Principles of Emergency Management

The Principles of Emergency Management provide an outline for the topics covered in this course. Emergency management creates the framework within which communities can reduce their vulnerability to a myriad of hazards and cope with disasters resulting from those hazards.  The vision of emergency management is to promote less vulnerable or safer communities, with the capacity to cope with hazards and disasters.

The eight principles of emergency management that were developed in 2007 guide the development of emergency management today both as a professional field of practice and as an academic discipline for the training and education of emergency managers. Below, the eight principles are outlined:

1. Comprehensive—necessitates the emergency managers consider all types of hazards (natural, technological, human made); all phases of disaster management from prevention or mitigation to preparedness and training, to response, and both short and long term recovery; all stakeholders from the public, private and non-profit sectors at every level; and the impact of disasters.
2. Progressive—means that emergency management is anticipative of future disasters in taking protective, preventive and preparatory measures targeted at disaster-resistant and resilient communities.
3. Risk-Driven—means that emergency managers use risk management principles and state-of-the-art tools to identify hazards, analyze their risk and impacts, and assign priorities and resources for dealing with those risks.
4. Integrated—necessitates a unity of effort among all levels of government and all stakeholders.
5. Collaborative—Relationship building is a major part of what emergency managers do to build trust, build teams, build consensus, and facilitate communication among all involved in emergency management.
6. Coordinated—means that the actions of all stakeholders must be synchronized toward achieving a common purpose.
7. Flexible—means that to solve disaster challenges emergency managers use creative and innovative approaches that can adjust to trends and changes in the disaster environment.
8. Professional—emergency managers value science and knowledge-based approaches in the effort to constantly build the field through education, training, learning from experience, applying sound ethical practice and continuous improvement while being a public steward.

These eight principles should be embraced by all emergency managers and cross-cut all specializations within emergency management. It is important to note, however, that emergency management positions include highly specialized areas of expertise also. Those specializing in mitigation or the prevention of disasters have a different focus and set of skills than those who might respond to a disaster or do an aspect of rebuilding during the recovery phase of a disaster.  Similarly, local communities are first on the scene of a disaster through the work of the police, fire, and medical personnel, while national emergency managers play supportive or supplementary roles unless the magnitude of an event requires more activity. Government coordination of private and non-profit actors is different than leading a private or non-profit.

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Video: "Principles of Emergency Management: The Role of the Emergency Manager"

 

Total Time - 36:10