3.7. Coordinate with Response Partners to Communicate with the Public

During a chemical incident, there will be a time-sensitive demand for information. The media, public, and responders all require accurate and timely information, whether the incident is large or small, and whether caused by a natural disaster, accident, or intentional act. The public will immediately turn to the media and sources they consider trustworthy to find out more details.^40,41 Meanwhile, the attention of the media will also help drive the need for coordinated messaging. The needs of both can be filled by a Joint Information Center. Under the collaborative structure of the NCP and the NRF, communicators working across multiple responding organizations employ the NRT’s JIC model to achieve the efficiency of information flow that is critical to effectively meeting these information needs.^34,37

Under the NCP, the FOSC will designate an Incident Command Post Public Information Officer (ICP PIO); this member of the Incident Command System (ICS) staff is responsible for gathering, developing, and disseminating information about the incident to the news media, affected public, and response personnel. The PIO will gather information, write news releases or other informational products, answer media questions and calls, and set up websites, town halls, or social media sites, etc., and will advise the FOSC or UC on public information matters. During large-scale incidents, the PIO may appoint assistants to represent assisting agencies, jurisdictions, or other response partners. During the Deepwater Horizon response, for example, more than 300 interagency Public Affairs Officers (PAOs) supported the response.⁴²

The PIO will establish and maintain a JIC for assistance in communication tasks. The JIC is the central physical or virtual location where incident information is organized, integrated, and coordinated to ensure timely, accurate, accessible, and consistent messaging across multiple jurisdictions and/or disciplines. Because they are constantly interacting with the IC/UC and other Command staff, the PIO can keep the JIC abreast of critical decisions, enabling JIC staff to keep messaging current in the face of changing priorities.

The JIC structure is flexible and is designed to meet the needs of incidents on any scale, ranging from a small single-agency, single-hazard response to a large multiple-agency, all-hazards response. The organizational chart in Figure 40 illustrates general staffing and management, activities, and divisions within the JIC. The PIO has responsibilities dictated by the NIMS ICS and spends most of the time working on strategic goals with the IC/UC and other Command staff. The JIC Manager works with the PIO on strategic plans and directs the Assistant PIOs (APIOs). The APIOs are top-level "specialists" that support "boots on the ground" staff that implement tactical PIO operations in several key areas: Information Gathering (fact gathering, media monitoring, and rumor control), Information Products (writing news releases, photography/videography, and website management), Media Relations (answering media calls, coordinating interviews, and speaker support), and Community Relations (community relations, community support, and social media, for incidents with major community relations issues). A JIC may also have representation in the field.

Figure 40: The National Response Team Joint Information Center model is an all-hazards model that is compatible with the National Incident Management System.34 Note that for chemical incidents, HAZWOPER certification or the wearing of PPE may be required to photograph or film near the hazard site. — Figure 40: The National Response Team Joint Information Center model is an all-hazards model that is compatible with the National Incident Management System.³⁴ Note that for chemical incidents, HAZWOPER certification or the wearing of PPE may be required to photograph or film near the hazard site. View full-sized image.

Footnotes

34. National Response Team (NRT). (2013, April). Joint Information Center Model: Communications during Emergency Reponses. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

37. Spill of National Significance (SONS) Communication Coordination Workgroup. (2017). Spill of National Significance: Public Affairs Reference. 2017 Ed.

40. UPMC Center for Health Security. (2016, November). How to Steward Medical Countermeasures and Public Trust in an Emergency. A Communication Casebook for FDA and its Public Health Partners. (Contract: HHSF223201400018C).

41. Sorensen, J.H. (2000). Hazard warning systems: Review of 20 years of progress. Natural Hazards Review 1(2): 119-125.

42. U.S. Coast Guard. (2011, September). On Scene Coordinator Report Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. National Response Team.