Operations, Plans, Logistics, Finance and...
EPI?
ICS: The Emergency Public Information Section
By Frank Cowan
| Frank Cowan is a 14-year Instructor in emergency public information at the California Specialized Training Institute, although the opinions ventured in the preceding are his own and not necssarily those of CSTI. Frank is a 20-year radio/TV broadcast veteran and former police officer, and has worked as a PIO during several disasters. |
| Related Articles: Incident Command ICS in the Comm Center |
| Photographs: (select thumbnail to view detail image) |
 San Jose (CA) Fire Department PIO Rob Piper gathers information at the scene of a 4th alarm fire just west of downtown. Randall Larson |
This article can be found on
page 50 of the Mar/Apr 1998
issue of 9-1-1 Magazine.
The Standardized Emergency Management System was developed in California in the aftermath of the Oakland Hills firestorm of 1991. Based on the Incident Command System and mandated for statewide use, SEMS offered the same kind of standardized, modular incident management system for Emergency Operations Center that ICS did for the Incident Command Post.
Both ICS and SEMS include a Public Information Officer component as part of the General Staff. Looking at some SEMS organization charts last year, I compared what I knew goes on in the Public Information part of any incident run under ICS/SEMS to that org chart. I had a hard time fitting all those functions like field teams, command post information gathering, rumor control phone banks, news release writing and disseminating, other agency liaison work, community liaisons, and much, much more in that little box under the Incident Commander labeled "PIO." What was needed was a larger component
Along with Rick Reed of the Santa Clara County Office of Emergency Services and a couple of others, we've been developing a fully staffed out Emergency Public Information (EPI) Section. That's right, Section.
The EPI Section is the fifth ICS section under the Incident Commander - still well within the "five to seven workers to one supervisor" range of span of control. The other sections are Operations, Logistics, Planning/Intelligence and Administration/Finance. The EPI Section Chief (also known as the "lead" PIO) still has direct access to the IC The section has branches and units, all with span of control limits, by function. (see diagrams)
There are three main activities that occur in public information during incidents of any size: 1) information gathering, 2) information dissemination, and, 3) a field operation. These form the three branches operating under the EPI Section Chief.
Information gathering includes PIOs who work in the Incident Command Post or Emergency Operations Center, and who monitor media reports. These PIOs are responsible for aggressively gathering and verifying information from the IC, from Operations, and from Planning/Intelligence (especially Situation Status). This information, once "blessed," is given to the Dissemination Branch.
The Dissemination Branch then uses a variety of means to give out this information to the media, to people involved in the incident (internal), to other local PIOs, to local agencies and elected officials, to special community groups (affected neighborhoods, business owners, ethnic groups). The Dissemination Branch uses all available means with which to do this job: regular media briefings, live or taped interviews as requested, bulletin boards (both in the community and in camps and other areas where disaster response workers are located), the Emergency Alerting System and local versions, the Internet, faxed releases and updates, phone recording devices, satellite channels, cable TV and more.
The third branch is usually the smallest, but just as important as the other two: the Field Operations Branch. In a large incident several two-person teams operate throughout the stricken area gathering their own eye-witness (and therefore verified) information or checking out rumors. The teams also work with reporters and photographers at the scenes of major incidents. The teams, composed of experienced police or fire PIOs (or former reporters who are now PIOs), also serve a valuable function by speaking to affected people (business owners, neighborhoods, etc.). The field teams are most effective when they report back to the Information Center every hour. They are the best source of verified, immediate information. Field Teams have their own branch because they both gather and disseminate information and work closely with the other two branches.
The various functions that take place under each branch form units. An EPI Section may have a Rumor Control unit, a Media Response Unit (responding to phone calls, setting up interviews), a Briefing Unit (responsible for preparing regular briefings and setting up the briefing area), and Update Unit (responsible for issuing updates by fax and wire service) under Dissemination Branch.
It may have a Command Post Unit, a Media Monitoring Unit, a Field Team Liaison Unit under the Gathering Branch.
The Field Team Branch may have teams operating in different areas of the disaster or emergency. The Branch Director coordinates the movements of the Field teams.
As in any other section under ICS/SEMS, the EPI Branch may be composed of one or several dozen people. As the numbers of PIOs increase to meet an incident's needs, branches and units are staffed. As in any other section, one person may be responsible for many of the functions of the EPI Section in a small incident.
If the incident is large enough the EPI Section Chief may want to staff out an Documentation/Support Branch. The PIO function needs a lot of electronic equipment, supplies, vehicles and other equipment, just like any other section. Having someone dedicated to obtaining needed support will help the function perform better. Because documentation is so important in emergencies, the Doc Branch is charged with maintaining unit logs and keeping copies of all releases.
Like the other sections, the EPI Section needs its own area in which to work. This building, or set of rooms, is often called a Media Center, but in reality is an Information Center. It should be as close as possible to the best sources of information and readily accessible to the media.
Could a concept like this have any support? It has already. So far, in California, one state agency and at least two counties are treating EPI as a section. Experienced PIOs from cities and counties, Emergency Services Coordinators from three counties, and several experienced police, firefighters and firefighter/PIOs wholeheartedly support this idea.
All agree that this "change" in the organization chart on paper merely reflects what has taken place in public information for the past 15 years. More and more agencies are realizing the need for several Public Information Officers, working as a team, on incidents. The public need for information and the demands of a modern media necessitate a team response....a Section response.
