by Ron LaPedis
Like the work of a stage manager, most of the work done by continuity planning professionals is behind the curtain. The audience only sees the actors on stage, while a ballet unrivaled by any formal dance is happening in the wings on the side and in the loft above.
During the California wildfires, we hear about the firefighting professionals on the front lines, the true heroes preventing people’s houses from going up in flames. But just like that stage production, dozens of people are off stage for every person on stage, ensuring that the heroes that we see and the displaced residents have the support that they need.
Firefighters have the support of hundreds of people working on operations, planning, logistics and finance teams, arranged by the standards of the Incident Command System (ICS), while residents have the support of the Red Cross.
There are several other teams that you might not even think of, such as law enforcement, search and rescue (SAR) and small and large animal rescue. I have been a member of the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office Communications Unit since 2010, the year that a PG&E pipeline exploded in my hometown of San Bruno. While the CZU Lightning Complex was in full swing, I worked as a dispatcher on a hybrid team made up of law enforcement and SAR.
Our team, many of whom are employed full time, spent hundreds of hours around the clock managing and logging communications with sheriff’s deputies and SAR volunteers who were driving the treacherous mountain roads inside the fire area checking on residents who decided to stay behind, taking missing persons reports, looking for animals which escaped from their pens and interviewing people who seemed like they were out of place and might be looters.
Why we do it
When sitting in a corporate enclave, you slowly develop a set of blinders encouraged by the strictures of your environment. In other words, you start thinking inside of a box formed either by your own training, by your coworkers or perhaps by corporate guidelines and standards. At first, you might feel restricted, but as time goes on, the box feels more comfortable and you rarely venture outside of this “comfort zone.”
Thinking inside the box can limit the successful response to an incident, like the workers without power or communications during Superstorm Sandy who were supposed to work from home on their laptops. Pro bono work not only lets you break out of your comfort zone, but you also receive valuable training which can help you and your organization in the future. And it goes without saying that you also gain valuable new friendships and memories which you will cherish for the rest of your life.
For more information on how you can volunteer, contact your local county’s sheriffs or SAR offices.; and if your local office says that they don’t need volunteers, San Mateo County would love to chat with you.
