Presentation Description: In September 2020, Clackamas 911 found itself within an evacuation footprint for a number of wildfires that spawned after significant Santa Ana winds on Labor Day set a large portion of the state of Oregon ablaze. Not only were call volumes inside the Clackamas 911 center peaking at 5x normal call volumes, but 21 employees also had to evacuate their own residences. This is the fascinating story of a medium‐sized 911 call‐center who, quite literally, lived through a firestorm of decisions, tested their COOP plan beyond its limits by splitting call‐taking and dispatching into 2 different centers for 2 weeks.
Learning Objectives:
Understand the key decisions involved in making a decision to evacuate a 911 center.
Be able to revisit a continuity plan to ensure that assumptions meet the realities of various hazards, particularly surrounding evacuation.
Identify ways to care for your people, wholistically, who are walking through trauma themselves while handling a traumatic situation.
