1

Communications

Todd Thalhamer, P.E.

2

Communications

• Paramount to an incident Establish off-site and on-site communications Critical to employee safety and the welfare of

the community Success is dependent on communications

3

Off-Site Communication

Manage the Public Relations The Press will FIND a story Better to work with then against

Establish an Incident Command Post Needs to be located a safe distance from the

incident and UPWIND. Be prepared to move! Press will go to the ICP

4

Off-Site CommunicationWHY? You need the Press, they are your link to

the community.

5

PR Management

Video

6

On-site Communication

Need to establish communications among resources

Can FF communicate with heavy equipment operators?

7

How to Communicate On Site?

8

IAP Incident Action Plan

Incident Command System Forms http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/IS/ICSResource/ICSResCntr_Forms.htm

Excellent format for incident briefing, incident objectives, organizational assignments, radio communications plan, medical plan, organization chart, safety plan, etc

Can range from simple to complex

9

IAP Examples

GOH – Fresno Debris Fire Last Rubble Pile – SF Landfill

Fire

10

Incident Action Plan

Video

11

Summary of Waste Fire Issues

You have no Pre Plan You have a mix of LF operators and FF that are

rarely trained or know what issues exist during a major landfill event

You are using heavy equipment and fire resources together w/o proper communication or PPE

You have individuals working at your facility that do not know the hazards present (e.g. Leachate sumps, GCS)

You have been lucky so far

12

How to Fix This?

Pre Plan Train Know your Resources Use ICS

Takes introductions and education out of the equation in the event of an incident

Resources and capabilities are known Infrastructure is known Potential hazards are known Can focus on specific situation

Training and Preplanning

14

Your Pre Plan

Your Time to Understand the Issues Location of Facility Location of Population Available H2O and Foam Available Resources (HE) Available Agencies Environmental Impacts Air Emissions Funding Evacuation (Red Cross)

Thank You

May your incident be short

May your work be safe

May you never see a news camera

15

Todd Thalhamer, P.E. HSC ltfire88@gmail.com