This week on our blog, BaseCamp Connect, in collaboration with EPIC Podcast, interviewed the President of IAEM Canada, Greg Solecki. Join us to learn more about disaster management, emergency communications, and Emergency Operation Center (EOC) best practices.
RAPID FIRE QUESTIONS
What’s the most important quality an emergency manager should have?
Leadership, which entails understanding how to provide that leadership at all levels.
Which tools and applications would you recommend to other emergency managers?
A whiteboard and a marker!
How do you keep up to date, what sort of publications do you track, what sort of blogs do you read?
I spend a lot of time with the NPLI, the National Preparedness Leadership Institute, out of Harvard. I definitely follow a lot of those folks that have done the research about emergency management and crisis management. On the other side of it, I’m always looking through Wired magazine because they’re ahead of the game in a lot of different areas.
What’s your favorite ICS position?
Besides being in the leadership role, communications has to be my favorite one.
What’s your favorite hazard?
I guess probably flooding since I have so much experience with it.
What’s your favorite disaster phase?
It would have to be the response side of it still.
In your own words and from your experience, what is disaster management really all about?
It’s the people side of it. Considering that disasters are largely social, we have to always be aware of that impact. Our response is also based on the human conditions, people are affected, and then you got people helping people so you can’t get away from that aspect at all.
