Role of Environmental Public Health Before a Wildfire Happens There are many steps environmental public health entities and staff can take to prepare for a wildfire. These include: • Discuss and decide use of staff before, during and after a wildfire. • Train professionals in the basics of emergency management: National Incident Management System (NIMS), National Response Framework (NRF), the Incident Command System (ICS 100, 200, and 300 levels) 10 and the state processes and systems where the professional lives and works. 11 • Train staff on field safety, personal protection, first aid, mental health, Environmental Health Training in Emergency Response (EHTER) 12 Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER) and any other training necessary to perform duties. • Provide ongoing education on the many aspects of emergency management. • Work with partner agencies that might have strike team or mutual aid assistance capabilities to determine parameters and resource request processes. • Hold meetings with other agency principals who may have interactive roles with environmental public health staff. Check to see if there is an emergency planning committee and participate. Repeat annually. • Identify and procure appropriate personal protective and emergency supplies. • Determine vehicle, equipment, communications, go bag and other resources needed to deploy staff. • If applicable, consider impacts of wildfires in adjoining jurisdictions on services and resources needed to sustain public assistance.
• Discuss monitoring stations and sampling strategies for smoke/air quality. • Identify, craft, or update emergency forms or messaging boiler-plate (pre-scripted) documents. Many of these documents can be posted before any wildfire activity as part of ongoing communications. • Identify media and public information protocols. Train key staff. • Examine data collection and processing systems that could be used to collect and give out appropriate information through dashboards. • Examine health and safety policies and procedures. • Review protocols to ensure mental well-being in a disaster situation. • Examine/address logistical needs for staff deployed in a wildfire disaster area. • Examine availability of data systems to collect field survey information and how it can be available to the public or cooperating agencies. • Conduct annual refresher sessions to make sure staff stay current on important topics identified by management. • Build GIS maps with critical infrastructure (hospitals, long-term care facilities, schools, childcare, shelter locations, etc.). • Evacuation route planning. • Shelter air quality planning. • Water resource needs for responders and the community during and after a wildfire.
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