ASP Exam Study Workbook - Domain 5 PDF

# ASP Exam Study Workbook ## Domain 5: Emergency Response Management (ERM) ### **Domain 5** - Emergency Response Management (ERM) - Incident command system (ICS) - Pre-Planning and practice - Disaster and crisis response - Violence in the workplace - Emergency response plans - Emergency action pl...

# ASP Exam Study Workbook ## Domain 5: Emergency Response Management (ERM) ### **Domain 5** - Emergency Response Management (ERM) - Incident command system (ICS) - Pre-Planning and practice - Disaster and crisis response - Violence in the workplace - Emergency response plans - Emergency action plans ## Domain 5 Quiz 1 Questions 1. Which of the following, according to the National Safety Council, is not included in good accident investigation procedures? - Identify basic causal factors. - Determine who is to blame for the accident. - Identify deficiencies in the management system. - Suggest corrective action alternatives for the management system. 2. All the following are recognized methods of smoke management by NFPA except: - airflow. - buoyancy. - compartmentalization. - dispersion. 3. If a small mobile crane with rubber tires has struck a power line and the line is apparently dead, lying across the crane boom, what is the best course of action for the crane operator? - Jump from the crane and run away. - Stay in the crane until the emergency crew arrives. - Have an oiler knock the power line from the boom with a wood pole. - Swing the boom back and forth until the line breaks or falls off. 4. Which of the following is not considered a phase of emergency management? - Response - Recovery - Mitigation - Litigation 5. Under ICS, the Command Staff positions include: - Safety Officer, Public Information Officer, and Liaison Officer. - Liaison Officer, Operations Section Chief, and Finance and Administration Section Chief. - Public Information Officer, Chief Executive Officer, and Safety Officer. - Logistics Section Chief, Safety Officer, and the Contracting Officer. 6. The Incident Command System (ICS) recognizes that field response is where response personnel carry out tactical decisions and activities in direct response to an incident, under the command of: - The federal government. - An appropriate authority. - The local government. - Private contractors. 7. The primary consideration when preparing for a potential disaster is: - Selecting the emergency committee. - Identifying a person to be the on-scene commander. - Doing advance emergency planning. - Having a list of necessary state and federal directives. 8. Which visual correctly identifies a DOT oxidizer placard? - Background yellow, information black. - Lower half black, upper half white. - Lower part white, upper triangle yellow. - Background red, information white/black. 9. Cleaning up a flammable or combustible material spill requires following all guidelines below except: - Immediately notify OSHA of the spill. - Isolate the spill site from nonrequired personnel. - Block off the spill area to prevent access. - Remove electric hazards, incompatible chemicals or wastes, physical hazards, and sources of ignition. 10. What are the colors on a corrosive placard? - Red, yellow - Red, white - Black, white - Yellow, black 11. What does the number "3" indicate on the Hazardous Material Label? - Flammable material - Adhesive material - Hazard class - Third label in the series 12. An emergency in which planning efforts are more focused on mitigation and recovery than on prevention is a: - Natural disaster. - Chemical disaster. - Fire disaster. - Explosion disaster. 13. In the theory of fire, understanding the fire tetrahedron is important for understanding how to extinguish a fire. The four elements that must be present for a fire to occur are a fuel, heat, an oxidizing agent (usually oxygen), and a chemical chain reaction. One method used to reduce the possibility of a fire hazard is use of an inerting gas to reduce the oxidizing agent concentration. The most important property of this gas is: - Heat capacity. - Molecular weight. - Vapor pressure. - Content of hydrogen. 14. A local fire department has responded to a blaze on the surface of a combustible liquid in a laboratory setting. If firefighters apply AFFF, what hazard is associated with this approach? - The foam will not work at 100°C or higher. - The high temperature will increase foam solubility and slow down its ability to smother the fire. - Foam is not a recommended extinguisher for a combustible liquid fire. - Foam will form an emulsion of steam, air, and fuel that may cause frothing of the burning liquid. 15. A rate-of-rise detector responds to which condition? - Smoke particulate in the air. - Water pressure in fire-suppression piping. - Indoor humidity. - Heat. 16. What is the purpose of a jockey pump? - To pump water through a sprinkler system to extinguish a fire. - To maintain system pressure when the sprinkler system is not in use. - To open the sprinkler heads to the proper size based on the rate of rise. - To deliver water through the pipes so that the system can continue to put out the fire. 17. A flood destroys a company's operational ability. After emergency management issues are addressed, the business implements several plans for recovery of critical files and information that had been stored off site, establishes a temporary facility from which operations can be conducted, and informs customers of the circumstances and how customers will be served. These plans are examples of a comprehensive loss control activity called: - Emergency management/emergency response. - Situational awareness. - Disaster recovery/business continuity planning. - Business impact analysis. 18. Pre-emergency management planning is the best way to minimize potential loss from natural or technological disasters and accidents. The primary responsibilities of emergency planning must exclude: - Establishing continuity of operations for the customers' sake. - Providing for the safety of employees and public. - Protecting property and environment. - Establishing methods to restore operations to a new normal as soon as possible. 19. Many different agencies might be responsible for controlling and cleaning up complex hazardous materials incidents. Which of the following is the critical first step in responding to a chemical release when multiple agencies are involved? - Approve the Incident Action Plan. - Establish the Incident Command System. - Approve resource requests. - Order demobilization. 20. The National Incident Management System (NIMS) is the responsibility of the: - Department of State (DOS). - Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). - Department of Defense (DOD). - Department of Homeland Security (DHS). 21. You are checking on a confined space but do not see the attendant. You look into the space and see two people who appear to be unconscious. What is the first action you take? - Immediately call for assistance. - Immediately approach the victims and try to render first aid. - Immediately call out to them both to see if they are okay. - Immediately check the atmosphere to see if it is safe to enter. 22. Which training level applies to employees who are likely to witness or discover a hazardous substance release and who need to be trained to initiate an emergency response sequence by notifying the proper authorities of the release? - Awareness level - Operations level - Hazardous materials technicians - Specialist employees 23. The Clean Air Act (CAA) places responsibility for the prevention of accidental chemical releases on both OSHA and EPA. OSHA has implemented the Process Safety Management (PSM) Rule. Which of the following represents the EPA's related program for threshold quantities of extremely hazardous substances? - Risk Mitigation Process (RMP) Rule. - Response Management Protocols (RMP) Rule. - Response Mitigation Program (RMP) Rule. - Risk Management Program (RMP) Rule. 24. The public resists change for all the following reasons except: - Fear of the unknown. - False confidence. - Loss of face. - Lack of purpose. 25. The most important spokesperson characteristics for effective risk communication to the public are: - Expertise and authoritative presence. - Appearance and empathy. - Authoritative presence and credibility. - Credibility and technical competency. ## Domain 5 Quiz 1 Answers 1. Answer: B. According to the NSC, good accident investigation procedures: - Provide information needed to determine injury rates, identify trends or problem areas, permit comparisons, and satisfy workers' compensation requirements. - Identify, without placing blame, the basic causal factors that contributed directly or indirectly to each accident. - Identify deficiencies in the management system. - Suggest corrective action alternatives for a given accident. - Suggest corrective action alternatives for the management system. - Recognize that (in reconstruction of a vehicle accident) the most important element is to consider the possibility of multiple causes. 2. Answer: D. Smoke management refers to methods employed to modify smoke movement for the benefit of evacuating occupants or firefighters, or to reduce property losses and damage. Airflow, buoyancy, compartmentation, dilution, and pressurization are mechanisms of smoke management that are utilized individually or in combination to reduce harmful effects of a fire. Dispersion is related to the distribution of water from a fire sprinkler head or of the agent from a fire extinguisher. 3. Answer: B. Each power line contact situation poses different problems. However, the generally accepted guidance is for the crane operator to stay in the cab until power company emergency crews arrive. Often power lines are equipped with fault-clearing re-closers, which will reapply power to a faulted line after a few minutes. The re-closer can cycle three or four times before the line is really disconnected and then it is still unsafe because of cross-feed situations. Departing the cab should only be considered if a fire or other situation requires it. Jumping from the cab with feet together is the only safe departure method. Those involved must avoid contact with the energized crane and earth and step potential must be kept at a minimum. 4. Answer: D. The coordinated response to and recovery from an emergency event is the mainstay of emergency management. Preparedness is planning how to respond in case an emergency or disaster occurs and working to increase the resources that are available to respond effectively. Response involves the effective and efficient application of assets and activities to resolve the immediate impacts of an event. In the case of a planned event, response activities include the application of sufficient resources to ensure that the event occurs without undue or unexpected undesirable outcomes. Recovery activities occur until all community systems return to normal or nearly normal conditions. This includes both short-term and long-term recovery actions. Mitigation refers to those actions and activities taken to reduce or eliminate the chance of occurrence or the effects of a disaster. 5. Answer: A. ICS is organized into three components: Incident Command, Command Staff, and General Staff positions. Incident Command can be comprised either of a single Incident Commander or a Unified Command. An example an ICS organizational chart is shown below. The Command Staff (CS) members perform incident-wide tasks and report directly to the IC. The three most common CS positions include: - Safety Officer - Responsible for the safe operations of all tasks performed on site. The Safety Officer has the essential authority to terminate any operations deemed to be unsafe, and even to override the authority of the IC to do so. - Public Information Officer – The PIO is responsible for passing information regarding the incident to the public and to the media. Traditionally, the PIO was responsible for press releases and public warning statements issued through the media. In recent years, with the huge increase in use of social media, the PIO position has expanded greatly. - Liaison Officer - This position is responsible for interacting and coordinating with other response entities not represented in the incident to provide their input on legal issues and resource availability. 6. Answer: B. ICS recognizes that field response is where response personnel, under the command of an appropriate authority, carry out tactical decisions and activities in direct response to an incident. ICS has 14 management characteristics that make it useful when responding to a hazardous materials emergency (DHS, 2008): - **Use of Common Terminology** - Common terminology allows all responders unambiguous information flow. Common terminology applies to organizational functions of the ICS, resource descriptions (such as resource typing), and common names for incident facilities. - **Modular Organization** - The ICS structure is driven by the nature of the incident. While a full-blown ICS (involving perhaps thousands of responders at the largest scale) can be managed, the modular organization allows for management of the smallest incident as well by staffing only those ICS elements necessary to accomplish the tasks at hand. - **Management by Objectives** – ICS identifies incident objectives through a planning process. All activities are performed in support of one or more of those objectives. Once all of the incident objectives are accomplished, the incident is over. Staffing of the incident is increased or decreased in response to the incident objectives. While not specified under ICS, it is always valuable to develop SMART objectives- objectives that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-constrained-as part of any incident action plan. - **Incident Action Planning** – ICS calls for centralized incident action planning and only one action plan for the entire response. This ensures that all response activities are focused on the same objectives, improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the response. - **Manageable Span of Control** – Every supervisor has a manageable number of directly reporting staff. ICS calls for a span of control of from 3 to 7, with 5 being optimum. - **Predesignated Incident Facilities and Locations** – Incident facilities, such as the Command Post and the Staging Area, are defined. All responders know what takes place at each facility. - **Comprehensive Resource Management** - One entity is responsible for tracking the status and location of all resources. This ensures that all resources are accounted for and put to optimum use. No resource individual or group has the authority to free-lance or perform a mission they are not assigned. - **Integrated Communications** – All methods of communication (radios, written reports, etc.) are coordinated to provide common situational awareness and interaction. A common communications plan and processes including communications discipline-are integrated for the entire incident. - **Establishment and Transfer of Command** - Every incident has a clearly identified commander appointed by the agency or entity with jurisdiction. If the Incident Commander changes, this transfer of command is clear and transparent to everyone. - **Chain of Command and Unity of Command** - The chain of command establishes the line of authority and decision-making at an incident. Unity of command ensures that everyone present has one (and only one) supervisor. These principles eliminate multiple conflicting directives. - **Unified Command** – In our federal system no one entity has all of the authority necessary to bring an incident to a successful conclusion. Unified command allows those entities with some portion of the authority to pool their resources and work together without losing any entity's authority, responsibility, or accountability. Typically, the Unified Command will consist of one representative from each level of government (federal, state, local, and responsible party, for instance) or geographic entity (adjacent counties impacted by the incident) to perform the duties of the Incident Commander, such as determining incident objectives and priorities. - **Accountability** - Keeping track of all personnel and resources at an incident is critical to ensuring presence, health and safety, and responsibility. - **Dispatch and Deployment** - Resources respond to the incident and are deployed only as directed by Incident Command. This reduces the occurrence of self-dispatch of resources and freelancing at the incident scene. - **Information and Intelligence Management** - ICS provides a mechanism for collecting, analyzing, and disseminating incident-related information and intelligence. These 14 elements make ICS a flexible yet powerful tool for managing hazardous materials incidents. 7. Answer: C. According to the NSC, "advanced emergency management planning is the best way to minimize potential loss from natural or human-caused disasters or accidents." 8. Answer: A. Answer B is the color for a corrosive sign or placard. Answer C is the color for a radioactive sign or placard. Answer D is the color for a combustible sign or placard. 9. Answer: A. Supervisors are not required to notify OSHA for a minor spill. However, the supervisor must isolate the area for cleanup and arrange for removal of all hazards, including ignition sources, especially if the spill is flammable. 10. Answer: C. DOT hazard class 8 is for corrosives and is black and white. 11. Answer: C. The flame symbol on the top indicates a flammable material, the number 1133 is the UN number, and the "3" indicates the hazard class. Examples of UN numbers: 1033is for dimethyl ether (Class 2); 1133 is for adhesives (Class 3); and 1333 is for cerium (Class 4). 12. Answer: A. Generally, preventing natural disasters is beyond the control of mankind. Emergency preparedness efforts should be focused on mitigation, loss reduction, and business continuity instead of prevention. 13. Answer: A. According to the Fire Protection Handbook, the most important property is the heat capacity of a gas. 14. Answer: D. According to the Fire Protection Handbook, if the temperature of the liquid itself is above the boiling point of water used to create the foam, a frothy and voluminous emulsion of steam, air, and burning fuel may occur upon application of the foam to the surface of the fire. 15. Answer: D. There are three types of heat detectors candidates should be familiar with for the examination. They are listed below with their general characteristics: - Fixed-Temperature: Designed to alarm when the temperature of the operating element reaches a specified point. These units are susceptible to "thermal lag." - Rate Compensation: Designed to alarm when the temperature of surrounding air reaches a predetermined level, regardless of rate of temperature rise. Element configuration compensates for thermal lag. - Rate-of-Rise: Designed to alarm when the rate of temperature increase exceeds a predetermined value (usually 12°F to 15°F per minute). An example of use would be on a petroleum-based hydraulic pump to prevent explosions. 16. Answer: B. A jockey pump, or a pressure-maintenance pump, is a small apparatus that works together with a fire pump as part of a fire-protection sprinkler system. It is designed to keep the pressure in the system elevated to a specific level when the system is not in use, so that the fire pump doesn't have to run all the time and the system doesn't go off randomly. It can also help prevent the system from damage when a fire happens and water rushes into the pipes. These devices consist of a three-part assembly. In many places, there are governmental guidelines and recommendations for installing these devices to make sure they work properly. To understand how a jockey pump works, it's important to understand how a fire sprinkler system works. Sprinkler systems consist of pipes with pressurized water in them and heads that are designed to open when they reach a certain temperature. When the heads open, the water pressure in the pipes drops, since water is flowing out of them. When this happens, a large device called a fire pump starts to send more water through the pipes so that the system can continue to put out the fire. The purpose of the jockey pump is to keep the water pressure in the pipes within a specific range when there's not a fire, so that the sprinklers won't go off randomly. Because pipes leak, over time the water pressure inside them automatically goes down. The jockey pump senses this, and then fills them back up to normal pressure. If a fire happens and the pressure drops dramatically, the jockey pump won't be able to keep up, and the pressure drop will trigger the large fire pump to start sending water. Secondarily, this pump prevents sprinkler systems from being damaged when the fire pump begins sending water. If a system does not have a jockey pump keeping it pressurized, it may have relatively low pressure. When the fire pump starts sending highly pressurized water through the pipes, the sudden change in pressure can damage or destroy the system. 17. Answer: C. According to Risk Analysis and the Security Survey, 3rd edition, business continuity planning is a key part of a loss-control program. Such plans should include recovering corporate information, setting up operations, and financing temporary operations until a new facility can be commissioned. Depending upon the risk of a natural disaster, some companies purchase business interruption insurance to help finance operations. 18. Answer: A. According to the National Safety Council, advance emergency management planning should include the following items and they should be ranked as they are sequenced. - Provide for the safety of employees and public. - Protect property and the environment. - Establish methods to restore operations to normal as soon as possible. When developing emergency management plans, sometimes the fundamental purpose is lost, which is to protect life, property, and the environment. Though command and communication responsibilities are important and must be part of the planning process, fundamental strategies must be developed to protect people, property, and the environment, and then tactics can be applied. When developing a risk management plan, one must anticipate what will go wrong and make timely attempts to overcome identified loss scenarios. The risk management process consists of the following steps: - Identify loss scenarios. - Develop alternatives to control them. - Implement best solution(s). - Manage and control risk(s). 19. Answer: B. According the NFPA Hazardous Materials/WMD Response Handbook (2008), all the answers are tasks for the Incident Commander. A vital step during pre-incident planning is to identify these agencies. The first thing to establish is the Incident Command System and designate who is in charge. The National Incident Management System, FEMA, 2017, establishes the following functions as the Incident Commander's (IC's) primary responsibilities: - Have clear authority and know agency policy. - Ensure incident safety. - Establish the incident command post (ICP). - Set priorities, and determine incident objectives and strategies. - Establish an incident command system (ICS). - Approve an incident response plan (IAP). - Coordinate command and general staff activities. - Approve resource requests and use of volunteers and auxiliary personnel. - Order demobilization as needed. - Ensure after-action review. 20. Answer: D. The National Incident Management System (NIMS) is the responsibility of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). It provides a consistent template for managing incidents in a companion document to the National Response Framework and provides standard command and management structures that apply to response activities. This system provides a consistent, nationwide template to enable federal, state, tribal, and local governments, the private sector, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to work together to prepare for, prevent, respond to, recover from, and mitigate the effects of incidents, regardless of cause, size, location, or complexity. This consistency provides the foundation for utilization of the NIMS for all incidents, ranging from daily occurrences to incidents requiring a coordinated federal response. 21. Answer: A. The first action taken any time there is an indication that someone is unconscious in a confined space is to summon assistance. From there, the actions may vary based on the company's policy and procedures; however, you never want to enter the space without proper training or preparation and it is not recommended to take any action that could delay a proper rescue (by calling out to them or testing the atmosphere before sounding the alarm). 22. Answer: A. The OSHA 1910.120 standard defines several levels of training for hazardous materials emergency responders. These include: - **Awareness Level** – First responders at the awareness level are individuals who are likely to witness or discover a hazardous substance release and who have been trained to initiate an emergency response sequence by notifying the proper authorities of the release. They would take no further action beyond notifying the authorities of the release. - **Operations Level** – First responders at the operations level are individuals who respond to releases or potential releases of hazardous substances as part of the initial response to the site for protecting nearby persons, property, or the environment from the effects of the release. They are trained to respond in a defensive fashion without trying to stop the release. Their function is to contain the release from a safe distance, keep it from spreading, and prevent exposures. - **Hazardous Materials Technician** - Hazardous materials technicians are individuals who respond to releases or potential releases for the purpose of stopping the release. They assume a more aggressive role than a first responder at the operations level, in that they will approach the point of release to plug, patch, or otherwise stop the release of a hazardous substance. - **Hazardous Materials Specialist** - Hazardous materials specialists are individuals who respond with and provide support to hazardous materials technicians. Their duties parallel those of the hazardous materials technician; however, their duties require a more directed or specific knowledge of the various substances they may be called upon to contain. The hazardous materials specialist would also act as the site liaison with federal, state, local, and other government authorities regarding site activities. - **On-Scene Incident Commander** - Incident commanders assume control of the incident scene beyond the first responder awareness level. - **Skilled Support Personnel** – Personnel, not necessarily an employer's own employees, who are skilled in the operation of certain equipment, such as mechanized earth moving or digging equipment, or crane and hoisting equipment, and who are needed temporarily to perform immediate emergency support work that cannot reasonably be performed in a timely fashion by an employer's own employees, and who will be or may be exposed to the hazards at an emergency response scene. - **Specialist Employees** – Employees who, in the course of their regular job duties, work with and are trained in the hazards of specific hazardous substances, and who will be called upon to provide technical advice or assistance at a hazardous substance release incident to the individual in charge. Each of these classes of employees must receive the appropriate level of training for the tasks they are to perform. The standard prescribes a minimum duration of training and many organizations require longer training courses. Similar standards and guidance are provided from other sources, such as the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 472. 23. Answer: D. OSHA has responsibility for the protection of workers, the public, and the environment from accidental chemical releases under the Process Safety Management (PSM) standard. The EPA has responsibility for protection of the public and the environment from accidental chemical releases, and promulgated the Risk Management Program (RMP). The RMP ensures that the public will be properly informed about chemical risks in their communities, and that federal, state, and local regulators will have more effective tools to assist with lowering chemical accident risk. The PSM and RMP programs regulate toxic, reactive, and flammable substances, many of which are listed in both rules. As a result, if an employer were required to implement the PSM standard for a covered process, that same process may also be subject to RMP rules. Both the PSM and RMP are important elements of an integrated approach to chemical safety. Though there are similarities between the two chemical safety regulations, the two have significant differences: OSHA requires no reporting of a facility's Process Safety Management (PSM) program, but EPA does require a facility to submit its Risk Management Plan (online using "e-Submit" software). Also, EPA's "off-site consequence analysis" (OCA) is required for each "covered process" in order to determine the facility's "Worst-Case Release Scenario" and its "Alternative Release Scenario." But the obvious differences stop there, and unfortunately there are several other significant requirements that can cause serious compliance issues for facilities that must comply with the RMP rules. To determine if a process is covered by either standard, one must determine the quantity in the process and compare that to the threshold quantities prescribed by the standard to determine if the process is covered by one or both standards. In some cases, the process may be covered by RMP and not OSHA, or vice versa. For instance, a facility that uses one-ton chlorine cylinders would be covered by OSHA's PSM but would not be covered by EPA's RMP rule. This is because OSHA's threshold for chlorine is 1500 pounds and EPA'S threshold is 2500 pounds. The other difference in the "threshold determination" is that OSHA lumped ALL FLAMMABLE LIQUIDS (FP < 100°F) together and set their threshold at 10,000 pounds. EPA treats flammable liquids differently, in that the SPECIFIC FLAMMABLE LIQUID must be listed by CAS number to be considered an "Extremely Hazardous Substance" (EHS). 24. Answer: B. Some of the common reasons that people resist change are: - Fear of the unknown - Disrupted habits - Loss of confidence - Loss of control - Poor timing - Work overload - Loss of face - Lack of purpose 25. Answer: A. Spokespersons allow the public to put a face to the act of responding to, investigating, and resolving a crisis. How a spokesperson handles public and media inquiries, in addition to what he or she says, helps establish credibility for an organization. It also contributes to the public's transition from the crisis stage to the resolution and recovery stages. An organization should carefully choose the personnel who will represent it. The selection should be based on two factors: The individual's familiarity with the subject matter His or her ability to talk about it clearly and with confidence Risk communication (RC) is a complex, multidisciplinary, multidimensional, and evolving process of increasing importance in protecting the public's health. Public health officials use RC to give citizens necessary and appropriate information and to involve them in making decisions that affect them, such as where to build waste disposal facilities. The National Research Council (NRC) defines risk communication as "an interactive process of exchange of information and opinion among individuals, groups, and institutions." The definition includes "discussion about risk types and levels and about methods for managing risks." NIOSH (1998) Specifically, this process is defined by levels of involvement in decisions, actions, or policies aimed at managing or controlling health or environmental risks. There are seven cardinal rules for the practice of risk communication, as first expressed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: - Accept and involve the public as a legitimate partner. - Plan carefully and evaluate your efforts. - Listen to the public's specific concerns. - Be honest, frank, and open. - Coordinate and collaborate with other credible sources. - Meet the needs of the media. - Speak clearly and with compassion. Communicating with the Public: 10 Questions To Ask - Why are we communicating? - Who is our audience? - What do our audiences want to know? - What do we want to get across? - How will we communicate? - How will we listen? - How will we respond? - Who will carry out the plans? When? - What problems or barriers have we planned for? - Have we succeeded? According to FEMA, the person who delivers the messages plays a critical role in both risk and crisis communications. Communications experts have identified six traits of successful risk communicators: - Communicator's speaking ability - Reputation among audience members (trustworthiness and credibility) - Subject matter knowledge - Image of authority - Obvious lack of vested interest - Ability to connect, sympathize, or empathize with the audience During a crisis or emergency, the messenger(s) puts a human face on disaster response and this person(s) is critical to building confidence among the public that people will be helped, and their community will recover. Public Information Officers (PIOs) regularly deliver information and messages to the media and the public. However, the primary face of the disaster response should be an elected or appointed official (i.e., mayor, governor, county administrator, city manager) or the director of the emergency management agency, or both. These individuals bring a measure of authority to their role as a messenger, and in the case of the emergency management director, as the person who oversees response and recovery operations. The public wants to hear from an authority figure, and the media wants to know that the person they are talking to is the one making the decisions. Emergency management agencies should also designate appropriate senior managers who will be made available to both the traditional and new media to provide specific information on their activities and perspective. This is helpful in even the smallest disaster; persons with expertise in specific facets of the response can be very effective in delivering disaster response information and messages. Any official who serves as a communicator during and after a crisis should receive media training before the crisis. Ultimately, communicators will seek to create actual messages that transmit certain knowledge, whether factual (awareness) or action based (operational). Six principles of effective crisis and risk communication are: 1. **Be First:** Crises are time-sensitive. Communicating information quickly is almost always important. For members of the public, the first source of information often becomes the preferred source. 2. **Be Right:** Accuracy establishes credibility. Information can include what is known, what is not known, and what is being done to fill in the gaps. 3. **Be Credible:** Honesty and truthfulness should not be compromised during crises. 4. **Express Empathy:** Crises create harm, and the suffering should be acknowledged in words. Addressing what people are feeling, and the challenges they face, builds trust and rapport. 5. **Promote Action:** Giving people meaningful things to do calms anxiety, helps restore order, and promotes a restored sense of control. 6. **Show Respect:** Respectful communication is particularly important when people feel vulnerable. Respectful communication promotes cooperation and rapport. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2014)