Preeti Emrick on Preparing Communities for Emergencies During Challenging Times

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Welcome to Pittman and Friends Podcasts.
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I am here today with my friend Pretty Emmerich, who is the director of the Office of Emergency Management of Anorono County.
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Yeah.
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Hello, hello.
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Hello, hello.
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Welcome.
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Thank you.
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Let's start out with this.
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We're going to talk about you some.
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We're going to talk about what emergency management is and the kinds of emergencies, the kinds of things you have to think about so that we don't have to and plan for.
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But first, just give us a sense of your office and who works there and what they do.
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Sure.
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The Office of Emergency Management has 14 people.
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That has grown a lot since I started as director.
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I think we had six or seven.
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And we, you know, for the county, coordinate the preparedness, response, recovery to large-scale incidents.
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That could be natural weather, that could be cyber incidents, that could be pandemics, impacts of federal shutdown.
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The list keeps growing and growing as the times have changed.
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So you're a coordinating agency that coordinates all of the departments that are involved in the response.
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Is that right?
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That could be public safety, health and human services, land use, nonprofits, coordinate with the state, with the federal government.
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So we bring together agencies in order to make sure that the residents of Anarodal County are safe.
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Can you tell us what Okay, and then there's the EOC?
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Yeah, the Emergency Operation.
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Yes.
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Tell us where that is and what it looks like.
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That is in Glen Burney.
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And we activate that when we have a large-scale event that we need to coordinate with other agencies.
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And so that is a place we all meet, make sure that we have the situational awareness, we provide updates, and especially with fast-paced events, having that operation center up and running is key.
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During COVID, we went hybrid and virtual, so we had to pivot.
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But it's the same skills of coordinating and making sure that our agencies understand their roles and responsibilities and that we're sharing the same information.
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So as an outsider elected back in 2018, very soon after, like one of my first days in office, or might have even been a tour before I came in, I went to the emergency the EOC.
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And uh first time I'd ever been in there.
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And really kind of overwhelming just to look at.
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A room with huge screens in the front where you can keep up with all the local news.
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There's a podium off to the corner where somebody can give a presentation.
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And then there are these rows of seats with computer terminals and with these headphones from for people to talk on the phone, and each one had a label of an agency that that was their representative.
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And it was really the government.
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So it was basically a place where the government would be with a representative from each.
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And then they told me, okay, Mr.
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County Executive, this little room right here is for you.
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Trevor Burrus, Jr.
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Senior policy room.
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Well, and it all the but they told me I could sleep there too.
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So basically, in a certain in a kind of an emergency, I would get driven to the EOC.
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And you sleep there.
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And I guess my family, they didn't talk about what would happen with my family, but I would be in this room and and then I would somehow be involved in the coordination.
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Then I got into some briefings about what my role would be, which was mostly communicating to the outside world what was actually going on in the inside.
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But then by the time COVID came, which was the big one, and things were virtual, things did change.
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And I don't think I I certainly never slept there, even though we've had plenty of crises and I've been there during events, but uh I haven't really needed the room.
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So that's okay.
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Things have changed.
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It's okay.
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We may have taken over that room, too.
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Okay.
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Okay.
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It doesn't exist anymore.
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Okay.
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So you worked out uh I worked myself out of a job.
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Okay.
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So you came in as a deputy.
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I think your your boss was stepping down, was retiring at the time, and uh we interviewed you, and you had a lot of big ideas, and you told us that this industry has changed, that emergency operations across the country has changed because the threats have changed.
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Can you first tell me how well a little bit about your background, how you ended up there in Anorno County as a deputy director?
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Yeah, that's interesting.
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So my parents immigrated.
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I'm starting way back.
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Okay.
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But this helps build up a little bit.
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Okay.
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Daughter of immigrants, grew up in Michigan.
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Okay.
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Immigrants from where?
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I'm sorry?
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Immigrants from where?
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India.
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India.
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Okay.
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So, you know, I was expected to perhaps go a different way career-wise, but I really fell in love with policy.
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And so I came to D.C.
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for law school.
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Okay.
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And I went to law school and I got out and I practiced law and I said, yeah, this is not for me.
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I really want to go back to policy work.
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And so there was a job opening at the University of Maryland Center for Health and Homeland Security.
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Was there a kind of policy you were interested in, or was there International Policy.
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Okay.
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Yeah.
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Okay.
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I spent a lot of time studying international policy.
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So I pivoted to Homeland Security policy.
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And a lot of Homeland Security is risk assessment is different than emergency management, but emergency management and homeland security work hand in hand in terms of disasters and intelligence and information gathering.
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Trevor Burrus, Jr.
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Wow, this is bringing back stories from my father.
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For those who don't know, my father, when I was actually when I was born, is when he was working in the Department of Defense, and he was Assistant Secretary of Defense for Civil Defense during the Cuban Missile Crisis and when there was a real thought that there might be a nuclear war.
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And his job was to go around and do really preparing for an emergency, which would be nuclear war.
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Trevor Burrus, Jr.
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Emergency management, right?
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Trevor Burrus, Jr.
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Bomb shelters and urban evacuation plans, yeah.
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Trevor Burrus, Jr.
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Right.
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So Homeland Security is where you get that intelligence.
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Okay.
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Going around, preparing people, making sure they have those bomb shelters, that's emergency management.
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So again, working hand in hand.
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So I started in the DC office of Homeland Security.
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And it just opened up a whole new whole new world for me.
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I went in as a mass care planner.
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I worked on Obama's first inauguration.
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And I was like, this is cool.
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This is great.
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I want to continue in this field.
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So a lot of it is just experience, boots on the ground.
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Now there's, you know, you can get a degree in emergency management.
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You can there's masters or doctorates, you know, all sorts of academic programs now.
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I never went through that.
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It was just learning on the job and really paying attention to the changing times.
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I mean, you previous director was from a public safety background, which again, we work with our public safety partners very well.
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But the times have changed and the crisis has changed.
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And so we have to really be open to what could impact our communities and how we respond to that.
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Trevor Burrus, Jr.
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And you I I remember hearing that you you worked in hospital as an emergency.
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What was the job there?
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No, emergency manager.
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It's still the emergency manager for health care.
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And that was you know that was probably one of the most enjoyable jobs I had.
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Trevor Burrus, Jr.
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What was the hospital?
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It was University of Maryland Capital Region Health.
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Okay.
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Formerly Prince George's Hospital.
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Okay.
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Okay.
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And so when you talk about people who are impacted, operationally, if a facility fails, if power goes out, those are people's lives on the line.
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So it was really important to make sure you have the plans and people had an understanding of what they were supposed to do day-to-day.
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Yeah.
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But that's when I realized that, you know, emergency management is really a framework.
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I need to meet people where they are.
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It's not that hospital personnel were experts in ICS and being an operations or a sections planning chief.
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But they knew how to do the day-to-day.
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So what I'm asking them to do is enhance it in order to meet this emergency.
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This emergency they don't encounter on an everyday basis.
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And that's where I go into everybody has a role in responding and recovery.
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You don't need to have a special degree.
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You don't need to have, you know, 20 years of experience in emergency management.
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You, as a community member, can take steps to be prepared.
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And I really love that educational and outreach part of my job because power is knowledge and in these uncertain times.
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Yeah.
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So uncertain.
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And I want people to feel equipped to respond.
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Trevor Burrus, Jr.
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Yeah.
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And I know you go into communities and you do preparation work and you go into institutions, but you do a lot of it with county government employees.
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I remember you do these things called tabletop exercises, right?
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Yes.
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Yes.
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I remember one, I think it might have been first or second year.
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Yeah.
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Where we were looking at an example of the bridge, the highway in Minneapolis, St.
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Paul collapsing.
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Maybe collapsing, yeah.
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Yeah.
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I think it might have been even before you got there.
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Yeah.
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And just what they had learned and then sort of gaming out how we would handle a bridge collapse, which we ended up doing.
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But um Yeah.
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Which, you know, it's again, the unexpected can happen.
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And so I'm very proud of Anarundel County because uh our agencies want to work together.
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They want to help the community.
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I can call up any director and always willing to say, let me take a look at that, or let me see how I can help.
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So one that we went through was COVID.
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Yes.
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I remember being up at the EOC when our first case uh was announced.
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And I remember Dr.
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Kalyana Rahman, our health officer, with a bandana making a video, showing people how to do it.
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Because we did we did um, I guess it was weekly videos together and and call-ins and a lot of a lot of trying to communicate with our residents.
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And you were you were in the thick of all of that.
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What did you learn from COVID?
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What was that like?
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COVID was complicated in the fact that there was a lot of mistrust and a lot of misinformation.
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And there was a lot of trauma.
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I don't think I quite appreciated before then how disasters can cause trauma in the community.
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And it it's tragic that a lot of people died.
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I think a lot of it could have been preventable.
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Trevor Burrus, Jr.
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Yeah.
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1130 or 50 or something in our county just and but the calls we received into our emergency operations center, yes, it was about what's the new law now, you know, what are the mandates, what businesses can open, what are the hours.
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There was a lot of people who called because they couldn't go to their favorite restaurant or they couldn't go to the library that they go to every day, and that was their social connection.
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And they were mad.
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Yeah.
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And it wasn't that they were telling us to do something, but this was their only outlet to express their frustration and fear.
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And so, you know, that really left a lasting impression on me in terms of people react differently, people are upset, and it's our job to manage what we can manage for them.
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And so psychological first aid, which I know you know about, it's so important.
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Probably more important sometimes than the physical build-out or the economic recovery.
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Right?
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There's sometimes an end to those.
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But when you're talking about emotional trauma from disasters, I don't think we pay enough attention to that.
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So that left such a lasting impression on me in terms of when people are upset about what has happened.
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We need to meet them where they are and understand it's not you personally.
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Right?
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It's things that are out of their control.
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And what can we do to help them?
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Trevor Burrus, Jr.
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And that's during and and you're very involved in the recovery aspect of after any kind of a disaster, right?
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Yeah.
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And that's I mean, we're still recovering from COVID.
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Or if you look at the key bridge collapse, there are still communities that even if a bridge is built, what they have gone through during the years of the response and the rebuild will stay with them.
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And so that's something that we definitely need to pay more attention to.
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So it's a pretty broad scope of disasters and crises that you that you plan for.
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And then when they start to happen, or when the weather report comes in, you activate the EOC, right?
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Right.
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What does that mean?
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So calling upon the different agencies to make sure that number one, they have the situational awareness of, hey, yes, let's use a storm as an example.
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There's a storm coming in, these are the possible impacts.
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So you department, I need you to get ready.
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Get your staff ready, your internal process ready, so that you could take care of the county.
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And then we have these coordination calls, which I think you've been part of.
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Yep.
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And that's just and by now they're kind of, you know, standard.
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Everybody knows the roles and responsibilities.
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I just want to make sure each one of you are ready.
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And if there's any resource needs or information, this is the time to bring it up.
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Trevor Burrus, Jr.
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And I'll I'll tell you, those are interesting.
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They they're they're sort of like a symphony of all of these all of these players working together.
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Yeah.
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And while there are the the people who are in the EOC sitting at those desks, they're also the people who are logging in online.
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And these are so sometimes they're happening every few hours during the night, even.
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Oh yeah, but this is even happening before the EOC.
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By the time they set foot into the EOC, we have had so many calls about the situation, especially if we know it's coming.
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Hurricane season is coming up, right?
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We know days ahead that, hey, something is coming up.
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So those calls happen even before anybody sets foot into the emergency operations center.
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Okay.
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Even before those briefings that we have every couple of hours to just assess the situation, what has changed, what is needed.
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Yeah.
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All that is.
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And your folks are getting information from State, Federal.
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Federal, National Weather Service, American Red Cross.
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So at the same time we're doing that internally for county agencies, we are also meeting with the state.
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And we're meeting statewide to discuss the weather and what resources the state could offer us and what the federal government may be doing as well.
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So all that is happening at the same time.
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So that by the time this emergency operations center is running and open, we have so much wealth of information and an idea of what we need to do.
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And a lot of that is pre-staging materials, making sure that the personnel are ready, and so is just pressing the button to execute.
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Yeah.
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And you basically open up like a great big Zoom meeting and leave it open.
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And that's the hybrid.
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That's the hybrid, that's the beauty of technology, which we should embrace.
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So anybody can log in at any point, and there's somebody there you can talk to.
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Exactly.
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And then there's somebody connected to every agency.
00:15:08.480 --> 00:15:15.279
And then during so during the reporting, you've got what on your list of some of the agencies that usually have something to say in a weather event.
00:15:15.759 --> 00:15:24.000
Please fire DPW, especially with this recent winter storm, central services, because government needs to still run.
00:15:24.399 --> 00:15:25.600
DPW Public Works, by the way.
00:15:26.240 --> 00:15:26.320
Yeah.
00:15:27.360 --> 00:15:28.399
Most people know that one by now.
00:15:28.480 --> 00:15:40.639
Trevor Burrus, Jr.: Central Services, inspections and permits, our health and human services agencies, aging and disabilities, crisis response, health, mental health agency, Department of Social Services.
00:15:40.879 --> 00:15:42.240
Everybody has a role.
00:15:42.559 --> 00:15:49.200
And everybody knows the roles and responsibilities because on Blue Sky Days, we exercise, we train in our plans.
00:15:49.600 --> 00:15:49.759
Yep.
00:15:49.919 --> 00:15:50.320
Yep.
00:15:50.639 --> 00:15:50.879
Yeah.
00:15:51.120 --> 00:15:54.159
And people are designated to be their agencies liaison.
00:15:54.559 --> 00:15:57.919
Yes, and there's training year-round for those designees.
00:15:58.000 --> 00:15:58.320
Trevor Burrus, yeah.
00:15:58.559 --> 00:16:00.240
So we find out on those calls.
00:16:00.399 --> 00:16:11.600
I mean you can look online now and see where roads are closed, and you can look in power outages and things, but find out about what calls for service there have been, what kinds of emergencies are being handled in various locations around the county.
00:16:11.679 --> 00:16:12.240
Trevor Burrus, Exactly.
00:16:12.399 --> 00:16:13.600
And if we see a pattern.
00:16:13.919 --> 00:16:31.519
So, you know, the tornado that hit us in 2021, in Arundel County City of Annapolis, before the National Weather Service even did their survey of the area, we were able to map out the track the track of the tornado because we just looked at the 911 calls and were able to map it out even before they went and did a survey.
00:16:32.399 --> 00:16:37.360
So utilizing that kind of technology and the information we already have is key for us.
00:16:38.240 --> 00:16:44.960
I think one of the most important aspects of our emergency operations center is our call center, where we take calls from the public.
00:16:45.840 --> 00:16:52.080
And some of it is just, you know, hey, frustration about what's happened, and I just need somebody to talk to.
00:16:52.799 --> 00:16:54.000
But there are people in need.
00:16:54.080 --> 00:16:56.399
And I'll give you an example for winter storms.
00:16:56.799 --> 00:17:20.960
That's the part kind of where I think you are special, that instead of just being somebody who deals with all the agencies and all the mechanics of the response, it seems that you are very, very tuned into, and you were just talking about this, you know, with the psychological first aid, with the way the people of this county are are are thinking about it in Ori and they act differently depending on their level of fear or their knowledge or their comfort or discomfort or anger.
00:17:22.400 --> 00:17:35.519
And you we have such a diverse county and we have many different communities, we have vulnerable populations within those communities, and it's my mission to understand all those communities and what their needs might be.
00:17:36.079 --> 00:17:47.440
So that before a disaster hits and we know something is coming up, I can pinpoint the communities that will need extra resources or what they might be calling in about.
00:17:48.000 --> 00:17:59.759
And you know, again, COVID taught us a lot in terms of yes, it was a pandemic, but the vulnerable community suffered a lot, you know, with food insecurity, unemployment.
00:18:00.319 --> 00:18:02.160
So people who didn't have a doctor.
00:18:02.720 --> 00:18:03.680
People who didn't have a doctor.
00:18:03.839 --> 00:18:08.640
When you take away the day-to-day net, the safety net that people have, and that's what disasters do, right?
00:18:08.799 --> 00:18:10.160
They take away that safety net.
00:18:10.319 --> 00:18:10.559
Yeah.
00:18:10.720 --> 00:18:10.960
Yeah.
00:18:11.200 --> 00:18:16.079
You really have to think about how vulnerable communities will be sustained, how they will survive.
00:18:16.240 --> 00:18:16.400
Yeah.
00:18:16.720 --> 00:18:20.319
And that's one of the things that sometimes is missing from emergency management.
00:18:20.960 --> 00:18:21.200
Right?
00:18:21.279 --> 00:18:23.200
We're so focused on the response.
00:18:23.440 --> 00:18:25.200
We remove that tree, right?
00:18:25.440 --> 00:18:26.559
From that peninsula.
00:18:26.799 --> 00:18:26.960
Yeah.
00:18:27.279 --> 00:18:35.119
But do we ever think about those who need to get home to pick up their kids or for child care or who have medical needs?
00:18:35.839 --> 00:18:37.440
And so let's focus on that.
00:18:37.519 --> 00:18:39.119
Because I know we know how to remove a tree.
00:18:39.359 --> 00:18:39.599
Yep.
00:18:39.839 --> 00:18:40.000
Right?
00:18:40.480 --> 00:18:43.599
But how do we deal with some of the human factors surrounding it?
00:18:43.680 --> 00:18:43.839
Trevor Burrus, Jr.
00:18:44.079 --> 00:18:48.960
In addition to all the agencies that work with you, you have some nonprofits and you have volunteers, too.
00:18:49.200 --> 00:18:50.000
Tell us about what that is.
00:18:50.079 --> 00:18:52.160
In CERT and CERT, fantastic.
00:18:52.480 --> 00:18:57.359
Anaromo County has one of the best CERT teams in the state, and I'm not being biased when I say that.
00:18:58.160 --> 00:19:00.240
CERT the letter C E R T stand for what?
00:19:00.640 --> 00:19:02.079
Community emergency response team.
00:19:02.400 --> 00:19:02.559
Right.
00:19:02.640 --> 00:19:02.799
Okay.
00:19:03.359 --> 00:19:05.839
So that is a way for the community to be involved.
00:19:06.240 --> 00:19:14.960
So they offer trainings on C First Aid, CPR, how to respond to some of the small emergencies that might impact your community or your household.
00:19:15.279 --> 00:19:17.119
You could also become a member of CERT.
00:19:17.440 --> 00:19:20.000
And that's volunteers who help us in the emergency operations.
00:19:20.480 --> 00:19:21.039
How do you do that?
00:19:21.359 --> 00:19:23.920
Go to tripleacert.org.
00:19:24.400 --> 00:19:24.880
C-E-R T.
00:19:25.440 --> 00:19:26.000
C-E-R-T.
00:19:26.240 --> 00:19:26.480
Yep.
00:19:26.559 --> 00:19:28.960
And you can sign up there for a training.
00:19:29.119 --> 00:19:29.279
All right.
00:19:29.519 --> 00:19:36.559
And then from there, be involved in part of their roster and help out our county, help out their community.
00:19:37.119 --> 00:19:42.880
So you mentioned that you'll actually go into communities and meet with community groups and help them start thinking.
00:19:43.039 --> 00:19:54.720
You mentioned, you told me about one uh community meeting you went to in Shady Side recently, which is South County, close to the water or on the water, depending on where people live, been real vulnerable in sea level rise.
00:19:55.119 --> 00:19:57.359
What was that like and what were people's concerns?
00:19:58.079 --> 00:19:58.880
Oh, flooding.
00:19:59.279 --> 00:20:00.240
Everyday flooding.
00:20:00.559 --> 00:20:01.839
It rains, it floods.
00:20:02.640 --> 00:20:05.039
And what can we do for the community?
00:20:05.200 --> 00:20:13.519
And the community is well-versed in terms of what happens when there are big events and especially with some of the storms that have come in.
00:20:14.160 --> 00:20:19.680
But we really need to focus on the day-to-day sustainability and resiliency of that land.
00:20:20.240 --> 00:20:27.279
And so we met along with our Department of Public Works, the Resilience Authority to talk about projects.
00:20:27.839 --> 00:20:32.319
But sometimes projects take time, right, in order to make the land more resilient.
00:20:32.640 --> 00:20:35.200
So what can they do now to be prepared, right?
00:20:35.359 --> 00:20:36.559
How can they evacuate?
00:20:36.960 --> 00:20:38.960
What are some of the triggers you should see?
00:20:39.279 --> 00:20:42.160
What do you need to do to if you have to shelter in place?
00:20:42.319 --> 00:20:44.000
What do you need in order to do that?
00:20:44.319 --> 00:20:45.599
And so that's kind of the start.
00:20:45.759 --> 00:20:48.240
This is only the start of the conversation, right?
00:20:48.480 --> 00:20:48.640
Okay.
00:20:48.960 --> 00:20:52.960
And especially with the different communities that live in the peninsula, it's one way in, one way out.
00:20:53.200 --> 00:20:53.359
Yep.
00:20:53.920 --> 00:20:54.160
You know?
00:20:54.400 --> 00:20:56.319
So take lots of peninsulas in the county.
00:20:56.400 --> 00:20:56.480
Yeah.
00:20:56.960 --> 00:21:00.240
A lot of peninsulas in the county, and to heed our warnings.
00:21:00.400 --> 00:21:03.119
When we say to get out, get out.
00:21:04.319 --> 00:21:05.279
It's for your safety.
00:21:06.400 --> 00:21:10.240
And so making sure that don't worry about the food in your freezer.
00:21:10.559 --> 00:21:15.119
You know, uh people want to stay to protect their houses, your lives are more important.
00:21:15.920 --> 00:21:22.079
And so talking about that a little bit, but again, the day-to-day flooding that occurs and what we can do about it.
00:21:22.640 --> 00:21:26.799
And that's something you know nationwide we really need to hone in on.
00:21:27.519 --> 00:21:32.240
Because fifty years from now, I can't tell you what's going to happen to some of these land areas.
00:21:33.039 --> 00:21:37.440
And so if we don't act now, it's only going to get worse.
00:21:37.839 --> 00:21:37.920
Yeah.
00:21:38.160 --> 00:21:44.559
So you that you have close coordination with the resilience authority as they're doing, they're planning for what projects are top priority.
00:21:45.279 --> 00:21:45.759
Absolutely.
00:21:46.240 --> 00:21:46.400
Okay.
00:21:46.640 --> 00:21:49.440
To to to protect the infrastructure and the people.
00:21:50.079 --> 00:21:50.319
Okay.
00:21:51.200 --> 00:21:59.759
And as you were telling as you were talking about that, I remembered I was thinking how cool your job is and how how exciting and diverse.
00:22:00.720 --> 00:22:03.759
I mean, how many different But you had a summer camp?
00:22:04.000 --> 00:22:04.240
Yes.
00:22:04.640 --> 00:22:05.200
For young women.
00:22:05.440 --> 00:22:05.519
Yes.
00:22:05.920 --> 00:22:07.279
Who might be interested in getting into the field?
00:22:07.440 --> 00:22:07.920
Tell us what that is.
00:22:08.240 --> 00:22:18.240
Heroes on the horizon, a week-long free, a free week-long camp that focuses on emergency management, public safety, and leadership training.
00:22:18.480 --> 00:22:21.039
And we have expanded it in the last three years.
00:22:21.359 --> 00:22:23.279
We now have visits planned for D.C.
00:22:23.920 --> 00:22:27.599
Some of the federal agencies have opened the doors, please visit us.
00:22:28.000 --> 00:22:30.240
They want to make sure to empower young women.
00:22:30.799 --> 00:22:31.519
Did you start that?
00:22:31.680 --> 00:22:32.559
Was that your idea?
00:22:33.119 --> 00:22:35.119
So I can't take all the credit for it.
00:22:35.519 --> 00:22:40.240
It was started by the Institute for Inclusion and Diversity in Emergency Management.
00:22:40.559 --> 00:22:40.720
Okay.
00:22:41.039 --> 00:22:42.400
It was called the Hurricane Camp.
00:22:42.799 --> 00:22:43.200
Hurricane Camp.
00:22:43.359 --> 00:22:45.599
Trevor Burrus, but we're one of the few in the county that actually runs it because.
00:22:45.839 --> 00:22:47.200
Trevor Burrus As an H-E-R-A-C.
00:22:47.599 --> 00:22:47.759
Yes.
00:22:48.240 --> 00:22:48.480
Okay.
00:22:49.920 --> 00:22:53.119
But we're one of the few in the country that do it a week long.
00:22:53.359 --> 00:22:54.240
We're the only one in Maryland.
00:22:55.039 --> 00:23:01.759
And people are always the young women that are there, high school age mostly, right?
00:23:01.839 --> 00:23:05.039
Trevor Burrus High school age that are so smart.
00:23:05.119 --> 00:23:06.240
Trevor Burrus Yeah, so smart.
00:23:06.319 --> 00:23:11.599
And so you can see, you can look in their eyes and the questions that they ask why people get into this field.
00:23:11.839 --> 00:23:17.839
It's like if you want to help people, you want to be there in the most important moments and you want to be part of protecting people.
00:23:18.559 --> 00:23:28.640
Protecting people and exposing them to the many different programs in the county: gun safety, 9-1-1 operations, search and rescue, canine demonstrations.
00:23:28.880 --> 00:23:31.680
And we're expanding it to go to other counties.
00:23:31.839 --> 00:23:34.960
We go to Prince George's County, and then expanding it to D.C.
00:23:35.119 --> 00:23:36.240
This year we're visiting D.C.
00:23:36.400 --> 00:23:37.359
Homeland Security.
00:23:38.319 --> 00:23:39.599
How does the Capitol do things?
00:23:40.319 --> 00:23:41.680
What special events do they have to do?
00:23:41.920 --> 00:23:43.359
Trevor Burrus Is the camp full for this summer?
00:23:43.599 --> 00:23:43.920
It is full.
00:23:44.319 --> 00:23:44.960
It is full already.
00:23:46.160 --> 00:23:47.039
But we're holding it next year.
00:23:47.359 --> 00:23:47.519
All right.
00:23:48.079 --> 00:23:48.400
Next year.
00:23:48.880 --> 00:23:49.119
All right.
00:23:49.279 --> 00:23:49.519
Good.
00:23:49.759 --> 00:23:50.240
Good.
00:23:50.480 --> 00:23:59.119
So there's a whole other kind of a disaster, which is cyber threats and cyberattacks, and you've been involved even here in Anorino County, the best place for all.
00:23:59.599 --> 00:24:02.480
Yeah, it's it's not if it'll happen, it'll happen.
00:24:02.799 --> 00:24:03.920
It happens all day.
00:24:04.640 --> 00:24:10.640
I really shout out to our Office of Information Technology that deals with the everyday cyber threats that come through.
00:24:10.720 --> 00:24:10.880
Trevor Burrus, Jr.
00:24:11.119 --> 00:24:12.799
They had a huge amount of work to do to deal with that.
00:24:12.880 --> 00:24:14.240
Trevor Burrus, Jr.: Huge amount of work to do.
00:24:14.400 --> 00:24:22.160
But when a large-scale cyber incident happens, we had the forethought of having a cyber coordination plan, which we executed.
00:24:22.480 --> 00:24:25.599
And we even did that before the state mandated it.
00:24:25.920 --> 00:24:33.200
Because part of emergency management is responding to what you have now, but is also thinking ahead of what threats are coming down the line.
00:24:33.920 --> 00:24:44.240
And so cyber was a big one, and there's always a disconnect sometimes between emergency response and information technology, and I was determined to bridge that gap.
00:24:44.880 --> 00:24:45.759
And we did.
00:24:46.160 --> 00:24:47.759
And then something happened.
00:24:48.079 --> 00:24:48.240
Yeah.
00:24:48.559 --> 00:24:54.079
And we were able to respond effectively because we had that plan and we exercised on that plan.
00:24:54.480 --> 00:24:54.720
Yeah.
00:24:54.880 --> 00:24:55.359
Yeah.
00:24:55.920 --> 00:25:03.279
So you've you've um I mean I remember during COVID we were having to do things like identify sites for people to go to be quarantined.
00:25:03.519 --> 00:25:06.079
Remember the images from China and New York and Italy.
00:25:06.480 --> 00:25:11.200
We were preparing for the worst, and you were very involved in in that, preparing for that.
00:25:11.440 --> 00:25:19.440
And you mentioned that when basic social safety nets are taken away, whether it's loss of power or whether it's loss of a program, that becomes an emergency.
00:25:19.599 --> 00:25:19.680
Yeah.
00:25:19.920 --> 00:25:21.759
And you all have to have to respond.
00:25:22.000 --> 00:25:29.039
So you were very involved in the recovery work for and still are, I guess, on COVID, and had an interagency group.
00:25:29.279 --> 00:25:43.039
So then as they started threatening to remove to cut people off Medicaid, the Federal Government, and to take SNAP benefits away, social safety net programs, we talked about needing an interagency response.
00:25:43.200 --> 00:25:47.359
We needed to plan for loss of grants, we needed to plan for loss of programs for our residents.
00:25:47.519 --> 00:25:50.319
I call it the Federal Disaster Preparedness and Recovery Work Group.
00:25:50.480 --> 00:26:00.160
We put money, we set aside money in a budget, unallocated money, and then we go to you and your and the team with proposals for spending that money to protect people from some of those impacts.
00:26:00.480 --> 00:26:02.160
Is that really emergency management?
00:26:02.640 --> 00:26:03.680
Some people say no.
00:26:04.799 --> 00:26:07.839
That's something that social services can take care of.
00:26:08.799 --> 00:26:16.160
I think I tend to think that the skills that we use for coordination and preparedness will serve in any situation.
00:26:17.359 --> 00:26:20.079
I call it also maintaining social resiliency.
00:26:20.799 --> 00:26:20.960
Okay.
00:26:21.920 --> 00:26:27.680
Social resiliency is just as important as, again, physical resiliency, environmental resiliency.
00:26:27.759 --> 00:26:27.920
Trevor Burrus, Jr.
00:26:28.240 --> 00:26:29.119
It's also saving lives.
00:26:29.200 --> 00:26:31.119
Trevor Burrus, Jr.: It's saving lives, yeah, in a way.
00:26:31.920 --> 00:26:34.720
It's a little different than what traditional public safety does.
00:26:34.960 --> 00:26:37.920
Emergency management is often lumped into public safety, which is fine.
00:26:38.240 --> 00:26:38.480
Yeah.
00:26:48.000 --> 00:26:54.559
Trevor Burrus, Jr.: I mean, you've even gotten involved when large apartment buildings had no heat and it was 100 and whatever degrees and people Yeah.
00:26:54.720 --> 00:26:56.480
I mean, no, I'm sorry, no air conditioning.
00:26:58.480 --> 00:26:58.640
Yeah.
00:26:58.799 --> 00:26:59.920
You've activated for that.
00:27:00.240 --> 00:27:00.319
Yeah.
00:27:00.799 --> 00:27:02.640
To coordinate the agent interagency response.
00:27:02.880 --> 00:27:04.000
Trevor Burrus To do wellness checks.
00:27:04.160 --> 00:27:04.480
Mm-hmm.
00:27:05.039 --> 00:27:10.079
And to open up overnight cooling centers because people needed a place to sleep and to cool down.
00:27:10.319 --> 00:27:11.200
It was very hot.
00:27:11.599 --> 00:27:11.839
Yeah.
00:27:11.920 --> 00:27:12.160
Yeah.
00:27:12.480 --> 00:27:14.240
We can't do this without our partners.
00:27:14.319 --> 00:27:14.559
Trevor Burrus, Jr.
00:27:14.720 --> 00:27:14.799
Right.
00:27:15.200 --> 00:27:16.640
Your 15 people aren't going to do all that work.
00:27:16.799 --> 00:27:16.960
Trevor Burrus, Jr.
00:27:17.039 --> 00:27:19.119
No, you know, 14 to 15 people are not, right?
00:27:19.279 --> 00:27:20.240
I had to thank my team.
00:27:20.319 --> 00:27:20.960
They're incredible.
00:27:21.200 --> 00:27:22.480
We're small and mighty.
00:27:23.200 --> 00:27:31.119
But is the partners that also are invested in the safety of people and also are willing to help.
00:27:31.440 --> 00:27:37.359
Well, I like to, you know, for that situation at the apartments, Office of Transportation had a cooling bus there all day.
00:27:37.680 --> 00:27:37.759
Yeah.
00:27:39.119 --> 00:27:39.680
But you called them.
00:27:40.000 --> 00:27:40.400
I called them.
00:27:40.720 --> 00:27:41.200
But you know what?
00:27:42.319 --> 00:27:43.119
That takes personnel?
00:27:43.359 --> 00:27:43.440
Yep.
00:27:43.839 --> 00:27:44.640
That takes money.
00:27:44.880 --> 00:27:46.000
And it wasn't a no.
00:27:46.160 --> 00:27:47.759
It was a let me see what we can do.
00:27:47.839 --> 00:27:48.319
Trevor Burrus, Yep.
00:27:48.480 --> 00:27:48.799
Yep.
00:27:48.960 --> 00:27:49.359
Yep.
00:27:49.920 --> 00:27:56.319
Well, and that is why we're lucky to have a strong emergency management team.
00:27:56.559 --> 00:28:00.480
And I know you were just at the council presenting your budget.
00:28:00.880 --> 00:28:04.880
We presented a budget requ uh proposal and the council reviews it and they hear from all the agencies.
00:28:04.960 --> 00:28:09.599
And you were literally just there right before we taped the we tape this.
00:28:09.680 --> 00:28:10.640
It's going to be next Tuesday.
00:28:10.720 --> 00:28:12.720
So it will have been last week by the time you all hear this.
00:28:12.880 --> 00:28:16.400
But and I and I trust that the council members support what you do.
00:28:16.960 --> 00:28:18.000
It's important to everybody.
00:28:18.400 --> 00:28:18.640
It is.
00:28:18.799 --> 00:28:23.519
And I'm lucky to have the support of the administration, of the council.
00:28:24.319 --> 00:28:29.920
The expansion of what we do wouldn't, you know, couldn't have been possible without your support.
00:28:30.079 --> 00:28:31.599
But we'd like to pay that forward.
00:28:31.839 --> 00:28:31.920
Right.
00:28:32.319 --> 00:28:36.000
Making sure that Annerundal County is kept safe in all situations.
00:28:36.559 --> 00:28:36.640
Yeah.
00:28:36.960 --> 00:28:37.119
Okay.
00:28:37.200 --> 00:28:38.720
This is a bit of a downer, but last thing.
00:28:38.799 --> 00:28:39.759
I shouldn't just end with a downer.
00:28:40.000 --> 00:28:43.440
I should end with a with a, you know, uplifting.
00:28:43.599 --> 00:28:46.720
But I do want to maybe we'll do something very at the very end uplifting.
00:28:46.799 --> 00:29:03.839
But the downer is that it's not news to anybody who reads any news that FEMA federally has been decimated and has been selectively responding only to disasters in areas that they thought politically were supportive, or I mean that's not even true.
00:29:03.920 --> 00:29:14.960
The whole states, like Western Maryland not, you know, being denied FEMA funding for the flooding and the state picking up the tab when West Virginia got it right across the border, same flood.
00:29:15.119 --> 00:29:20.960
But are State and local disaster preparedness people thinking about the loss of Federal support?
00:29:21.119 --> 00:29:26.480
I know FEMA has been the agency, I mean like the core of the pay for everything, right?
00:29:26.799 --> 00:29:28.160
Disasters generally in the past.
00:29:28.319 --> 00:29:31.200
So what's what do we do now when they won't pay?
00:29:31.680 --> 00:29:38.480
Well, I don't know if you remember, Stuart, the first time that we met in terms of vertical reports.
00:29:38.640 --> 00:29:39.839
You remember we had vertical reports?
00:29:40.160 --> 00:29:40.240
Yep.
00:29:40.960 --> 00:29:47.119
And I had highlighted bold red, here are staff members that are in grant funding.
00:29:48.000 --> 00:29:50.640
And the time is going to come when we're not going to have grant funding.
00:29:50.799 --> 00:29:50.880
Right.
00:29:51.119 --> 00:29:58.559
And it will really serve Anarundel County well if we have some merit positions so that we can maintain operation.
00:29:59.039 --> 00:30:02.240
People paid for out of the county budget as opposed to somebody else's budget.
00:30:04.559 --> 00:30:06.799
You took that advice seriously.
00:30:08.480 --> 00:30:12.480
And you made sure that there were positions that were funded by the operating budget.
00:30:14.000 --> 00:30:17.839
So now we're at a crisis where FEMA we don't know what's happening to FEMA.
00:30:18.079 --> 00:30:18.319
Right.
00:30:18.880 --> 00:30:23.200
And so we have a lot of locals and state officials that are now scrambling.
00:30:24.880 --> 00:30:25.599
What do we do?
00:30:26.720 --> 00:30:31.920
It takes investment, and that's hard to do at this point because everything is impacted.
00:30:32.799 --> 00:30:39.680
You have healthcare that's impacted, you have SNAP that's impacted, safety nets that are falling apart left and right.
00:30:39.920 --> 00:30:40.160
Right.
00:30:40.640 --> 00:30:51.599
But it's always important to remember when something does happen, having that investment behind it saves you so much time and money when recovery happens.
00:30:52.079 --> 00:30:57.039
Being resilient beforehand saves you in time in the response, saves you money in the recovery.
00:30:58.480 --> 00:31:06.880
And so what we're doing now is something I am the chair of the emergency management affiliate for MACO, the Maryland Association of Counties.
00:31:07.279 --> 00:31:07.359
Okay.
00:31:07.519 --> 00:31:08.960
So that all the counties in Maryland, yeah.
00:31:09.359 --> 00:31:10.000
All the counties.
00:31:10.079 --> 00:31:27.759
And so we've been advocating legislative change, creating the State Disaster Recovery Fund so that we have a state fund when emergencies happen and the federal government can't come through, we have some money that would go to local emergencies.
00:31:28.160 --> 00:31:28.400
Got it.
00:31:28.720 --> 00:31:30.559
That was the fund that helped Western Maryland.
00:31:31.039 --> 00:31:31.200
Right.
00:31:31.839 --> 00:31:34.319
That is the only fund that helped Western Maryland.
00:31:34.559 --> 00:31:34.640
Yep.
00:31:35.279 --> 00:31:40.799
When the federal disaster when the federal government said no twice to a disaster declaration.
00:31:41.759 --> 00:31:43.279
We need to keep building upon that.
00:31:44.559 --> 00:31:52.400
One of the bills that passed the session at the state was a climate change, homeowners insurance, and emergency management study bill.
00:31:53.519 --> 00:32:10.720
So there is going to be a work group that gathers over the next year and a half to study resiliency in the state, what the insurance industry looks like, what emergency management and the role it plays in there, but also the impact on climate change on all of that.
00:32:11.680 --> 00:32:18.720
And the pathways that the state can move forward and making sure that all of those industries work for people.
00:32:19.279 --> 00:32:20.240
So that's the downer.
00:32:20.960 --> 00:32:30.480
Here's what gives me hope is that human beings like you, like all the people you're working with, see a problem and they work on a solution.
00:32:30.720 --> 00:32:36.799
And so while we look at the disaster side of it and think, oh, the world is falling apart, we're going to all these terrible things are going to happen.
00:32:37.039 --> 00:32:42.319
There's always a group of people that is figuring out how to respond to that and make it better.
00:32:42.559 --> 00:32:44.799
And sometimes they rebuild even better than it was before.
00:32:45.119 --> 00:32:45.599
In fact, often.
00:32:45.680 --> 00:32:45.920
Trevor Burrus, Jr.
00:32:46.079 --> 00:32:46.720
And that's my hope.
00:32:46.880 --> 00:32:49.039
And but that is continued advocacy.
00:32:49.279 --> 00:32:49.680
Yep.
00:32:50.319 --> 00:32:50.880
You're right.
00:32:51.119 --> 00:32:54.720
And it's a lot of my colleagues in emergency management are the same way, right?
00:32:54.880 --> 00:32:56.400
We see a problem and we want to fix it.
00:32:56.799 --> 00:32:58.160
It's not going to be a perfect solution.
00:32:58.319 --> 00:33:00.400
It may take time to get to that solution.
00:33:00.720 --> 00:33:00.880
Yep.
00:33:01.680 --> 00:33:03.279
But you know as well as I do.
00:33:04.400 --> 00:33:10.880
I continuously state the problem and find ways to think outside the box and to work around systems.
00:33:11.359 --> 00:33:11.440
Yeah.
00:33:11.599 --> 00:33:12.240
That's what we do.
00:33:12.400 --> 00:33:13.359
That's what we do as humans.
00:33:15.440 --> 00:33:17.039
Well, thank you, thank you, thank you.
00:33:17.440 --> 00:33:17.839
Well, thank you.
00:33:18.480 --> 00:33:31.680
For your service and the work that you do and making me and hopefully all of us feel a little bit better knowing that we have an amazing team at the EOC, at the Office of Emergency Management, led by you to protect us.
00:33:32.079 --> 00:33:32.799
Yes, you know what?
00:33:32.960 --> 00:33:36.000
I'm gonna also end on a note of hope.
00:33:36.319 --> 00:33:43.279
The community members, this not too late to learn how to be prepared and how to respond and how to recover.
00:33:43.440 --> 00:33:52.960
So if you email my office at OEM Outreach at aacounty.org, we're more than happy to come out to your community and do presentations, do exercises with you.
00:33:53.119 --> 00:33:56.400
That's a core component of my office.
00:33:56.559 --> 00:33:57.920
So please, please reach out to us.
00:33:58.480 --> 00:34:08.880
And your website for just general information about what's going on is Aacounty.org slash OEM, or you could call us at 410-222-0600.
00:34:09.360 --> 00:34:10.159
0600.
00:34:10.480 --> 00:34:11.760
Yep, that's a number to keep in mind.
00:34:12.000 --> 00:34:12.159
Yes.
00:34:12.480 --> 00:34:12.800
Thank you.
00:34:14.159 --> 00:34:15.280
You get the final word.
00:34:15.840 --> 00:34:16.159
All right.
00:34:16.639 --> 00:34:20.000
You're listening to the Pittman and Friends podcast.
00:34:20.239 --> 00:34:27.199
If you like what you hear, please hit the subscribe button, share with a friend, and join us for the next episode.
00:34:27.599 --> 00:34:28.320
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00:34:28.639 --> 00:34:29.599
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