Formidable Footprint - After Action Report / Summary - Wildfire Print E-mail
Formidable Footprint Tabletop Exercise

After Action Report / Summary

The After Action Report / Summary for the March 26  2011 Formidable Footprint Tabletop Exercise involving a wildfire scenario can be found below.


 

 

Wildfire Scenario

Overview
Number of Exercise Participants
 181
Number of States with Exercise Participants
32
Location of Participants
 Map

The wildfire scenario was set in the fictitious community of “Plainville”. Plainville is a small rural community, surrounded by farms and open fields, and consisting of  273 homes and 1,173 residents. The age of homes range from the early 1920s through 2009. However the majority of the homes were built between 1955 and 1985. The majority of the residents of Plainville work in either agri-business or travel to one of the neighboring communities where a number of chemical manufacturing plants are located.

Throughout the exercise participants were challenged to consider how they would respond to a variety of injects with the resources and assets that they have available in their own community and with their own community team.

Injects included:

  • Identify four additional hazards, other than wildfire, to which the neighborhood is vulnerable, then rank the vulnerability to each of the hazards.
  • List the various disaster preparedness activities your organization undertakes to assist with neighborhood preparedness, or if your organization in not involved in assisting residents, identify the name and point of contact information for agencies or organizations that would be able to assist.
  • Would your organization ever self-mobilize?
  • The county emergency management agency has made the decision that Plainville needs to be evacuated due to the approaching wildfire. Does your organization have a role in supporting an evacuation such as this?
  • Briefly describe the leadership / management / operational structure that will be utilized by your organization as it works as a team.
  • Prepare an Incident Action Plan outlining activities and a timeline to accomplish them.
  • Describe how communications within your team, and between your team and other agencies will be established and maintained.
  • Describe the type of assistance your organization might provide to senior citizens and individuals with disabilities or transportation challenges, or identify the name and point of contact information for agencies or organizations which might be able to help.
  • Review initial Incident Action Plan and make revisions as necessary based on new Situational Awareness.
  • Identify how your organization deals with various animal issues during and in the aftermath of a wildfire.
  • Identify other agencies and organizations that your organization will need to work closely with.
  • Describe how your organization might assist with or set up a Point of Distribution that has been set up to hand out bottled water, ice, tarps, etc..
  • Describe your organizations procedure for facilitating Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD) of its members during the teams  demobilization process.

Local News Coverage

News coverage featuring local teams participating in the Formidable Footprint Wildfire Exercise.

 River Current of Northeast King County
 PDF

Hotwash

All participants were asked to complete a hotwash by providing three things that went well with the exercise for their organization and three things they identified that their organization need to improve upon.

Listed below are the Strengths and Areas Needing Improvement submitted by participants in the exercise. 

Strengths

  • The exercise was engaging and interesting.
  • The exercise scenario was relative to our area.
  • The exercise served as a good team building activity.
  • Good information sharing opportunity for all of our team members.
  • Provided good awareness training for our team.
  • Our team appears to have the equipment that will be needed for most types of disasters.
  • Our team has had basic training in many areas of response.
  • Our team feels that it is willing and ready to go having participated in the wildfire exercise.
  • We had good participation by our team members.
  • We knew we would need to set up shelters and did so in the neighboring town to the south fairly quickly.
  • We were able to set up a Point of Distribution (POD) and provide those impacted with the supplies they needed.
  • Sure makes you think about lots of the aspects of wildfires which we have had several of where I live.
  • The pre-exercise webinar was very helpful with instructions and guidance.
  • The exercise was well organized and easy to understand.
  • The exercise was educational for our team.
  • Excellent layout of the exercise injects including those associated with neighborhood hazard / risk analysis.
  • Timeline and audience role is very flexible and adaptable.
  • Each of our street leaders and assistant street leaders has a binder of organizational materials available to assist them in their responsibilities. Each person knows what their responsibilities are and who they are responsible for.
  • Phone lists and contact numbers are already provided. Street Leaders are already in contact with their assigned families to maintain communication efforts. This in turn will be very beneficial should the need for assistance ever arise.
  • Multiple plans are already in place for all types of disasters. CERT training is provided to all street leaders and assistant street leaders.
  • Our team was able to see if plans worked as well as planned.
  • Our team members were able to see whether or not the certain actions were warranted.
  • The exercise played out in real time.
  • Past experience has shown that we would be put on alert as soon as mutual aid was requested.
  • All of our team members were ready to go when called.
  • Established communications with the fire Incident Management Team immediately after being called out.
  • Organization and logistics of the exercise.
  • Knowledge of our plans in case of a disaster.
  • Better understanding of what might happen in a similar situation (wildfire scenario).
  • Good scenario.
  • The exercise contained good scenarios and injects that made our team members think.
  • The maps were good for visualizing the spread of the wildfire and its extend relative to Plainville.
  • Team members had candid discussions in a relaxed atmosphere.
  • The timing of the exercise was great due to the upcoming fire season.
  • Scenario was very close to our location and needs.
  • The exercise served as an opportunity to evaluate current local resources and the needs of additional training.
  • Achieved certain level of cohesiveness that encouraged extended discussion by group and brainstorming that provided insight on alternate responses.
  • Participation and support by local fire department.
  • Conversation and interaction lead to more and better ideas for our involvement and for extended training and working with other support organizations.
  • Realistic scenarios about how this type of situation would really happen.
  • Our team did participate in Firewise two weeks ago so we enjoyed seeing questions we knew the answers to and topics we were acquainted with.
  • Usage of maps went well.
  • Getting together as a team to work through the exercise.
  • The exercise was self-paced.
  • Team discussion.
  • The exercise timeline was great.
  • Our team worked well together. This was truly a team effort in all aspects.
  • Our team feels prepared due to regular training.
  • The exercise was thought provoking which allowed for good discussions among our team members.
  • Our team members were able to come to consensus regarding the various inject responses.
  • Our team mobilization went well.
  • Team Work!
  • Willing and enthusiastic participation in the exercise from our volunteers.
  • Well organized exercise with thought provoking prompts.
  • The maps were a lot more user friendly than the ones used for the flooding exercise.
  • It was a good opportunity to review our team’s disaster response capabilities and the roles that our team would be taking on in the event of a wildfire.
  • As CERT members we have not had specific wildfire training, however it was good to work through this exercise and see the commonalities in all basic disaster responses.
  • Interaction of team members.
  • The knowledge and understanding of processes by our team members.
  • Scenario applies to our area.
  • The flow of information as the exercise began allowed ideas and plans to be formulated.
  • As the information was presented, I felt more capable of making a plan and understanding what was required.
  • The ONX System was easy to navigate.
  • Good interaction among our team members.
  • We identified weaknesses in current plan and addressed them.
  • Provided clarification of team members regarding team missions and goals.
  • Our Disaster Animal Response Team’s specialized skills were definitely needed for this incident, as well as our horse trailer and Mobile Animal Shelter for transporting animals.
  • We had very specific assignments and knew what to do so there was no misunderstanding what our role was. Injects with specific tasks dealing with animal issues were great.
  • Our phone tree enabled us to get in touch with team members quickly and amass enough members to do both sheltering and rescue work.
  • The exercise gave all necessary information to develop an Incident Action Plan (IAP) and respond.
  • Exercise updates were efficient to modify or update our Incident Action Plan (IAP).
  • Organized format of the exercise.
  • The exercise gave us a list of things to work on to be better prepared when the next event occurs for real.
  • Experience with previous Formidable Footprint exercises gave a level of comfort and speed to completing this exercise.
  • Appropriate exercise scenario for our area.
  • We determined that we have an activation plan with contingency for no cell phone service.
  • Able to work well together to discuss strategies for the disaster.
  • We did not try to go beyond the abilities and training of the team.
  • The exercise was well structured and guided the participants which allowed me to start and direct the conversation.
  • Our team members enjoyed the exercise! They loved the process and the novelty of incorporating a computer based system.
  • It was based in reality, provided an opportunity for us to have relevant discussion.
  • Created a better awareness of group needs / dynamics.
  • Better understanding of how CERT fits into an overall picture.
  • Learned about the responsibility / limitations of our organization, as related to a larger team call up.
  • Once again, the Formidable Footprint exercise stimulated lots of conversation which has resulted in some more stream line plans for what will occur next.
  • The flow went quicker due to familiarity with the set up and game play.
  • We have a good plan in place to use as a resource.
  • Great discussions.
  • Comprehensive exercise stimulated new and thoughtful input.
  • I'm in a bit of a "misfit" situation here, as I sat in as a learning experience, knowing that the scenario is not built for the needs of our team, but wanting to see how the ONX System conducts such exercises. From that viewpoint, I was very pleased with the content, the pace, and the structure of the exercise.
  • Our group’s participation was excellent.
  • Exercise was extremely informative.
  • The group was about the right size (18 people) for good interaction between group members and easy for all attendees to participate.
  • Several members were experienced in dealing with major incidents which was helpful in getting participants to consider many different aspects of the incident.
  • We were able to define our goals and get organized quickly.
  • Worked together as a team to complete the exercise.
  • Provided real time answers to challenges and guidelines.
  • Our group was able to accelerate decision-making.
  • There were considerations regarding interagency operations.
  • The interaction and discussion among our CERT team was very good. Everyone was involved.
  • We were able to identify strengths and weaknesses in our own management plans and strategies.
  • We were able to shed a lot of light on an understanding of the role of our CERT in a disaster, especially as we relate to the city and county EMS under the Incident Command System (ICS) structure.
  • All information was applicable to CERT planning.
  • Good team communication and discussion.
  • Expanded our interest and knowledge in regards to wildfires.
  • Opened our eyes to ways the team can be further utilized in our community.
  • Exercise maps were easy to read.
  • The situations were easy to read and life like.
  • The exercise opened up a good forum amongst the participants.
  • The team was able to work together to come up with viable solutions to the problems presented.
  • This exercise provided us with information that made us think about how effectively we have prepared for an emergency.
  • The exercise was a good opportunity for the team to work together and go through how they would manage an emergency.
  • The exercise also allowed for a good exchange of information and experience to give the team new ideas and insight.
  • During the discussion resources were revealed that are available that many of us may not have been aware of.
  • I think having participated in the exercise will improve our response to our next deployment.
  • Working and communicating as a team.
  • Utilizing the wildfire scenario to see how it would apply in Idaho.
  • Learning and knowledge base that was implemented and the skills the team has.
  • Good participation in the exercise from our team members.
  • Increased communication between team members.
  • Gained a better understanding of the potential roles our county-wide CERT can play in the event of an emergency.
  • Gained a better understanding of team member’s knowledge and abilities.
  • Everyone was involved in the exercise.
  • The exercise guided discussion on important points.
  • New information was provided during the exercise.
  • Conversation and interaction lead to more and better ideas for our involvement and for extended training and working with other organizations.
  • Realistic scenarios about how this type of situation would really happen.
  • Usage of maps went well.
  • Volunteers made great responses.
  • The exercise had excellent questions for team members to work through.
  • We had the opportunity to participate in a team building exercise.
  • We were able to talk through some of the concerns we had for our own town in the event of a wildfire situation.
  • Had fun going through the maps and scenarios.
  • Good scenario.
  • Scheduling and organization of practical, real world scenario.
  • Timed assignments.
  • Ability to spark discussions.
  • Conversation and interaction lead to more and better ideas for our involvement and for extended training and working with other support organizations.
  • Realistic scenarios about how this type of situation would really happen.
  • Learning the area resources in our community and learning how to work with them in this exercise. When we have a real emergency, we will already know each other, each other’s resources and be able to get to work!
  • We could easily have a wildfire in this area. We are very dry. This gave us sort of a "footprint" to follow.
  • Well organized, interesting scenario and easy to follow.
  • Meeting people from other organizations.
  • Although I have been in firefighting for over 40 years, I need to remember that not everyone is a firefighter.
  • Getting a feel for how other organizations are going to function in a disaster.
  • Group participation. This was our first exercise with a new group.
  • Learning. The exercise generated much discussion.
  • Applicability of the exercise scenario.
  • Setting up and discussing what each group was to do.
  • Talking about each organizations responsibility during a wildfire.
  • Being able to work as a group.
  • Working as a team and building camaraderie.
  • Thinking about how we would really be used in conjunction with the local fire departments and what our actual roles we be.
  • Really thinking about how each CERT member can prepare themselves to prevent wildfires and help the community do the same.
  • Interaction of all personnel from all agencies.
  • Exchange of information.
  • Pooling of resource information.
  • Working as a team.
  • Contributions made by each member of the team.
  • The scenario was timed just right.
  • Team knowledge was enhanced throughout the exercise.
  • The sharing of solutions and approaches to problems.
  • Increased our ability to see different solutions to problems.
  • The exercise was thorough and allowed the CERT group with whom I participated to think through their readiness from incident initiation through wrap-up and demobilization.
  • The CERT group had a comprehensive plan and was able to draw on various aspects of that plan as the exercise evolved.
  • The exercise generated lots of discussion. It provided good supporting motivation for one of the participating couples to try to get their neighborhood to develop and implement a community Firewise plan.
  • Worked well as a team.
  • Understood our functions.
  • Exercise was similar to our local area.
  • Team worked well together.
  • Team had a good idea of the range of activities that might be expected of us.
  • The exercise scenario was well suited to our locale.
  • Playing with others. I participated in a group setting at the Lee County Emergency Operations Center with several organizations. Lots of good interactions and discussion took place.
  • Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) is heavily involved in long-term recovery. The other organizations present at the exercise learned about PDA and the niche we fill.
  • I was able to "offer" much needed resources in this particular exercise with regards to volunteers and volunteer housing for the long-term recovery of this disaster scenario.
  • The team did a great job working together to accomplish the task within the exercise.
  • Teams were able to put together list of all the other local volunteer organizations.
  • Team developed better communication skills through the tasks within the exercise. Team took a tour of the National Interagency Fire Center two days prior to the exercise to better understand wildfire command structure.
  • Chance to meet other agencies.
  • Agencies shared resources that are available.
  • Brought everyone together thinking about what could happen in our area as well as the scenario.
  • Meeting other groups and learning what kind of resources they would bring in this type of disaster.
  • Working with the other groups to solve the problems at hand.
  • Finding out who to turn to for resources

 

Areas Needing Improvement

 

  • More people should be involved in these types of learning opportunities.
  • Our team needs additional training.
  • More community outreach is needed.
  • We need more training in specific areas that are closer to home.
  • We should meet more often. We haven't had a single meeting yet and it has been a couple of months since our CERT training.
  • Team bonding. If we know each other better (strengths and weaknesses) then we will make a better team in the long run.
  • We need to meet as a team.
  • We will need to discuss this exercise as a team.
  • We need to get more community members to take the exercise.
  • Need to have a better idea of where to send people for remedial tasks, such as help repairing home or help evacuating.
  • Need to have a better understanding of procedures for transporting people such as “who can do it” along with their contact information.
  • Need to organize or inform individuals in our neighborhood of disaster preparedness which my husband and I will start as soon as summer hits.
  • Our community needs to develop and evacuation plan.
  • Would like to do more of these with more department representatives.
  • Practice public alert and warning.
  • Further communication and running thru mock training exercises would be beneficial to helping us maintain better communication and allow us to act more quickly in the event of an emergency.
  • Further study of emergency response materials so that everyone knows their plan and responsibilities inside and out.
  • Further knowledge on preparedness and training.
  • We need to recruit younger members.
  • We need to get the community more involved.
  • We need to become better acquainted with our plans.
  • Found that our Initial Incident Action Plan and After Actions (Demobilization) Plans process could use some improvements.
  • Need to find better ways to serve the community needs.
  • Need more training.
  • We need to contact the our local emergency management agency.
  • We need to offer Incident Command System (ICS) training to our members.
  • Wish we had more team members present.
  • More training.
  • Need to get the CERTs to survey their neighborhoods for data and set up CERT training for neighborhoods.
  • More cross agency training and activities. More disaster scenario training and news coverage.
  • We need the demographics of all cultures within our community.
  • Training of new team members and review for all members.
  • Revising policy manual.
  • Better clarification of job descriptions / objectives / safety.
  • Develop a mobilization plan.
  • We need more community support, involvement and education.
  • Better contact list for resources and partners.
  • More communication tools are needed.
  • We need more active members.
  • Additional wildfire training would be helpful in the specific roles.
  • We need to improve the Pinelands Region CERT Standard Operational Guidelines (SOG).
  • We need to participate in more exercise to gain confidence in our roles and responsibilities.
  • The need to know that other organizations are likely to have presence during an emergency situation and what those agencies could be expected to provide. For example, other than the American Red Cross, what agencies could be counted on during emergencies?
  • Training interaction.
  • Improve awareness of area resources.
  • Improve relations with other local volunteer organizations.
  • Continue development of written response plan.
  • We need to maintain a list of all other community groups that are active in disasters, so we know who does what.
  • We should consider a debriefing BEFORE team members are released from the assignment instead of asking them to group up later. Some may not be able to make it or be too tired, or have other obligations. We need to hear everyone's thoughts and experiences.
  • Provide necessary funding for training by the local government for animals responders so more will be available.
  • We need more team members to participate in these exercises.
  • Our team needs to determine how to make faster decisions.
  • Understanding our limitations and remembering who / what the chain of command is as a function of incident command.
  • We need to do more personal preparedness.
  • Evacuation assistance training is needed by our team members.
  • Neighborhood planning could use assistance.
  • Need to complete negotiations for regional credentialing.
  • COMMUNICATIONS – By far was the weakest link within our team. Defiantly need to work on better communications and have a backup plan available if the cellular phone network goes down. We are 90% + dependent on the cell phone towers in the beginning of an event.
  • Our group needs to have a better referral (source book) set up for future needs. We were able to gather the numbers for different agencies but have determined that we need this information in a central location.
  • Probably need to assign "positions" in advance to minimize initial confusion as to the proper chain of command within our group as it relates to the Incident Command System (ICS).
  • Familiarity with possible available resources.
  • Definitive understanding of communications methods and equipment.
  • We will spend some time finding out more about the resources available to us during an incident, including personnel, equipment and cooperating agencies and groups.
  • We will work to enhance our relationships with other volunteer organizations in our area.
  • We will continue to refine our response plans and protocols.
  • Additions to our Incident Action Plan (IAP).
  • Interaction with VOAD.
  • Continued training.
  • Overall, we felt that our organization has done well in preparing. It is still necessary to get more people involved and encourage homeowners to keep emergency supplies current.
  • Our team seemed to be hesitant as to what actions to take after the fire was under control. In addition, we were not in agreement as to where to place the Point of Distribution (POD). One team member suggested having the POD located outside of the area which was destroyed. Another member suggested being close to the residents whose houses were destroyed. The end result was that we comprised.
  • It is apparent that there is not a lot of involvement by neighborhoods which greatly weakens the effectiveness of any program.
  • The team seemed to need to think about what would be needed once the immediate emergency was over, probably more work is needed here but the exercise forced the team to think this through.
  • Continue to work with the community in education and preparedness.
  • Continue to utilize resources like this to learn and grow the team.
  • Continued development of our Emergency Operations Plan (EOP).
  • Continued team training with similar exercises.
  • Continue to establish relationships with first responders and VOAD's.
  • We need to involve additional teams in future exercises.
  • Identifying vulnerable populations.
  • Strengthening coordination with animal rescue agencies.
  • More training.
  • Need to get the CERTs to survey their neighborhoods for data and set up CERT training for neighbor residents.
  • We recognized some deficiencies in our training.
  • Found that we had room to increase our communication with the local fire and police departments.
  • A more active role in supporting the fire and police departments in their training events.
  • Preplanning.
  • Agreement on certain situations.
  • Building a better, more active relationship with local fire department and other public offices. We are here and ready to help!
  • Needing more detailed operating procedures in case some kind of event actually did occur. We can theorize what we would do, but having a better understanding of what our tasks would be, would allow us to better prepare.
  • Citizen awareness. How can we reach out to the community to bring more awareness about different topics?
  • Ensure a more complete list of other possible agencies resources unknown until now.
  • Contact information on smaller agencies.
  • Work on ways to avoid overlapping of resources and personnel.
  • Continue to train for emergency situations.
  • Reinforce knowledge of our roles / limitation.
  • Communication in the field.
  • Providing more teaming building exercises.
  • More cooperation between the paid personnel and volunteers. The paid folks need to realize no one wants their job.
  • Integration of Firewise training and principles with organized CERTs.
  • Improve some of the region’s fire district knowledge of community wildfire planning, coordination with landowners within interface areas and provide them outreach materials.
  • Our CERT could use more members.
  • Define a better understanding of what missions our within and out of our scope.
  • Some of us could use more experience in leadership.
  • We need to make faster decisions.
  • We could use more members.
  • As a group be less reluctant to assume leadership roles.
  • Preparing more churches to be able to respond to disasters as volunteers, offering facility space, etc.
  • Encourage churches to connect with their local Emergency Management teams before a disaster.
  • Look into "reverse call" systems.
  • We could be in touch more with other agencies.