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| style="background:#f2e9fc; text-align:left; padding-left:20px; border:4px solid white;"| [[Portland Bureau of Emergency Management]]
| style="background:#f2e9fc; text-align:left; padding-left:20px; border:4px solid white;"| [[Portland Bureau of Emergency Management]]
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:'''↳''' ''[[Portland Bureau of Emergency Management/Historic Disasters in the Portland Metro Area|Historic Disasters in the Portland Metro Area]]''
:'''↳''' ''[[Portland Bureau of Emergency Management/Historic Disasters in the Portland Metro Area|Historic Disasters in the Portland Metro Area]]''
:'''↳''' ''[[Portland Bureau of Emergency Management/History of the Portland Bureau of Emergency Management|History of the Portland Bureau of Emergency Management]]''
:'''↳''' ''[[Community Preparedness Library#Portland Emergency Management Archives - Products|Work Published by Portland Emergency Management]]''
:'''↳''' ''[[Community Preparedness Library#Portland Emergency Management Archives - Products|Work Published by Portland Emergency Management]]''
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== PBEM's Work and Organization ==
City Code 3.124.030 establishes that PBEM’s purpose is to “centralize leadership and coordination of emergency management.”<ref>Portland City Code Chapter 3.124: https://www.portland.gov/code/3/124</ref> Former Mayor Sam Adams stated that the intent of PBEM was “to support timely and effective decision-making on issues of critical importance to the life, health, and welfare of Portlanders.”<ref>May 17, 2010, Memo from Sam Adams, Mayor to LaVonne Griffin-Valade, City Auditor re: Response to Auditor’s Report #389: [https://efiles.portlandoregon.gov/record/16281704 “Emergency Management: Coordination limited and essential functions incomplete”]</ref>
City Code 3.124.030 establishes that PBEM’s purpose is to “centralize leadership and coordination of emergency management.”<ref>Portland City Code Chapter 3.124: https://www.portland.gov/code/3/124</ref> Former Mayor Sam Adams stated that the intent of PBEM was “to support timely and effective decision-making on issues of critical importance to the life, health, and welfare of Portlanders.”<ref>May 17, 2010, Memo from Sam Adams, Mayor to LaVonne Griffin-Valade, City Auditor re: Response to Auditor’s Report #389: [https://efiles.portlandoregon.gov/record/16281704 “Emergency Management: Coordination limited and essential functions incomplete”]</ref>
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PBEM is led by a Director who reports to the [https://www.portland.gov/service-areas/public-safety Public Safety Service Area] (PSSA) Deputy City Administrator. PBEM's mission is supported by a small in-house administrative team and administrators in the PSSA.
PBEM is led by a Director who reports to the [https://www.portland.gov/service-areas/public-safety Public Safety Service Area] (PSSA) Deputy City Administrator. PBEM's mission is supported by a small in-house administrative team and administrators in the PSSA.
PBEM also shares office space with the [https://rdpo.net/ Regional Disaster Policy Organization] (RDPO). However, RDPO is considered a separate regional organization.
PBEM also shares office space with the [https://rdpo.net/ Regional Disaster Policy Organization] (RDPO). However, RDPO is a separate regional organization.
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== History of the Portland Bureau of Emergency Management ==
== PBEM Community Preparedness Team (PBEM CPT) ==
<gallery mode="packed-overlay" widths="200" caption="''Some of the programs managed by PBEM's Community Preparedness Team.''">
File:2019.05.31.FFE (1).jpg|''NET volunteers in a field exercise on May 31, 2019.''
File:2013.05.22.PACE Setter.BEECN CPT.jpg|''BEECN volunteers and a BEECN cache, May 22 2013.''
File:2020.04.24.JVIC Supply Dist (5).jpg|''COAD partners packing and picking up supplies during COVID-19, April 24 2020.''
File:2022.04.18.CubScouts.AngelaDorseyKockler (2).jpg|''Angela Dorsey Kockler with the Speakers Bureau and a class of Cub Scouts on April 18 2022.''
File:2025.04.26.APANO.Devitt (1).jpg|''APANO holding a community CPR training on April 26 2025.''
File:2018.06.01.TeenCERTFFE.Douthit (35).jpg|''TeenCERT trainees about to put a fire out on June 1 2018.''
</gallery>PBEM's community programming and engagement is the purview of the Community Preparedness Team (CPT). CPT has several programs in their portfolio, as listed below:
=== Portland Neighborhood Emergency Teams (Portland NET) ===
:''See also: [https://www.portland.gov/net NET official website], NET NETwiki page''
Portland NET is the City of Portland's equivalent of a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program. In CPT's portfolio, it is also the largest program (with approximately 1,300 volunteers in July 2025) and the oldest (founded in 1994). Neighborhood Emergency Teams are Portland residents trained by PBEM and Portland Fire & Rescue to provide emergency disaster assistance within their own neighborhoods.
==== Basic Earthquake Emergency Communication Nodes (BEECN) ====
[[File:Civil-Defense-Drill-1960-FSDM2.jpg|thumb|''Civil defense drill inside Kelly Butte in 1960. Photo courtesy of the [https://www.oregonhistoryproject.org/articles/historical-records/civil-defense-underground-headquarters/?utm_source=chatgpt.com Oregon History Project].''|350x350px]]
BEECN is an earthquake response communications program, powered by volunteers, and founded in 2012. A BEECN is a temporary radio communications site staffed by at least two volunteers after a major earthquake that takes down phone lines. BEECNs are places to report severe damage or injury or ask for emergency assistance. BEECN is a program of Portland NET.
{{#ev:youtube|ueEl7A7KaHA|430|right|'''''Video: The Day Called X'''''|frame}}
==== Unidos NET ====
In a sense, PBEM's history began in 1956 with Portland constructing the Civil Defense Emergency Operation Center. According to the [https://www.oregonhistoryproject.org/articles/historical-records/civil-defense-underground-headquarters/?utm_source=chatgpt.com Oregon History Project]:
Unidos is Portland NET's Spanish language programming, and includes a team of Spanish-speaking NET volunteers. It is a program of Portland NET.
<blockquote>[[File:1957.12.31.Kelly Butte.jpg|alt=Photo from inside Kelly Butte, December 1957.|thumb|600x600px|''Photo from inside Kelly Butte, December 1957.'']]In 1956, Portland became the first city in the United States to build an underground city hall, the Civil Defense Emergency Operation Center, at [[wikipedia:Kelly_Butte_Natural_Area|Kelly Butte]], six and a half miles southeast of the city. It was intended to house 250 emergency coordinators for two weeks. From the underground, they could direct city and emergency services in the event of a nuclear war. It was protected from nuclear fallout by twenty-six inch walls of reinforced concrete, buried ten to thirty feet below the hillside.
=== Community Organizations Active in Disaster (COAD) ===
Technical operations equipment cached there included a huge map of Portland, telephones, and telegraph. There was also a special radio to broadcast warnings and establish contact with all government response agencies within a thirty-mile radius without disclosing the signal’s location of origin to enemy planes. In addition, microfilm files of 100 years worth of Portland deeds and other records were stored there.
:''See also: [https://www.portland.gov/pbem/coad COAD's official website], COAD's NETwiki page''
Portland's COAD was formed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Spring of 2020. COAD is a national model that brings together community organizations under four principles: Communication, Cooperation, Coordination and Collaboration. Each organization acts independently and retains full autonomy and authority in how they serve their communities.
=== Speakers Bureau ===
Although the main focus of civil defense was preparation for the looming Cold War threat of nuclear weapons — a contingency which never materialized — '''trained civil defense teams sometimes responded to natural disasters and other emergencies.''' Civil defense drills, a regular occurrence throughout the 1950s and 1960s, ranged from elaborate, multi-agency mock air raids to elementary school “duck and cover” drills.
:''See also: Speakers Bureau NETwiki page''
The Speakers Bureau is a network of volunteers trained to deliver disaster preparedness presentations in their communities. Presentations are free of charge and available in multiple languages.
=== Community Trainings ===
Portland moved away from broad civil defense planning in the early 1960s after Senator Wayne Morse declared such efforts a hoax that lulled people into feeling falsely secure. In the early 1980s, during the Reagan years, civil defense re-emerged as an issue. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) coordinated a controversial Crisis Relocation Plan with state and local agencies. It involved evacuating metropolitan Portland to rural areas. In addition to being poorly organized, critics said the plan would increase the likelihood of a nuclear holocaust by making people believe that a nuclear war might be fought, won, and survived.<ref>''Civil Defense Underground Headquarters''. (n.d.). Oregon History Project. https://www.oregonhistoryproject.org/articles/historical-records/civil-defense-underground-headquarters/?utm_source=chatgpt.com</ref>
:''See also: Community Trainings NETwiki page''
</blockquote>
PBEM partners with local nonprofit organizations to offer disaster response training to the communities they serve directly. Training might include AED, CPR, First Aid, Stop the Bleed, fire extinguisher training, and more.
Portland's Civil Defense agency was featured in a mock nuclear attack response film called [[wikipedia:The_Day_Called_'X'|"The Day Called X"]] (sometimes titled "A Day Called X"). The City mothballed the Kelly Butte bunker in 1994, and permanently sealed it in 2006.<ref>Wikipedia contributors. (2024, November 22). ''Kelly Butte natural area''. Wikipedia. <nowiki>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelly_Butte_Natural_Area</nowiki></ref> Interested armchair historians can go deep into the weeds to learn more about the bunker (which included a mural painted by [https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/pander_henk_1937_/ Henk Pander] and is ''still there'' although buried); PBEM recommends these blog entries:
=== Business Engagement ===
* Atlas Obscura, [https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/kelly-butte-civil-defense-center Kelly Butte Civil Defense Center];
:''See also: Business Engagement NETwiki page''
* Fat Pencil Studio, [https://fatpencilstudio.com/blog/reconstructing-the-kelly-butte-bunker/ Reconstructing the Kelly Butte Bunker];
Business engagement is a new program in PBEM CPT. At this time, PBEM staff have not yet released curriculum related to this program.
*Portland historian Jeff Felker's blog, [https://kellybuttebunker.blogspot.com/ The Kelly Butte 911 Call Center].
=== Youth Programming ===
=== Portland Office of Emergency Management ===
:''See also: Youth Programming NETwiki page''
The Portland Office of Emergency Management was a special unit in Portland Fire & Rescue until Portland City Council made it a stand-alone office in July of 2003. Funds from the Department of Homeland Security helped establish local emergency management offices, nationwide. Portland City Council consolidated all emergency management functions into the Portland Office of Emergency Management by ordinance on July 21, 2004. The first Director was Miguel Ascarrunz, appointed in November 2003.<ref>You can view a C-Span video where Director Ascarrunz appears at about the 2:55:25 mark here: https://www.c-span.org/program/public-affairs-event/democratic-national-committee-platform-hearing/128854</ref>
Youth Programming is not offered by PBEM at this time. In the past, PBEM partnered with Portland Public Schools and other school districts to deliver disaster preparedness training and TeenCERT programming. Currently, Multnomah County is providing youth programming as their resources allow.
City Code 3.124.030 establishes that PBEM’s purpose is to “centralize leadership and coordination of emergency management.”[2] Former Mayor Sam Adams stated that the intent of PBEM was “to support timely and effective decision-making on issues of critical importance to the life, health, and welfare of Portlanders.”[3]
Over the years, PBEM has invested time and resources in three primary mission areas:
Planning: Expand and maintain a complete suite of disaster mitigation, response, and recovery plans. This mission area also includes collaborating with other City bureaus on Continuity of Operations Plans (COOP), which describes how individual bureaus will get services to Portlanders back on line after a major disruption or disaster.
Operations: Advance readiness of Portland's Emergency Operations Center (EOC). PBEM staff are responsible for maintaining the EOC and ensuring it is ready to activate at a moment's notice. This mission area also includes the Duty Officer program. PBEM Duty Officers are trained to activate the EOC for major emergencies and planned events. Duty Officers also monitor major emergency incidents and coordinate information sharing and operations between bureaus and Portland elected officials.
Community Programming: Aims to inspire a culture of disaster resilience and preparedness. This mission area includes promoting a whole community approach to preparedness and integrating emergency management into broader community-oriented goals (such as disaster hubs). This mission area is managed by PBEM's Community Preparedness Team.
PBEM is led by a Director who reports to the Public Safety Service Area (PSSA) Deputy City Administrator. PBEM's mission is supported by a small in-house administrative team and administrators in the PSSA.
In a sense, PBEM's history began in 1956 with Portland constructing the Civil Defense Emergency Operation Center. According to the Oregon History Project:
Photo from inside Kelly Butte, December 1957.
In 1956, Portland became the first city in the United States to build an underground city hall, the Civil Defense Emergency Operation Center, at Kelly Butte, six and a half miles southeast of the city. It was intended to house 250 emergency coordinators for two weeks. From the underground, they could direct city and emergency services in the event of a nuclear war. It was protected from nuclear fallout by twenty-six inch walls of reinforced concrete, buried ten to thirty feet below the hillside.
Technical operations equipment cached there included a huge map of Portland, telephones, and telegraph. There was also a special radio to broadcast warnings and establish contact with all government response agencies within a thirty-mile radius without disclosing the signal’s location of origin to enemy planes. In addition, microfilm files of 100 years worth of Portland deeds and other records were stored there.
Although the main focus of civil defense was preparation for the looming Cold War threat of nuclear weapons — a contingency which never materialized — trained civil defense teams sometimes responded to natural disasters and other emergencies. Civil defense drills, a regular occurrence throughout the 1950s and 1960s, ranged from elaborate, multi-agency mock air raids to elementary school “duck and cover” drills.
Portland moved away from broad civil defense planning in the early 1960s after Senator Wayne Morse declared such efforts a hoax that lulled people into feeling falsely secure. In the early 1980s, during the Reagan years, civil defense re-emerged as an issue. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) coordinated a controversial Crisis Relocation Plan with state and local agencies. It involved evacuating metropolitan Portland to rural areas. In addition to being poorly organized, critics said the plan would increase the likelihood of a nuclear holocaust by making people believe that a nuclear war might be fought, won, and survived.[4]
Portland's Civil Defense agency was featured in a mock nuclear attack response film called "The Day Called X" (sometimes titled "A Day Called X"). The City mothballed the Kelly Butte bunker in 1994, and permanently sealed it in 2006.[5] Interested armchair historians can go deep into the weeds to learn more about the bunker (which included a mural painted by Henk Pander and is still there although buried); PBEM recommends these blog entries:
The Portland Office of Emergency Management was a special unit in Portland Fire & Rescue until Portland City Council made it a stand-alone office in July of 2003. Funds from the Department of Homeland Security helped establish local emergency management offices, nationwide. Portland City Council consolidated all emergency management functions into the Portland Office of Emergency Management by ordinance on July 21, 2004. The first Director was Miguel Ascarrunz, appointed in November 2003.[6]
Notes and References
↑However, in the FY 03-/04 adopted budget, City Council also transferred emergency management and Emergency Operations Center functions and funding from the Bureau of Fire & Rescue to the Portland Office of Emergency Management and approved the assignment of two positions from the Bureau of Fire & Rescue and two positions from the Police Bureau.
