Emergency Management Communication Paper

Emergency Management Components
Complete the following table by describing the components of multi-agency emergency management and their relevance.
Component Description
Interoperability (What is it and why is it important? What happens it interoperability does not exist? This is the ability of the emergency management or response personnel to work together and interact well among themselves. The sharing of data and information among the personnel makes the rescue process easier, faster and above all effective. Without interoperability, the emergency management process will not be successful hence many lives which could have been saved may end up being lost.
Communication This is the act of passing information from one group to another through available communication channels. During an emergency there may be two or more rescue groups at the scene hence communication among them is vital for the survival of the victims. In the year 2001 when the American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon the emergency response had over 900 responders all form over 50 different agencies, but through effective communication among them, many lives were saved.
Infrastructure (What types of infrastructure is necessary to support a multi-agency response?) Each agency has its own infrastructure for example communication systems. In a multi-agency response, there should be coordination in a way that all the infrastructures from the different agencies are compatible. This will make the rescue process much easier hence many lives saved.

The communication systems of different agencies should be compatible to allow passing of information among them. The infrastructure used in emergency response should be
Reliable- able to work in any kind of emergency
Scalable- Can be used despite the scale of the emergency whether large or small
Resilient- Can perform even when damaged
Portable-Can be moved from one place to another with ease.
Provide an example of a multi-agency emergency response in which there were deficiencies in one or more of the components. (Explain) On January 13th, 1982 during a snowstorm, Air Florida Flight 90 crashed into the 14th St. Bridge in Washington. The response was massive as there were police, EMS, and fire personnel at the scene but due to coordination problems as they found it difficult to communicate among themselves. The end results were not good as more than 70 lives were lost at the expense of poor communication.
Reference(s)
Bumgarner, Jeffrey B. Emergency Management: A Reference Handbook. Santa Barbara, Calif: ABC-CLIO, 2008.
McEntire, David A. Disciplines, Disasters and Emergency Management: The Convergence and Divergence of Concepts, Issues and Trends from the Research Literature. Springfield, 2007.