Reposted from EMR-ISAC

In recent testimony to the U.S. House of Representatives, the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA), Fire Safety Research Institute (FSRI), International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC), and the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) discussed how fast fire can progress within a typical modern structure and how little time there is to escape. Today’s structure fires can go from a small flame to flashover in just 3 to 5 minutes, partly due to the synthetic materials used in modern furnishings and interior finishes. Additionally, lithium-ion batteries are becoming increasingly common household items used in consumer electronics, power tools, micromobility devices, and electric vehicles. When these batteries burn, the time from the first sign of smoke until thermal runaway and explosion can be as little as 15 seconds. Public awareness of common fire risks is critical to saving lives and drastically reducing property loss. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issues voluntary and mandatory standards that consumer products must meet to be considered safe. CPSC also directly informs and educates consumers about safety risks from products already on the market. The fire service can help by reporting unsafe products to the CPSC and by sharing CPSC’s fire safety messages with their community. Just last month, the CPSC released several alerts about consumer products posing fire hazards:

• Insignia air fryers and air fryer ovens. Best Buy has recalled more than 187,400 of its Insignia air fryers due to overheating, which could lead to fire, burn, or laceration hazards as components of the fryers may melt, break, or shatter under heat.

• Honeywell System Sensor L-series low frequency fire alarms and strobes The sounders and strobes can malfunction and cause the fire alarm system to fail to alert consumers of a fire. Honeywell is recalling about 29,000 units.

• Elide fire extinguishing balls. CPSC is warning consumers about the risk of burns and smoke inhalation associated with the use of Elide brand fire extinguishing balls. These products can fail to extinguish a fire, which could lead to serious injury and death.

• EVERCROSS EV5 Hoverboards. CPSC has received one report of a fire, resulting in substantial property damage to a residential building in New York City in May 2023. The company has not agreed to recall these hoverboards or offer a remedy to consumers. CPSC urges consumers to immediately remove the lithium-ion battery packs from the hoverboards and dispose of them following local hazardous waste disposal procedures.

Fire and public safety departments, especially code officials and anyone involved in fire prevention education, should share this information with their community through all means available. Follow CPSC’s social media feeds or sign up to receive email notifications for future product recalls and alerts. Unsafe products can be reported to the CPSC at SaferProducts.gov.

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Reposted from EMR-ISAC

Mutual aid agreements establish the terms under which one party provides resources — personnel, teams, facilities, equipment and supplies — to another party. These agreements can support all mission areas; they can be established before, during or after incidents; and they can be between all levels of government, nongovernmental organizations and the private sector. Mutual aid does not include direct federal assistance.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) just released an updated guidance document, National Incident Management System for Mutual Aid (Guideline). The Guideline supports the Resource Management component of the National Incident Management System (NIMS) by providing guidance on different types of mutual aid agreements, the key elements of a mutual aid agreement and the key elements of mutual aid operational plans used for implementation.

Since the Guideline was last updated in 2017, it has been expanded to incorporate national stakeholders’ new best practices, strategies, and resources for mutual aid agreements, including:

• Impacts and lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic on mutual aid operations.
• Acknowledgement of legal liabilities for parties in a mutual aid agreement.
• Additional special considerations for underserved communities.
• Additional emphasis on the importance of a common operating picture.
• Guidance for virtual mutual aid delivery in order to provide support in alignment with FEMA lifelines.

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Reposted from Tim Richardson

Who was the hardest working person you have ever known?

Hands down, the hardest working person I have ever known was a man with only an 8^th grade education named Morris Bunton. I first experienced his amazing work ethic when I worked for him as a young teen picking oranges in the hot, humid Florida summers. We would leave his home long before the sun came up and sometimes not return until dusk. I worked alongside my brother for 2-3 weeks every summer to earn money for summer camp. We were paid 50 cents a box and I don’t think I ever made more than $20 in a day. It remains the hardest work I have ever done, and Morris did it every day alongside us. After multiple freezes damaged his fruit trees, Morris sold his grove. Throughout his life, he worked in farming and owned several businesses. Then he patented a high efficiency solar water heater and sold, built, and installed them himself. During my college years, I helped him with this business too.

In his early 70’s, Morris was diagnosed with cancer. He read everything he could on cancer, paying particularly close attention to how peak health and eating well could extend one’s life. He also researched and tried alternative treatments. A life-long meat and potatoes eater, Morris radically changed his diet and eliminated beef, replacing it with small portions of chicken or fish once every third day. He juiced fresh fruits and vegetables. Ultimately, he extended his life far longer than the doctors predicted. He continued working even as cancer began to destroy his body. Six months before his death, he was still climbing on top of homes to install his solar water heaters. My grandfather, Morris Bunton, died when he was 84 years old leaving behind a legacy of hard work and determination.

I have never met anyone who had physical stamina and determination like my grandfather. While he often worked 6 days a week harder than anyone half his age, he rested every Sunday. Even when I was there working alongside him during the summers, we worked every day but Sunday.

Throughout his life, my grandfather exemplified the following values:

• Risk taking. He owned several businesses continuously reinventing himself over many years. Don’t follow the status quo. Life is easier when you do but more rewarding when you take calculated risks. This was a constant throughout his life.
• Continuous learning. Even though he only had an 8^th grade education, my grandfather was always studying and learning something new. There is power in learning. Commit to life-long learning. Find a subject that interests you in which you know little about and immerse yourself in learning about it.
• Results oriented. When you work hard, you get results – period. Be the hardest working person on your team, in your business, or in your volunteer organization. As trite as it sounds, the dictionary is the only place where success comes before work.
• Rest and renewal. While he worked hard 6 days a week, he never worked on Sundays. You can’t sustain high quality work without taking time to rest and in today’s hustle culture it’s more difficult than ever to have it. Give yourself a weekly break. Try to take a regular Sabbath.

The example that Morris Bunton demonstrated influenced me greatly. I hope his example can influence you too.

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Reposted from AMM

 

The countdown to Columbus has begun!

 

We're thrilled to kick off the countdown to The Way Forward with the opening of online registration! You can now register in advance for the 2024 Conference, taking place virtually on July 24 and in-person July 31-August 3, and organized in collaboration with the Ohio Museums Association. Over the coming weeks, we'll share a deep dive into the exciting speaker lineup and events we have in store for you this year.   Advance registration will be available online through July 15 for Virtual + In-Person registrations and through July 19 for Virtual Only registrations.   Members save! Members have access to the best possible rates for the conference through July 15th and, depending on your membership type, you might have access to other offers. Click here to learn more.   Need help? Check out our form instructions and find answers to common registration questions on our FAQ page. Contact AMM for further assistance. NOTE: Sponsors, exhibitors, presenters, and other special guests will receive instructions directly from AMM on how to register and access discounts or comps.

 

Register Now

 

 

Call for Volunteers

 

Running a conference is a big job, and we need your help! It takes 50+ volunteers to keep our virtual and in-person programs running smoothly. As a volunteer for our 2024 Conference, you’ll help with a range of needs like conference setup, passing out name badges, and greeting attendees at sessions and events.   In return for your time, we offer perks like a free limited edition Proud Museum Person t-shirt, up to 100% off registration, and access to a staff and volunteer office/lounge at the conference hotel. Of course, the true benefit of volunteering is having the perfect excuse to say “hello” to everyone you see!   We are now accepting volunteer applications through May 10, or until all positions are filled. Consider applying to help in one of the following capacities: ·     Zoom Breakout Room Moderator (Virtual) ·     Setup Crew (In-Person) ·     Registration Helper (In-Person) ·     Offsite Event & Workshop Greeter (In-Person) ·     General Session Greeter (In-Person) ·     Breakout Session Monitor (In-Person) ·     Photography Ambassador (In-Person) ·     Networking Activities (In-Person)

 

Apply Now

 

 

Don’t forget…

 

·     Start planning your conference experience! Program information and the Schedule-at-a-Glance are available at ammconference.org.    ·     Reserve your room! The Hilton Columbus at Easton is currently accepting reservations for conference attendees. Book your room by July 6 with the reservation link provided to get the group rate of $185/night!   ·     Support Midwest museums! Check out the conference website for information about exhibiting and advertising or contact AMM about sponsorship opportunities.   ·     Members save! Join or renew your membership with AMM or OMA to access member rates. AMM Institutional members and their employees, as well as Individual Premium and George R Fox Society members can access the virtual conference day for FREE.   ·     Support professional development for your whole team! Thinking about sending more than one staff member to this year’s conference? Become an Organizational Champion or Team Builder Sponsor to encourage staff professional development and build.

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Reposted from Dplan|Arts Ready     Dear colleagues, The Performing Arts Readiness (PAR) project is offering the free emergency preparedness webinars listed below that are tailored to the needs of performing arts organizations during April-June. Also, the dPlan|ArtsReady online emergency preparedness and response tool for the arts and cultural heritage sectors guides users through risk assessments and preparedness actions and produces elements for your disaster plan. The dPlan|ArtsReady online tool can be found at: https://www.dplan.org/. Webinars:   Disaster Response for Performing Arts Organizations, April 18, 2024, at 2:00 ET. Description: Emergency response can be a daunting prospect for performing arts organizations. This webinar will lay out the basic tenets of responding to an emergency including support organizations, working with vendors, and helpful resources for organization and planning. There will also be a brief introduction to the Incident Command System so that performing arts centers can work more seamlessly with their local first responders. Instructor: Donia Conn Introduction to Emergency Preparedness for Performing Arts Organizations, April 23, 2024, at 2:00 ET. Description: Localized emergencies, regional disasters, and catastrophic events can have a devastating impact on performing arts organizations where even a brief loss of business can threaten sustainability. This free 90-minute webinar will provide an introduction to why emergency preparedness is critical to protect your organization from external risks and internal vulnerabilities. These include human caused and natural crises. You will learn the typical process and contents of a plan and receive information about resources to help with planning. This webinar is appropriate for attendees representing large and small performing arts organizations as well as those with and without their own performance facilities. Executive and management staff will find this webinar useful, as well as H.R., finance, communications, marketing, technical, and front-of-house staff. Instructor: Steve Eberhardt Crisis Communication and Reputation Management for Performing Arts Organizations, April 30, 2024, at 2:00 ET. Description: You serve on the staff of a local performing arts organization. A press release was tweeted from a local environmental group stating that your theatre’s plumbing system is leaching untreated waste into the community’s waterway. While the press release is inaccurate, season ticket holders and donors are demanding answers. And the organization’s Twitter handle is blowing up. You have an interview with the editor of the state newspaper in five minutes. What do you say? What do you do? As professionals rise through the ranks, they will face issues that thrust them into the spotlight and threaten organizational reputation. A recent study found that 9 in 10 business leaders (94%) admit that the executives in their organizations need more training in core communication disciplines, such as reputation management and strategic communication. Are you prepared? This class reviews elements of strategic communication that are essential before, during and after crisis events. It examines how your organization can best prepare to respond to crisis and restore organizational reputation. Instructor:  Kathleen Donohue Rennie Event Preparedness: Active Shooters and Hostile Activity at Your Venues, May 1, 2024, at 2:00 ET Description: In recent years we have seen an increase in hostile attacks across all sectors, including events. These attacks have come in a variety of methods. Performing Arts and Cultural Heritage organizations must be prepared for all scenarios and need to be able to react to all emergencies. This webinar will cover the types of attacks to prepare for, as well as the training you should consider for your venues and staff. Our instructor, Emma Stuart, also presents the “Safety and Security for Performing Arts,” “Road to Recovery: Performing Arts During COVID,” and the “Pandemic Response for Performing Arts Organizations” webinars for the PAR project. Instructor: Emma Stuart Risk Assessment for Performing Arts Organizations, May 7, 2024, at 2:00 ET. Description: Natural disasters, local emergencies, and other disruptive events can have devastating effects on all sizes of performing arts organizations. This webinar will focus on mitigating risks at institutions, to prevent disasters from happening and to reduce the impact of unavoidable disasters. The session will clarify the need for risk assessment as a part of an organization’s disaster preparedness strategy, provide basic information on risk assessment tools and practices, and address how risk assessment can benefit performing arts organizations. The instructors will also present case studies as a part of the session, so participants can learn from actual disasters in performing arts organizations. Instructor: Tom Clareson Networking for Disaster Management in the Performing Arts, May 14, 2024, at 2:00 ET Description: Emergency response and preparedness for performing arts organizations can be a difficult task for individual organizations. This free 2-hour webinar will demonstrate how working with multiple organizations in a network for disaster management can be accomplished. The history of networking for improved emergency preparedness in the cultural heritage, arts, and government sectors will be examined, with an exploration of existing networks. Case studies of the Pennsylvania Cultural Resilience Network and CultureAID in New York City will be presented to help guide you on how to start your own, or join an existing, cooperative disaster network. You will learn how to use the Cultural Placekeeping Guide to direct your networking efforts. Instructors: Tom Clareson and Amy Schwartzman Fire Safety and Preparedness for Performing Arts Organizations, May 15, 2024 at 2:00 ET Description: Fire Safety is an essential element in the day to day preparedness of any organization, especially in the unique environment of the performing arts. In addition to sound emergency management principles, the application of National Fire Protection Association Standards (NFPA) will ensure that a comprehensive protection plan is developed in cooperation with appropriate emergency response partners. This free webinar will provide fire safety considerations and introduce best practices from the fire protection industry, which offers a road map to achieve fire safety benchmarks. Participants will learn how the Life Safety Code and the Code for Protection of Cultural Resource Properties can help you protect your patrons, staff, and facility. Instructor: Chris Soliz Fire and Emergency Protection Plan Development, May 21, 2024 at 2:00 ET Description: Participants in this webinar will be presented with the components of a Protection Plan and the process to follow for the development of a plan following guidelines provided by the National Fire Protection Association’s Code for Protection of Cultural Resource Properties. Grounded in a vulnerability assessment, the planning process covers fire safety, security, construction considerations, prevention, special events, and recovery strategies. At the completion of this webinar, participants will have the tools needed to begin developing is a significant step towards a resilient organization. Instructor: Chris Soliz Safety and Security for Performing Arts, May 29, 2024 at 2:00 ET Description: With the ever-changing nature of events, are you prepared for the unexpected? With audiences and Local Government agencies expecting more from you as an organizer, do you have plans in place to not only try and prevent, but also respond should any incident happen? Safety and Security are more important now than ever and more questions will be asked of you and what plans you have in place. This class will help event organizers and venues establish the key elements for prevention and responding to incidents of any shape or size. It will provide a background of what happens when things don’t go as planned, and show that it doesn’t matter what size or type of event you have, the basic principles are the same. We will look at what you would do in certain scenarios, and how even small adjustments to your venue can keep your event safer. Instructor: Emma Stuart Introduction to Archival Programs for Performing Arts Institutions, May 30, 2024, at 2:00 ET Description: With many performing arts organizations operating for some time, legacy records have been created that can benefit not only staff but also the public. Join us for an introduction to what archival programs do and how they can help your organization. This class will be organized into two parts. First, participants will learn what practical actions they can take now with minimal resources and then learn about program components for consideration in the future. By the end of the class, participants will be able to: - Learn what archives do and what archival work entails - Understand what materials are considered historical - Acquire skills in basic preservation and safe storage practices, including electronic materials - Become aware of what is needed to develop archival programs over time Instructor: Katy Klettlinger Lessons Learned from the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival Shooting, June 12, 2024, at 2:00 ET Description: Kelly Hubbard was attending day 3 of the Route 91 Country Music Festival with her daughter and a few friends when someone opened fire on the crowd of 22,000 attendees. 58 attendees died that evening, with hundreds more severely injured, making that night the worst mass shooting to date in our Country’s history. Kelly speaks as a survivor, but also as an emergency manager on the events of that evening to help others in her profession and in the entertainment and hospitality industry to improve large event planning and mass casualty response. This session will reflect on lessons for all parties involved in large pop-up location event planning and mass casualty response. Learning outcomes will include considerations for security and safety in pop-up venues, coordination concepts with local government partners, understanding the response and recovery process, considerations for integration of non-traditional response partners and trauma care for survivors and staff. Concepts such as how to integrate those who may not think they have a role (such as the hotels that became triage and shelter centers with no warning) will be covered. Insight will be provided on how survivors of traumatic events get information regarding hospitals, Family Assistance Centers, and recovery resources, especially when watching the news is experiencing the trauma all over again. Instructor: Kelly Hubbard . The complete list of PAR webinars and recordings may be found here.   Your friends at the Performing Arts Readiness project, PAR@Lyrasis.org www.PerformingArtsReadiness.org See Original Post

Reposted from CISA/DHS

As the nation’s cyber defense agency and the national coordinator for critical infrastructure security and resilience, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) today announced a new dedicated webpage with cybersecurity resources to support communities at heightened risk of digital security threats.

Through the Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative (JCDC), CISA has partnered with civil society organizations and technology companies to better understand the cybersecurity needs of high-risk communities, the role that CISA and our technology company partners can play to support their digital security and develop a collaborative planning effort to meet these needs. High-risk communities play a critical role in advancing democratic and humanitarian causes which makes them a uniquely attractive target for Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) actors who can leverage cyber intrusions to undermine the fundamental values and interests common to free societies.

CISA provides resources specifically for high-risk communities, such as:

·        Project Upskill which offers cybersecurity guidance designed to arm individuals from high-risk organizations with simple steps to meaningfully improve their cyber hygiene. It is designed for a non-technical audience so that all individuals in a civil society organization are empowered to take action to bolster their cyber defenses.

·        Cybersecurity Resources for High-Risk Communities offers a wide selection to high-risk communities, such as Cloudflare’s Project Galileo that offers cybersecurity protection, or Google’s Advanced Protection Program that provides additional safeguards against phishing attempts and harmful downloads, or Access Now’s Digital Security Helpline for support with incident response if compromise is suspected.

·        Cyber Volunteer Resource Center is a repository of cyber volunteer programs across the country that provide free, hands-on cybersecurity support to under-resourced organizations. CISA intends to help build capacity by providing a centralized place for prospective volunteers to learn about prerequisites and application processes for joining their local cyber volunteer program, and help qualifying organizations learn how to obtain assistance. CISA also published a blog with more details on the High-Risk Communities effort. All civil society organizations are encouraged to visit the Cyber Resource Hub | CISA, intended to serve as a one-stop-shop for cybersecurity guidance.

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Reposted from

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) kicks off the third annual Emergency Communications Month to honor the nation’s emergency responders and communicators, emphasizing the importance of emergency communications and the need to work together in building resilient critical infrastructure.  This year, CISA is focusing on how the nation can be “Resilient Together,” highlighting the importance of secure, interoperable emergency communications and how the agency supports this effort in collaboration with its partners across the emergency communications ecosystem. Emergency communications is a complex ecosystem with multiple stakeholders and moving pieces. It is more resilient and secure through strong partnerships and collaboration between emergency responders, government, information technology and communications providers, non-governmental organizations, and even private citizens. All through April, CISA invites the nation to celebrate the people who operate the systems we rely on and learn more about the vital role of emergency communications. 

CISA encourages critical infrastructure organizations, state, local, tribal, and territorial government, and others to significantly bolster communications resiliency and emergency preparedness by enrolling in free priority telecommunications services. These services, which include the Government Emergency Telecommunications Service and Wireless Priority Service, enable essential personnel to communicate when networks are degraded or congested due to weather events, mass gatherings, cyber incidents, or events stemming from human error. 

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Reposted from EMR-ISAC

Battery fires have become one of the most challenging and perplexing incidents for the fire service in recent years. With the continued growth in the use and sale of battery-powered devices, the corresponding increase in battery fires warrants a critical conversation about how the fire service can mitigate and respond to battery fire incidents.

The U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) will host a webinar on Wednesday, April 10, from 1-3 p.m., Battery Fires: Before, During, and After the Incident. The webinar is an opportunity to hear from subject matter experts from the USFA; the Fire Safety Research Institute; San Diego Fire-Rescue Department; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; and the Environmental Protection Agency. The speakers will present the key concepts to consider when developing community risk reduction and response plans related to lithium-ion battery fires.

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Reposted from CBS

A threatening phone call to officials at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts forced the evacuation of visitors and staff from the building late Sunday morning, police say.  The call came in around 11:30 a.m., according to Montreal police spokesperson Jean-Pierre Brabant, who says police took the threat seriously.  Numerous officers were deployed to the museum to carry out checks and a security perimeter was quickly established around the area. Brabant says no threat has been identified, but police are continuing their investigation to find out the origin of the call. The museum was particularly busy Sunday morning, with entry being free on the first Sunday of every month.

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Emergent Threats and Strategic Hardening Tactics

presented by Dr. Jenni Hesterman, Colonel, US Air Force (retired) 

Dr. Hesterman's presentation will give up-to-the-minute information regarding emergent terrorist and criminal threats. She will unveil the 9 things we're doing wrong in security in 2024 and offer unique hardening tactics for soft target venues and events.   

Dr. Hesterman is the principal investigator on a new project entitled Soft Target-Specific Standards: Current Challenges and Future Implications for the National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology, and Education Center (NCITE), a DHS Security Center of Excellence at the University of Nebraska, Omaha. This research addresses the absence of specific security standards for soft targets such as cultural properties, entertainment, sports and other public venues. While general security standards provide a foundational framework, the unique characteristics and vulnerabilities of these locations and events may call for context-specific measures for the most effective protection. While onsite, Dr. Hesterman will speak with conference attendees to gather information for this work. We are excited to support NCITE's research on this topic of importance to our community! 

Dr. Jennifer Hesterman is a retired Air Force colonel who served in three Pentagon tours and in multiple command positions in the field. Her last assignment was Vice Commander at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland, where she led installation security, including the protection of Air Force One. She is the recipient of the Legion of Merit, the Meritorious Service medal with 5 oak leaf clusters and the Global War on Terrorism Service medal.

After her military retirement in 2007, Dr. Hesterman worked as a cleared contractor in Washington, DC performing operational research on international and domestic terrorist organizations, transnational threats, organized crime, human, drug and weapon trafficking, and the terrorist and criminal exploitation of the Internet. She was recently security lead on a 3-year contract to develop an assessment tool and deploy security best practices within the Department of Transportation. In addition to providing vulnerability assessments for critical infrastructure, houses of worship, schools, shopping venues, credit unions, airports, stadiums and businesses, Dr. Hesterman designs and instructs graduate level security courses for the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency, Department of Defense. She advises the Homeland Security Training Institute at the College of DuPage in Chicago; the Crisis Response Journal and two DHS Security Centers of Excellence, the National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology, and Education Center (NCITE) at University of Nebraska and Soft-target Engineering to Neutralize the Threat Reality (SENTRY) at Northeastern University. Dr. Hesterman is an expert witness and conducts forensic security vulnerability assessments to support legal proceedings.

She holds a doctoral degree from Benedictine University, Master of Science degrees from Johns Hopkins University and Air University, and a Bachelor of Science degree from Penn State University. She was a National Defense Fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. where she studied the terror-crime nexus; her resulting book, Transnational Crime and the Criminal-Terrorist Nexus, won the Air Force Research Award for 2004. She is a 2006 alumnus of the Harvard Senior Executive Fellows program and was a senior fellow at the Center for Cyber and Homeland Security at George Washington University from 2016-2018.

An academic author for the Taylor & Francis Group, Dr. Hesterman’s book Soft Target Hardening: Protecting People from Attack was the ASIS Security Industry Book of the Year for 2015. The second edition was the ASIS Security Industry Book of the Year for 2019, and the Social Sciences Book of the Year for Taylor & Francis. She also authored Soft Target Crisis Management (2016) and The Terrorist-Criminal Nexus (2013), as well as 33 journal and magazine articles.

Dr. Hesterman is a sought after public speaker, with over 90 keynote, guest speaking and training events in the U.S. and abroad for ASIS, FBI, DHS, DoD, state and local law enforcement, Fortune 10 companies, Major League Baseball, and numerous associations.