Emergency Communications Planning for Airports (2016)

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72 APPENDIX E FOG2—Deputy Lead PIO Functions and Duties FIELD OPERATIONS GUIDE 2 Deputy Lead PIO Functions and Duties Location: Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and/or Joint Information Center (JIC) The airport emergency operations center provides support to the Incident Command/Unified Command and liaises with the City’s Emergency Operations Center, if it has been activated. If the City’s EOC is activated, ALL statements and updates made to the public and the media MUST be approved by the City EOC’s Joint Information Center or the EOC’s Lead PIO. Functions: • Supports Lead PIO in the IC/UC as manager of PIO functions in the airport EOC. • If the Lead PIO activates the JIC, the Deputy Lead PIO manages the JIC operations. • Assists Lead PIO in ensuring compliance with City guidelines regarding production and dissemina- tion of public messages that are inclusionary, accessible, and effectively communicated to persons with disabilities and others with access or functional needs. • Serves as PIO liaison between airport EOC or JIC and the Lead PIO in the IC/UC, contributing to situational awareness among PIOs. Checklist Beginning of Incident • Report to the EOC • Bring equipment – Emergency Communications Plan/Notebook – Portable radio – Cellphone charging cord. • Laptop and/or iPad • PIO vest – Food and drink. • Sign in on ICS Form 211 (Check-in/Check-out Sheet). • Log in to the PC designated for PIO and set up your individual Outlook e-mail account by logging on as you would at your regular workstation. • Begin an ICS Form 214 that appears on the desktop screen and begin the Unit Log for your shift. Record ALL activities on the log. Since the ICS 214 form MUST be turned in at the end of a shift, keep the form open and log activities throughout the shift. The log is especially important during a significant airport emergency when after-action reports are required and the logs become extremely useful for helping reconstruct activities for an after-action report. Also, retain all e-mails, which will be helpful in filling in any blanks on the ICS Form 214. • Familiarize yourself with the layout of the EOC: what other EOC sections are staffed; what infor- mation is displayed or being logged on video screens and the whiteboards; maps; printers; etc. The information displayed on the video screens and the whiteboards are often logs of what is being heard over the portable radios and can provide facts on current status that will with information gathering. During Incident • Establish major goals for the PIO(s). This will help PIO(s) stay focused on priorities during a chaotic environment. • Share PIO goals with EOC Manager during the first EOC meeting, when the manager outlines goals for the operational period. • Establish communications with other PIOs: – Share EOC phone number assigned to you by e-mail with: NN PR Division office NN PIOs in the Incident Command NN City EOC JIC (if activated) NN City department PIOs or their offices, such as Police and Fire

73 NN Federal and state agency PIOs, such as TSA, CBP, CDC, FBI NN Airline PIOs if an incident involves specific airline(s) or their terminals. • Gather information • Use a “Public Information Data Sheet” to help collect facts that MUST be gathered. This does not preclude publicizing important, relevant information that comes up during the incident. – Use several yellow sheets as information changes during the incident. – Record facts that are too technical, too statistical, or too confusing for the general public. How- ever, they are unnecessary in the public messages. Focus on the impacts to airport stakeholders, passengers, employees, and the surrounding communities. • Add any public-safety or operational instructions the IC/UC and EOC have asked to be provided to the general public. (Examples: “roads closed, don’t drive to the airport” etc.). (1) Constantly ask during the incident whether there are any public-safety instructions to give. • Obtain phone numbers for airline, American Red Cross, or other mutual-aid organization’s Family or Public Assistance Centers. (1) Federal law requires airlines to disseminate contact info for their Family Assistance Center within 15 minutes. – Check e-mails often. – Contact ADA Coordinator for any specific information or instructions available specific to persons with disabilities. • Analyze and draft statements: • Prepare initial statement. • Build upon initial statement by numbering updates. Previous updates are dated and given a time it was originally released. To avoid confusing the public on what actions are still valid, each statement should be written as a complete stand-alone statement. All information from earlier statements that are still in effect should be repeated in the latest statement. • Ensure any information on assistance to or specific instructions to persons with disabilities is included in each statement. • Each statement should contain introductory sentence indicating this is an official statement from airport and asking recipients to forward the statement as needed. • Each statement should contain the airport Twitter, Facebook and airport website addresses—as the official sources of information about airport conditions. – Lead PIO must review and obtain approvals of all draft statements from the Incident Commander. – EOC Manager must review and approve all statement(s) approved by Lead PIO. – If City EOC activated, PIO at EOC approves ALL statements. (1) ALWAYS call City EOC PIO after sending draft statement(s) to City EOC to ensure they review and obtain approvals. – Dissemination • Check off all pertinent distribution lists on “Airport News Release Distribution Request Form.” Using this distribution list template for the duration of the incident ensures updates/statements are disseminated consistently to these lists. (1) ALL statements MUST be disseminated to the following lists: NN Executive Notification NN Emergency Response PIOs NN Airport Station Managers NN Airline PR Reps NN ADA NN Local Media—Daily/Emergency. (2) Selection of other lists is based upon nature of the incident. If significant flight delays/ cancellations or traffic congestion impacting neighboring communities, add to distribution: NN Travel—Hotels NN Media—Travel Writers NN Travel—Agents NN Travel—Blogs (3) If you receive e-mail bounce backs, print out the initial bounce back e-mail and delete subse- quent ones. You will continue to receive e-mail bounce backs during the incident. Following the incident, lists can be updated. (4) If you get requests to be added to PR’s distribution lists during the incident, print out the request and create a separate group list for them to receive statements during the rest of the incident. • Post statement(s) on Internet news release web page. • Post items on airport Social Media platforms. When using social media, alternative methods of com- municating timely information to persons with disabilities must be considered. Some specific tips for making social media information accessible: (1) Put a link to an accessible “Contact Us” form (2) For photos, video and audio, put the following prefixes before tweets that have photos, videos, or audio. This allows people using screen readers to know what to expect before it is read out loud: (i) Photos: [PIC] (ii) Videos: [VIDEO] (iii) Audio: [AUDIO] (3) Provide closed-captioning for YouTube videos.

74 • Continuously monitor airport social media sites for incorrect information and questions from the general public. If questions or requests for assistance appear from passengers, respond to or notify the EOC Manager so response personnel can be dispatched from the ICP. • Constantly ask during EOC meetings if the information you are disseminating is being given to pas- sengers already at the airport. Throughout the Operating Period • Ensure your work station telephone is covered at all times. • Be prepared to give concise update reports or bring up issues during EOC briefings. This is the place to resolve any media questions that come up. • Briefly summarize highlights of the regularly scheduled EOC briefings and e-mail them to all PIOs staffing the incident. Indicate “BACKGROUND INFORMATION ONLY—NOT FOR PUBLIC DISSEMINATION.” After Incident Is Secured • Close out, print, and turn in Unit Log ICS Form 214. Also e-mail it to designated Emergency Man- agement employee for their records. • Log off the PC. • Sign out on the Check-in/Check-out Sheet.