whenever they are affected by emergency incidences, unlike the bigger businesses that always rise again even after being affected (Edwards, 2015). The other problem with the smaller businesses unlike, the bigger ones they lack formal processes. To prepare stronger and effective emergency response plan, then we have to follow some guidelines to achieve this. These guidelines include; determining the necessary conditions for evacuation of victims; designating secondary and primary emergency and route exits. All organizations must make sure that all these particular points are well marked or labeled for everyone to see. Organizations must make sure that they post these signs and also put in place the emergency lighting to act in place of the absence of power in the course of evacuating the affected victims (Howitt Leonard, 2009). These emergency exit routes must fulfill these conditions; they must be unobstructed and clear at all times; they should not expose people to additional dangers in the course of evacuation; the exit points must be wide enough to hold the number of the evacuating victims. Organizations must also plan emergency management offices at the local level; Every organization should at least have some people who are specialized in evacuation operations to help in emergency operations; all organizations must come up with specific procedures for carrying out proper evacuations; Organization should put in place effective systems that can be used for accounting the affected employees by at least having emergency drills to make sure that all the staff knows exactly what to do when emergencies occur (Kapur Smith, 2010). This is the best way of testing the efficiency the emergency exit procedures and routes. It is important that the recordings of such drills be kept. It is also vital for the organization to take into account the transportation requirements for its staff, posting procedures for evacuating at a particular point where all the staff can see them, coming up with procedures for helping those individuals with disabilities. It is also important for the organization to find ways of accessing their staffs personal details, for instance, their next of in-home contact numbers, and health care. Organizations can store contact details of their staff in envelopes that are well sealed or even the flash disks or CD-ROMs. Further evacuating procedures must be put in place just in case the emergencies occur. This can entail the provision of transport to the staff at a more secure place or even sending these workers home by normal means (Kavanagh Leung, 2010). Importance of Emergency Response Plans When planning, we can at least discover other hazardous conditions that had not been known before. This can help us to eliminate these hazardous conditions. Deficiencies like items, or resources like trained personnel, equipment, and supplies can be checked whether they are present or absent. The planning of this emergency plans helps in the promotion of awareness about the importance of safety. Coming up with such emergency response plans can prove to the workers that the organization is committed to their safety (Miller Berry, 2015). Challenges in Emergency Response According to (Valcik Tracy, 2013) sometimes there are some problems that may arise when it comes to responding to emergency incidents. An example of such a problem is when it comes to communication. More effort must be geared towards finding new ways of communicating in the course of an emergency, particularly when it comes to the major decision makers like the overall commander, fire brigade, medical, on-scene commanders and other external agencies. All these departments and personnel must put in more efforts to always communicate with each other (Roberts, 2016). Conclusion Planning ahead in organizations is important as it helps the organizations avoid duplicating the roles and responsibilities. For instance, rescue squad, ambulance services, the police, company fire brigade, and the first aid teams that may all come to the scene of incidence. This pre-determined structure of protocol plays a critical role in solving organizational challenges. References Bartholomew, D. A. (2013). The Emergency Response Communications Handbook: A Guide for LDS Emergency Communications Specialists. Blythe, B. T., Fry, N. K. (2016). The Manager's Guide to Quick Crisis Response: Effective Action in an Emergency (A Rothstein Publishing Collection eBook). Campbell, J. (2007). Homeland Security and Emergency Medical Response. Edwards, N. (2015). Emergency Response: Escape to the County. Howitt, A. M., Leonard, H. B. (2009). Managing Crises: Responses To Large-Scale Emergencies. Kapur, G. B., Smith, J. P. (2010). Emergency Public Health: Preparedness And Response. Kavanagh, J., Leung, R. (2010). Emergency First Aid: Recognition and Response to Medical Emergencies (Pocket Tutor Series). 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