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| U.S. Air National Guard photo by 2nd Lt. Tinashe Machona |
Arizona Department of
Emergency & Military Affairs (DEMA) personnel participated by playing roles such as passengers or family and
friends of passengers. The exercise scenario was a large commercial
aircraft, carrying 100 total people, blew a tire upon landing and forced the
plane off the runway. The plane split in two and caught fire.
Playing the family
member of one of the passengers and being exposed to the experiences of other
role players gave me a unique perspective on the emotional impact on victims
and their family, as well as the coordinated efforts of response agencies to crises.
At the close of the
exercise, all participants were brought to a single location to debrief. While
our specific feedback and experiences were different, a single theme emerged
during the debrief: emergency management is as much about maintaining a people-focus
as it is about understanding and completing the right tasks at the right
time.
As I put myself in the
role of a mother whose child was on the aircraft, I realized how much trust,
confidence and faith Arizona residents place in emergency response agencies
every day. Whether we realize it or not, each time we get in our cars,
send our children to school, board an airplane, or enter a sports arena, we
have confidence in the necessary safety and security measures in place to
prevent and/or respond to an emergency.
While feedback was given
on the overall organization of the event and coordination between various
organizations involved, the most passionate comments described how people felt.
This feedback came from the passengers and their family members and friends.
For example, a passenger
who was hearing-impaired made it safely off the airplane but was confused about
what to do. Directions were given to passengers, but she could not hear
them. She stopped a rescue worker and advised him that she could not hear
and needed help. He looked her up and down and saw that she was not
injured and replied, “You are not the priority right now. Keep walking.”
Clearly, this rescue worker knew what his task was, to identify and assist injured passengers. He was task-focused and following procedures. You could even say he was “people-focused” since he prioritized helping injured passengers.
However, this passenger
that did not fit the description of someone on his “task list” could have
easily been injured because she did not know what to do or where to
go. She had just emerged from an airplane that ran off the runway, split
in two and burst into flames. She was confused and scared.
At the same time, family
and friends of passengers were gathered in a room at the Airport Marriott,
anxiously awaiting information about loved ones. As we waited for the
passenger list to arrive, an airline representative set expectations for how often
we would receive information; what resources would be available to us; and
where basics like water, restrooms and food were located.
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| U.S. Air National Guard photo by 2nd Lt. Tinashe Machona |
“Let’s have a seat and
talk,” suggested an American Red Cross volunteer to a waiting family member.
“I can’t sit. I
don’t want to sit,” replied the distraught woman.
“May I walk with you,
and you can talk to me if you’d like?” said the American Red Cross volunteer in
an empathetic, warm voice.
“Yes…yes. Let’s do
that,” answered the family member a bit more calmly.
American Red Cross
volunteers did not deem their task complete until the person in front of them
was calm and felt heard and cared for.
That is what the marriage of task- and
people-focused looks like, and that is what instills trust and confidence
between agencies and the public during times of crisis.
Blog by Toni
Eberhardt
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