After Action Report / Improvement Plan West Fargo Funnel Functional Exercise
West Fargo Funnel – Tornado Response Exercise
April 17, 2012
AFTER ACTION REPORT / IMPROVEMENT PLAN
City of West Fargo Police Department
ADMINISTRATIVE HANDLING INSTRUCTIONS
1. The title of this document is The "West Fargo Funnel - A Tornado Response Functional Exercise" After Action Report.
2. The information gathered in this AAR/IP is classified as For Official Use Only (FOUO) and should be handled as sensitive information not to be disclosed. This document should be safeguarded, handled, transmitted, and stored in accordance with appropriate security directives.
3. At a minimum, the attached materials will be disseminated only on a need-to-know basis and when unattended, will be stored in a locked container or area offering sufficient protection against theft, compromise, inadvertent access, and unauthorized disclosure.
4. Points of Contact:
Police Department:
Michael Reitan
City of West Fargo Police Department
(Office) 701-433-5500
(E-Mail)
Exercise Director:
Ginny Schwartzer
All Clear Emergency Management Group LLC
(Office) 919-323-9995
(E-Mail)
CONTENTS
ADMINISTRATIVE HANDLING INSTRUCTIONS 2
CONTENTS 3
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 4
SECTION 1: EXERCISE OVERVIEW 5
Exercise Details 5
Participant Information 6
SECTION 2: EXERCISE DESIGN SUMMARY 7
Exercise Purpose and Design 7
Exercise Objectives, Capabilities and Activities 7
Scenario Summary 7
SECTION 3: ANALYSIS OF CAPABILITIES 9
SECTION 4: CONCLUSION 13
APPENDIX A: IMPROVEMENT PLAN 14
APPENDIX B: PARTICIPANT FEEDBACK (3 THUMBS UP – 3 THUMBS DOWN) 15
APPENDIX C: ACRONYMS 20
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
West Fargo Funnel - A Tornado Response Functional Exercise was designed and facilitated to improve the following emergency operations:
· Command and control within the EOC.
· Resource allocation by each department.
· Damage Assessment and reporting.
· Record keeping.
The purpose of this report is to analyze exercise results, identify strengths to be maintained and built upon, identify potential areas for further improvement, and support development of corrective actions.
Incorporated in Section 3: Analysis of Capabilities of this After Action Report is a comprehensive listing of each Target Capability with its associated Major Strengths, Primary Areas for Improvement and Improvement Recommendations
SECTION 1: EXERCISE OVERVIEW
Exercise Details
Exercise Name: / West Fargo Funnel - A Tornado Response Functional ExerciseType of Exercise: / Tabletop
Exercise Start Date: / April 17, 2012
Duration: / Four Hours
Location: / West Fargo North Dakota
Sponsor: / City of West Fargo Police Department
Program: To assess the plans and procedures for activating and utilizing the city’s EOC.
Purpose: To improve the following emergency operations:
· Command and control within the EOC.
· Resource allocation by each department.
· Damage Assessment and reporting.
· Record keeping.
Mission: The mission of the exercise was to:
1. Stand up and make operational an EOC within 1 hour of a declared emergency (All).
2. Demonstrate ability to track availability of resource and prioritize allocation of resources to respond effectively, save lives and protect property (PW / PD / FD).
3. Demonstrate the ability to record and report through proper channels activities / man-hours / resources relating to use and expense of the response to exercise scenario (All).
4. Demonstrate the ability to conduct assessment of affected properties and file reports through proper channels to ensure appropriate level of response and reporting to higher levels of command. (Assessor).
5. Demonstrate ability to identify affected population and establish a temporary shelter within 2 hours of the emergency. (HR / Health).
6. Demonstrate the adequacy of displays, equipment and other materials to support emergency operation (All).
7. Demonstrate ability to utilize available communication equipment to provide appropriate level of command and control (All).
8. Demonstrate the ability to accept and distribute donated items (HR).
9. Demonstrate the ability to track and coordinate volunteers (Planning).
Scenario Type: Tornado
Participant Information
Participant / OrganizationsAmerican Red Cross
Cass County Emergency Management Department
F-M Ambulance
Magellan Midstream Partners
West Fargo Assessor's Office
West Fargo Auditors Office
West Fargo Engineering Department
West Fargo Fire Department
West Fargo Health Department
West Fargo Human Resources Department
West Fargo Police Department
West Fargo Public Works
Number of Participants / 34
SECTION 2: EXERCISE DESIGN SUMMARY
Exercise Purpose and Design
To improve the following emergency operations:
· Command and control within the EOC.
· Resource allocation by each department.
· Damage Assessment and reporting.
· Record keeping.
Exercise Objectives, Capabilities and Activities
Capabilities-based planning allows for the exercise planning team to develop exercise objectives and observe exercise outcomes through a framework of specific action items that were derived from the Target Capabilities List (TCL). The capabilities listed below form the foundation for the organization of all objectives and observations in this exercise. Additionally, each capability is linked to several corresponding activities and tasks to provide additional detail.
Based upon the identified exercise objectives below, the exercise planning team decided to demonstrate the following capabilities during this exercise:
Emergency Operations Center ManagementActivity / Target Capability
# 1 / EOC Activation
# 2 / EOC Tactical Operations
# 3 / Gather and Provide Information
# 4 / Identify and Address Issues
# 5 / Prioritize and Provide Resources
# 6 / Support and Coordinate Response
Scenario Summary
It is a warm spring day in April with thunderstorms forecasted in the afternoon hours associated with a cold front moving across the Northern Plains. The National Weather Service has predicted a line of strong thunderstorms including heavy rain, high winds, and the potential for hail and tornadoes to move through the area around mid-day.
A Severe Thunderstorm Watch and Tornado Watch have been issued for eastern North Dakota effective until 8:00PM. The National Weather Service has been monitoring an especially strong storm identified on Doppler radar and issues a Tornado Warning for Cass County when the storm intensifies.
Doppler radar indicates this storm is capable of producing a tornado. West Fargo has experienced heavy rains for the last hour and has been monitoring weather reports closely.
SECTION 3: ANALYSIS OF CAPABILITIES
Emergency Operations Center Management
Performance / Target CapabilityAdequate /
Activity # 1: EOC Activation
Associated Critical TasksTask # 1.1: Staff assigned to the EOC understands activation process and appropriate actions when activated.
Adequate / Evaluator # 1
Observations / CodeRED used and everyone seemed to understand where to respond and the positions they would fill.
Recommendations / Review contact lists and who needs to be activated to the EOC and plan for depth for the next operational period.
Task # 1.2: EOC staff has been appropriately assigned to a notification group. All contact information is current.
Adequate / Evaluator # 1
Observations / I wasn't able to observe the call back list but discussion was good for this topic.
Recommendations / Contact information should be reviewed constantly.
Task # 1.3: EOC facility is appropriately equipped with resources and equipment for each EOC position. EOC layout makes sense based on roles assigned and staffing levels.
Adequate / Evaluator # 1
Observations / Work space was tight but everyone fit into the space.
Recommendations / Layouts could be tried in different patterns to optimize the space - discussion on go bags was good and everyone understood what they might need or would want to bring along.
Performance / Target Capability
Adequate /
Activity # 2: EOC Tactical Operations
Associated Critical TasksTask # 2.1: Establish organization/operation of EOC.
Adequate / Evaluator # 1
Observations / Shaky at first but as they players got into the exercise they seemed to more comfortable.
Recommendations / Practice, Practice, Practice - exercises should be scheduled on a routine basis, as members review and practice their roles the better they will be.
Task # 2.2: Ensure that all emergency support functions (ESFs) or EOC positions are staffed.
Adequate / Evaluator # 1
Observations / The people and positions in the EOC for the exercise seemed to be proper and functioned well.
Recommendations / Are the right positions filled in the EOC and due to space issues could some of the positions be in other locations.
Performance / Target Capability
Adequate /
Activity # 3: Gather and Provide Information
Associated Critical TasksTask # 3.1: Verify that all participating public safety-related Communication Centers, serving the EOC/MACC/IOF directly or indirectly, have established communication links with the EOC/MACC/IOF.
Adequate / Evaluator # 1
Observations / Discussion around the communication was brief.
Recommendations / None
Task # 3.2: Monitor communications and information systems.
Adequate / Evaluator # 1
Observations / Properly covered.
Recommendations / None
Task # 3.3: Collect, analyze, and disseminate information and intelligence.
Adequate / Evaluator # 1
Observations / Good paper trail but may get bogged down - knowing who are in each of the roles is a plus.
Recommendations / Use of WEB EOC along with all of the forms so you can see what was done without digging through papers.
Performance / Target Capability
Adequate /
Activity # 4: Identify and Address Issues
Associated Critical TasksTask # 4.1: Identify and elevate needs/issues up the chain of command as needed, while tracking status.
Adequate / Evaluator # 1
Observations / Chain of command seemed unclear at this point.
Recommendations / Exercise this operational component as to who is the Incident commander, who will fill the positions when someone doesn't show up.
Performance / Target Capability
Adequate /
Activity # 5: Prioritize and Provide Resources
Associated Critical TasksTask # 5.1: Facilitate resolution to legal, policy, political, social, and economic sensitivities of the affected jurisdiction as they impact response and recovery operations.
Adequate / Evaluator # 1
Observations / Discussion on objectives but they didn't get into a situation where they needed to prioritize any one topic.
Recommendations / Take your exercise to the next level and push players into a response that they need to deal with.
Performance / Target Capability
Adequate /
Activity # 6: Support and Coordinate Response
Associated Critical TasksTask # 6.1: Coordinate resource logistics and distribution.
Strong / Evaluator # 1
Observations / I felt that in this area a lot of work was done to prepare for an event of this scale.
Recommendations / Review local plans and fill gaps that were discussed in the exercise - by bringing in the outside organizations that may be of assistance for sheltering, transportation and volunteer management. Then exercise just that component.
Task # 6.2: Support identification and determination of potential hazards and threats including mapping, modeling, and forecasting.
Weak / Evaluator # 1
Observations / Not discussed that much.
Recommendations / Learn capabilities of the departments in all threat areas.
SECTION 4: CONCLUSION
Exercises such as this one allow personnel to validate training and practice strategic and tactical prevention, protection, response and recovery capabilities in a risk-reduced environment. Exercises are the primary tool for assessing preparedness and identifying areas for improvement, while demonstrating community resolve to prepare for major incidents.
Exercises aim to help entities within the community gain objective assessments of their capabilities so that gaps, deficiencies, and vulnerabilities are addressed prior to a real incident.
Exercises are the most effective (and safer) means to:
· Assess and validate policies, plans, procedures, training, equipment, assumptions, and interagency agreements;
· Clarify roles and responsibilities;
· Improve interagency coordination and communications;
· Identify gaps in resources;
· Measure performance; and
· Identify opportunities for improvement.
This exercise succeeded in addressing all of the above as it provided examples of good to excellent participant knowledge, teamwork, communication and use of plans and procedures while pointing out areas in need of improvement and clarification.
Listed below is a summary of the level of performance the Target Capabilities and Tasks evaluated during the exercise. This summary outlines the areas in which the City of West Fargo is strong as well as identifying areas that the departments should invest future planning, training and exercise funds on.
Emergency Operations Center ManagementActivity / Target Capability / Performance
# 1 / EOC Activation / Adequate
# 2 / EOC Tactical Operations / Adequate
# 3 / Gather and Provide Information / Adequate
# 4 / Identify and Address Issues / Adequate
# 5 / Prioritize and Provide Resources / Adequate
# 6 / Support and Coordinate Response / Adequate
All Clear EMG LLC – www.allclearemg.com / DRCG LLC – www.drc-group.com 5 | Page
After Action Report / Improvement Plan West Fargo Funnel Functional Exercise
APPENDIX A: IMPROVEMENT PLAN
This Improvement Plan has been developed specifically for the City of West Fargo based on the results of West Fargo Funnel - A Tornado Response Functional Exercise conducted on April 17, 2012. These recommendations draw on both the After Action Report and the After Action Conference.
Capability / Observation / Recommendation / Responsible Agency / Completion DateEOC Activation / ·
·
EOC Tactical Operations / ·
·
Gather and Provide Information / ·
·
Identify and Address Issues / ·
·
Prioritize and Provide Resources / ·
·
Support and Coordinate Response / ·
·
All Clear EMG LLC – www.allclearemg.com / DRCG LLC – www.drc-group.com 5 | Page
After Action Report / Improvement Plan West Fargo Funnel Functional Exercise
APPENDIX B: PARTICIPANT FEEDBACK(3 THUMBS UP – 3 THUMBS DOWN)
Thumbs UpAbility to interact with other members in the group and learn areas of responsibility.
Participation level was excellent.
Preparation / activities before the exercise.
Good participation.
Great learning experience.
Well organized.
Interaction with other groups / agencies to see how multiple groups would be involved and work together.
Gained more familiarity with the WebEOC system.
Set-up went smooth and we started on track.
Communication between participants was great.
Completed exercise within expectation. Group was well prepared.
Communication and cooperation between all departments.
Identified task quickly.
Availability of resources.
Great planning and organization by Mike Retian.
Participant involvement.
Communication.
Good cooperation between departments.
Willingness to learn and ask questions.