Presentation Requests
Community members wisely place confidence in NETs' knowledge and abilities, and often request presentations about emergency preparedness. This is a guide for handling various kinds of requests.
One of NETs' most important "blue skies" preparedness tasks is to encourage all-hazard preparedness education, and empower neighbors to develop their own plans.
Requests for Specific Advice
- "Where should I go after an earthquake?"
- "Can you create our business/school/family evacuation plan?"
- "What exactly do I need to have in my personal kit?"
These kinds of questions seek prescriptive answers, and require analysis. Providing that kind of individualized advice is not the job of NETs. (Nor anyone at PBEM.) This is not meant to be mean or lazy. It is fantastic that your neighbors have the confidence in you to ask! However, NETs are trained to do the greatest good for the greatest number under all-hazard response protocols. Your team may, of course, choose to support any plan that a business, school, or other organization develops – if you decide to make it part of your team’s ops strategy among other competing interests, and if you consider the plan to be safe, and if scene size-up determines it actually is safe during an emergency.
Indemnification and Liability
This is a good time to recall the fact that if you were not trained to do something by PBEM, you are not indemnified for it.’ Family reunification? Seismically retrofitting a building? How to chainsaw a tree? Nope. Specific emergency management planning for business or school entities involves COOP (Continuity of Operations Planning), which is a field of expertise; see Additional Resources below. Private entities must make their own determinations for their emergency assessments and plans, and assume the liability for them. NETs (and most PBEM staff) are not generally qualified to offer specific advice, so it would be inappropriate to do so
Constructive ways to decline providing individualized advice
- ‘We cannot possibly understand all of your operational needs – and some of them are probably confidential. Therefore we are not qualified to offer specific advice.'
- ‘There are many factors that affect emergency response planning. As volunteers, we are trained to provide solid foundational education about emergency preparation, not specific solutions for any organization. We will help you help yourself!’
- ‘You are the person who is ideally suited to plan for your [students/family/colleagues]. And I want to provide holistic information so that you can figure out what is best for them and you.’
Don't provide solutions, provide education
- What to say: ‘Based on my/our experience, the best next step for your audience is our 60-75 minute interactive presentation titled Emergency Preparedness for You, Your Family, and Your Community.’ (Note the intentional emphasis on Community.) This presentation is the foundational Speakers Bureau presentation. It is is best delivered in-person for a close-knit group, but also can be delivered online. LMK if you do not have the link to the slides and I’ll dig it up. ]
- ‘Spending only 15 minutes on this topic is not worth either of our time. I would not want to create more questions than answers, or a false sense of preparedness by merely checking a couple of boxes.’
- Educators almost always understand that immediately. But if someone pushes back, my answer does not change. I say something like, ‘I am impressed and appreciate that you understand how critical emergency preparation is, and I want to help. And like any useful education, delivering it properly requires a little time. In fact the presentation we offer could easily fill an entire afternoon, but we have refined and compressed a LOT of information into those 60-75 minutes, and I’m sure attendees will find it worthwhile.’
- To channel the request through PBEM, and ask all the preparatory questions, I suggest sending them to the form: https://pbem.link/eprep Then of course, when that request comes through I will channel it to you. I would anyway, even if you hadn’t reached out first. :-)
Presentation Blurb
Title
Emergency Preparedness for You, Your Family, and Your Community
Sample blurb
Be prepared, not scared! A representative of the Portland Bureau of Emergency Management (PBEM) will present simple, inexpensive ways to prepare for emergencies ranging from severe weather to a major earthquake. During this engaging session we will discuss making plans for home, work, and school; creating go/stay kits; storing water and food; home retrofitting; multifamily buildings; emergency sanitation; and more. You also will learn about optional volunteer opportunities to serve your neighbors during an emergency by receiving additional training from PBEM and Portland Fire & Rescue.
Logistics
Delivery: Virtual or in-person
Time required: approximately 1¼ hours
Group size: Minimum 10, maximum unlimited
Location: PBEM can only accommodate requests within the City of Portland
Public request form
Requests submitted there are channeled by PBEM to the nearby NET Team Leader(s).
Presentation handouts
Please review the List of Materials and use the Request Form.
Additional Resources
Be prepared, not scared! A representative of the Portland Bureau of Emergency Management (PBEM) will present simple, inexpensive ways to prepare for emergencies ranging from severe weather to a major earthquake. During this engaging session we will discuss making plans for home, work, and school; creating go/stay kits; storing water and food; home retrofitting; multifamily buildings; emergency sanitation; and more. You also will learn about optional volunteer opportunities to serve your neighbors during an emergency by receiving additional training from PBEM and Portland Fire & Rescue.
Delivery: Virtual or in-person
Time required: approximately 1¼ hours
Group size: Minimum 10, maximum unlimited
Location: PBEM can only accommodate requests within the City of Portland
