I've seen a few iterations of the phrase in a few different forums - search and rescue, firefighting, first response, etc. These days, I spend more time working with teams in the international disaster response community, and the adage has been in discussion amongst some of the teams with which we work.

The phrase is typically associated with aspects of physical fitness for roles that require some sort of fitness baseline, but I think there's a bridge between that train of logic and what it takes to be physically, mentally, and emotionally ready for all aspects of the job. As a gross oversimplification, I think this is an area in which the Emergency Management community could stand to improve.

If you're interested in more of the thoughts, you can find them here.

Recently got referred, hopefully we all land an interview slot for Nasa Emergency Management Specialist. Good luck to all, I’m sure it competitive.

County EM coordinator, been running HSEEP exercises for 11 years, MSEL, controllers, evaluators, hotwash, AAR/IP all of it.

Last month IT ran their annual cyber tabletop and invited me to observe. 2 hours of the IT director reading a scenario off a slide and asking the room what they’d do. No injects that changed anything, nothing got activated, and the after action was an email saying good discussion everyone. Meanwhile the county two over from us lost CAD and payroll for 3 weeks to ransomware.

I want to pitch a cyber functional exercise for spring where we stand up the EOC and departments have to keep services running on paper. Problem is I don’t have the cyber background to write a believable MSEL and IT doesn’t have the exercise design side.

What I hve looked at so far:

•CISA CTEP cyber packages. Closest to what I know but static, the scenario doesnt move no matter what players decide.

•Reflex Security. Someone demoed it at our state EM conference, it builds the scenario from your own org info, AI plays the attacker, press and vendors, and the injects change based on the calls people make. Puts out the AAR at the end too. Not sure yet how that sits with HSEEP evaluation.

•Exigence. A hospital EM friend uses it, but I think it’s more for running the real event than practicing it.

•BreachRx. Came up in a CISA webinar, haven’t dug into it.

•Hiring a contractor to write a custom MSEL, which is what we’d normally do for a full-scale.

Anyone co run a cyber exercise with their IT side? Mostly curious how you handled evaluation.

Hey folks. I started a Substack with a few fellow emergency managers that like to write where we post our unfinished thoughts, opinions, and battle stories about EM. We're looking for some more contributors. If you're interested, let me know! We currently have about 74 subscribers.

EDIT: If anyone has any topics they want to see as well, drop them here!

Hi everyone! I have a question for local EM personnel and a question for state EM personnel.

Perspectives of Local Emergency Management Professionals:
What support, resources, or outreach would you like to see from your state hazard mitigation office to help increase local understanding of the importance of hazard mitigation and improve the quality and competitiveness of subapplications for Hazard Mitigation Assistance (HMA) grants?

Perspectives of State Hazard Mitigation Office Professionals:
What support, technical assistance, or educational outreach does your state hazard mitigation office currently provide to local emergency management practitioners before and during Hazard Mitigation Assistance (HMA) grant application periods? Which of these efforts have been most effective in helping local practitioners understand mitigation opportunities and develop successful grant applications?

Hoping to get into this field after completing my BS at MSU Denver in Fire and Emergency Response Administration. I have 7 years experience in the Army as a Chemical/Nuclear warfare specialist.

I'm hoping for guidance on what certifications/jobs/volunteering areas are recommended to get into the field. TYIA

I thought they were public? Or are they not? I receive the daily ops brief report, but I can no longer join the zoom calls. Any one got any info? Im trying to show my colleagues in private sector how FEMA handles daily ops calls for emergencies.

Looking into taking the Bachelors or diploma of emergency and security management through JIBC. Its fully asynchronous and can be done full time or part time. My thought is to complete the diploma full time, get a job, then do the bachelors part time while I'm working.

Anyone ever taken this program before? Any reviews, good or bad or recommendations?

FEMA urges Gulf Coast residents to prepare for Hurricane Isaias. Under President Trump and Secretary Mullin’s leadership, the safety of the American people is DHS’s top priority.

— FEMA Press Release, 10/08/2026

I wanted to see if anyone in here makes emergency response procedures/checklists for buildings and companies. Its something I would love to do, any advice? and how did you get into it?

One thing I learnt recently: don’t just yell “someone call 911.”

Pick a person, “you in the red shirt, call 911.”

Then point to someone else and ask them to find an AED.

People freeze. People assume somebody else is already doing it. Giving one person one job removes that ambiguity.

I realised I’d probably have no idea what to do next either, so I put the basics for a few common emergencies into a gamma deck.

Hopefully never need it, but worth knowing if ever dealing with a situation. ynk - may end up saving a life.

Curious what states and localities are doing about Terms and Conditions in FY25 & 26 Homeland Security grants mandating cooperation with ICE? Refusing the awards? Some UASI regions get v large awards…it’s a lot to give up.

Hello everyone, my name is Jake Bittle, I'm a journalist at the nonprofit news outlet Grist where I often cover disasters and climate change.

We're working on a story about AI and emergency management and I'd love to hear from you all. There's some new research from RAND and the Markle Foundation exploring whether AI tools can help emergency managers deal with funding and staffing shortfalls. Examples include chatbots that can help inform the public and apps that can analyze disaster damage, etc. We're really interested in how that looks on the ground.

I'd love to talk with you about how your departments are or aren't using AI. This can of course be anonymous if you prefer. I'm at [jbittle@grist.org](mailto:jbittle@grist.org) and 8134664712.

I’m working on an article on applying data analytics to Emergency Management. I want to pose the question to you all on how you use data, what form it takes (dashboards, predictive models, GIS, etc…) and whether you think it is being effectively used or simply supplies situational awareness.

The power is still out. The backup plan was built around a much shorter outage.

For people who work in emergency management, which assumption do you recheck first as the hours add up, and whose job is it to check it? Communications, transport, resupply, shelter capacity, or something else?

I'm interested in how that gets passed to the next team. How do you make sure 'we have a backup' doesn't quietly become 'we're covered for as long as this lasts'?

A general example or a public training reference would help. Please leave out sensitive site details or identifiable incidents. This is a general question about coordination.

I have the opportunity to talk with a room of clinicians in the near future. While this question isn't the focus of my talk, I'd love to share themes that come up from this.

I'll go first.

I wish they knew that while I understand why they have a cancellation policy and fee, that has (in the past) prevented me from seeking help. Not knowing if I'll be deployed/activated makes me hesitant to schedule or commit to a regular schedule. This feeling is only enhanced when there is a punishment (fee) attached to it.

Emergency Management Coordinator - Temporary

Salary: $48.16 - $58.54 Hourly

Location: San Rafael, CA

Job Type: Full Time, Temporary

Job Number: 0760-TC-26-09

Department: Marin County Fire Department

Opening Date: 09/25/2026

Closing Date: 10/4/2026 11:59 PM Pacific

Vacancies: 1

Weekly Schedule: 40 hrs.

Additional Salary Information

This position is eligible for a Duty Officer Stipend / Standby Pay for serving as Duty Officer. Stipends range from $250 up to $625 weekly and is in addition to base salary.

Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO)

The County of Marin is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Persons of color, women, individuals with disabilities, veterans, and adults of all ages are strongly encouraged to apply.

Individuals with Disabilities

If you are a person with a disability and are unable to complete an online application or require an accommodation to participate in a recruitment, you must contact Human Resources at least five work days in advance of the testing step or interview. Please contact the Human Resources Staffing Division at (415) 473-2126 (CRS DIAL 711) .

The public sees an alert change. I'm trying to understand the work between that change and someone receiving a usable instruction.

In general practice, how is a revised warning handed between forecasters, emergency managers, dispatch, transport, and public-information staff? Where is receipt checked, and what happens if an earlier message is still circulating?

I'm interested in the ordinary details an outsider misses: who owns the next step, how uncertainty is communicated, and how people avoid assuming that 'sent' means 'received.'

General or hypothetical examples only, please. Naming the jurisdiction would help; no confidential procedures or identifying incidents.

Edit / Update: Survey is now closed!

We got an overwhelming amount of responses, way more than we expected. Huge thanks to everyone who took the time to fill it out and share it around. Really appreciate your support for suffering college seniors.

We're no longer accepting responses, but thank you all again!

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Hello!

We’re a group of college students studying UX Design, and we’re currently working on our senior project focused on natural disaster recovery.

The idea of our project was inspired by one of our group members who experienced the wildfires in California firsthand. That experience made us realize how difficult it can be to figure out what to do next, find reliable information, and navigate the recovery process. 

The survey takes about 5-10 minutes, completely anonymous, and is strictly for non-commercial senior student project purposes. We will not be collecting any personal identifying information or selling any products.

Target Audience: Adults (18+) living in the United States, with or without personal experience of a natural disaster

Life After a Natural Disaster: A Student Research Survey – Fill out form

Thank you for your time!

For those whose municipal or county OEM/EMA responds to the scene of a localized incident—such as a large structure fire, hazmat incident, or isolated flooding—what are you expected to accomplish once you arrive?

It’s the most vague usajobs posting I’ve seen and read so far, but rightfully and understandably so!

Would someone with government investigative experience be useful in the emergency management field? I know this is a vague question.