Natural and man-made disasters from fire outbreaks, floods, tsunamis, hurricanes, bombings, and other terrorist attacks are common. Most of the time, such calamities are unexpected and have dire consequences (Deeming et al., 2019). Therefore, government agencies need to research and identify areas with high threats to ensure proper planning and preparedness. The New York City Office of Emergency Management is responsible for identifying risks, training and enhancing public awareness, conducting exercises, and engaging in activities to stop an impending threat.
Several emergency departments work together to ensure that there is a proper response to disaster and that risks are mitigated. The central communication center receives information from the public, media, or anonymous sources on the disaster region and then disbands the first responders. Noteworthy, the emergency department responds to different types of hazards within the city’s jurisdiction, including severe weather, fire, and national emergencies like war, civil disorders, radiology, and aircraft crashes.
The emergency services 911 communication center dispatches the New York Fire department. The department offers emergency department “prep talk” via speaker, SoundCloud and Apple podcast (Emergency management, 2022). At the fire headquarters unity, there is a conventional radio system with multiple repeaters and telephone extensions. Workers educate the public through schools, seminars, religious institutions about safety. Among them are the local first responders who are professionally trained to extinguish the fire and do first aid, help people safely evacuate from danger, and extinguish the fire (Emergency preparedness, 2022). Notably, the first responders are often committed to handling emergency calls and act immediately after they are called on duty. The responders often include paramedics, ambulance drivers, and fire extinguisher vans. They work as a team to ensure many people are saved, and damage is minimal.
The police department is part of the emergency response team that exists to serve all citizens within the New York jurisdiction with fairness, respect, and compassion. Its foundation is community service that fosters a sense of security in the individuals. Their work includes seeking intel to know and plan on mitigating terror activities and preventing other crimes, enforcing law and order, and safeguarding constitutional guarantees. The police parole the city and may work with citizens to gather intel on any threats. The police stations have an ambulance that can transport people to the emergency department at the hospital. When there is a major disaster where there is mass injury, they erect temporary tents as a safe place for first aid and stabilization before they are transported for treatment.
In conclusion, the city of New York has a good emergency team comprising many professionals. Within the firefighting department, there are paramedics, other first responders, and volunteers who are committed to providing public advocacy and response to disasters. In addition, the police department works to ensure that the people of New York City are safe. By working together and training the public to take an active role in disaster preparedness and response, it is possible to mitigate the negative impact and restore normalcy after a calamity.
References
Deeming, H., Fordham, M., Kuhlicke, C., Pedoth, L., Schneiderbauer, S., & Shreve, C. (2019). Framing community disaster resilience. John Wiley & Sons.
Emergency management. (2022). Welcome to NYC.gov | City of New York.