Texas JIC Strike Team Works to Deliver Emergency Information

Dispersing public information is an often overlooked, but increasingly important, piece of the puzzle of emergency response.

To recognize work in that field, the Emergency Management Association of Texas awarded the Harris County Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Management the Outstanding Emergency Management Public Information Award earlier this month.

The award was given to HCOHSEM for the recent implementation of Joint Information Center Strike Teams.

The teams are a culmination of about 10 years of lessons learned says Francisco Sanchez, Public Information Officer for HCOHSEM.

Sanchez says the organization noticed JIC teams were cutting it close getting people to the office in times of emergency. “The strike team was just a natural evolution of those lessons learned,” says Sanchez.

The JIC Strike Team is a group of people from different county departments and external partners of HCOHSEM that are trained and ready to come in at a moment’s notice to help provide information to the public about any emergency event.

For example, some members of the strike team include employees from Harris County Sheriff’s Office, the Harris County Fire Marshall, the Texas Department of Transportation and the Harris County Tow Road Authority.

Some less conventional partners are included as well, Sanchez says. For example, the Harris County Tax Office has a member in the strike team because of their knowledge of social media, and the Harris County Flood Control District gives the team information on the possibility of bayou flooding and some meteorology expertise.

Sanchez says the strike team helps be able to get a team of qualified and trained individuals together at a moment’s notice to cut down lag time between getting people into the office and getting information out to the public.

“There’s a lot of moving parts, but we’re very timely and strategic in how we move,” Sanchez says.

Sanchez says putting an emphasis on the strike team was essential in its success. Many agencies have some sort of room they can turn into a JIC center if needed, but Harris County does the opposite.

HCOHSEM has a dedicated JIC room for the strike team to use, complete with all the information and technology they require, that can also be used as a meeting room during off times if needed.

“It’s already set to go,” Sanchez says. “You hit a few buttons and all the screens light up and all the technology is ready to use. When the strike teams get here, they can go straight to work.”

Sanchez says a great example of the usefulness of the strike team was on display in May of 2015 when Texas experienced severe floods.

Some organizations were flooded out of their offices or could not make it there before the flooding happened. Because the strike team was ready to go, HCOHSEM was at the ready and was able to be the center of public information for that event.

Sanchez gives a few different tips for agencies looking to implement a similar type of team in their public information protocols.

First, Sanchez recommends building the partnerships before you have an emergency. This can be accomplished by building a public information officer working group or organization, even if they only meet every month or couple of months.

Start planning with agencies or partners that you already work with on a regular basis, Sanchez says. Meet regularly with this team and share lessons learned from different events that have previously been solved.

Sanchez also suggests being very open about allowing people or organizations to participate in strike team activities even if the event is not related to their field.

“We can always use the help and it trains them up to get the skills they’ll need to be contributors during the next emergency,” Sanchez says.

The award is a great recognition of the teamwork and the hard work that goes into the strike team, and helps the partners HCOHSEM works with feel recognized as well, Sanchez says.

It also highlights the importance of the strike team.

“The role of public information in emergency management has been increasingly important, especially with 24/7 media coverage, increases in the use of social media and the number of digital platforms there are now,” Sanchez says. “We need to make sure we have the capability to get everyone the necessary information right when they need it.”