Lakehead Fire Department & Mutual Aid Association EAS POLICY: ST. LOUIS COUNTY 9-1-1 EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT POLICY EFFECTIVE DATE : October 1, 2001 POLICY The "Policy on Use of the St. Louis County Sheriff s Office Emergency Alert System (EAS)" in St. Louis County pertains to the activation of the Sheriff s Office EAS for alerting the public of civil and technological emergencies (not weather related) using St. Louis County encoding/decoding equipment. The EAS must be used expeditiously and in most instances the emergency generating the need for EAS activation must be of the size and scope that a formal incident management system and possibly an Emergency Operations Center is in place. This policy applies directly to EAS activation by the County Sheriff s Office for emergencies occurring in the Sheriff s jurisdiction or for activation by the Sheriff s Office at the request of other jurisdictions within the county. It is also applicable to EAS activation encompassing multiple jurisdictions, but only after the Sheriff s Office receives approval of all jurisdictions concerned. EAS plans have also been developed for National, State and/or multi jurisdictional incidents of a larger scale, such as regional or statewide, (part of the state of Minnesota plan) that require EAS activation. The State of Minnesota EAS Plan and the Northeast Local Emergency Alert System Team (NE LEAST) Plan shall be consulted for these types of EAS activations. I. Why use EAS A. To disseminate the same message form one source (St. Louis County South 9-1-1 Center) to over 40 local radio and television stations plus cable outlets in St. Louis County who in turn can broadcast the message B. The potential to alert and advise a large segment of the population about actions they need to take because of an incident that poses a threat to life and property
C. EAS messages may also be broadcast on the NOAA Weather Radio which is a tone-activated alert system, at the discretion of the National Weather Service II Who Can Request EAS Activation A. Authorized Sheriff s Office personnel 1. On Duty/On Call Supervisor 2. Supervising Deputies 3. Undersheriff 4. Sheriff A. Other public safety officials (The request must be approved by one of the above personnel of the Sheriff s Office) III Where to Request EAS Activation for St. Louis County IV EAS Broadcast Criteria A. Requests must be made to, and will be coordinated by, the St. Louis County 9-1-1 Centers. The 9-1-1 Centers link the requesting agency with an authorized Sheriff s Office personnel. If approved for EAS activation, the Sheriff s Office will notify the 9-1-1 Center and the requesting agency will re-contact 9-1-1 to detail the message. Content of the message must follow guidance listed in item I. A. Activation is for single jurisdictions or for multiple jurisdictions with all jurisdictions involved. A. Public safety must be involved. The message will aid in reducing the loss of life and substantial loss of property A. Sources of information shall be a local public safety agency A. The event requires public knowledge to avoid adverse impact A. Other means of disseminating the information have been employed if possible. A. The message must be less than 90 seconds in length
A. Information shall be non-routine A. EAS message formula should be used, as per guidelines in Part I below. A. The County Sheriff s Office shall review and approve all EAS activation requests. A. The requesting agency shall provide a liaison to 9-1-1, a telephone number for the requesting agency and an information officer to the news media. PROCEDURE I. The EAS Message Formula A. The total message must be less than 90 seconds in length B. Most important information is given first C. Answer the five "W" question plus "How" 1. Who 2. What 3. Where 4. When 5. Why 6. How D. Situation + Population + Action = EAS Message 1. Situation - a description of the emergency including the nature and extent of the event that necessitates the activation of the EAS a. What is the hazard? b. What is the risk? c. Where is it? d. When did it/will it occur? 2. Population - a clear identification of the audience or people who are at risk form the hazard a. Who is at risk? 1. Action - a concise and specific description of the action the at-risk population should take. a. Who is urging this action? b. What does the at-risk population need to do and how? c. When does this action need to be taken? d. Stay tuned for further information.
II St. Louis County Communications Department (9-1-1) EAS Procedures A. Receive the EAS Activation request from the Sheriff s Office, or other St. Louis County public safety agency. STOP! If the activation request is from other than personnel listed in IIA, they must approve the activation before you proceed. Link the requesting agency with authorized Sheriff s Office personnel who will notify you when to proceed. A. Upon approval of the Sheriff s Office, the requesting agency will re-contact 9-1-1 to detail the EAS message. Enter information on the EAS template, and verify the EAS message with the requesting agency prior to dissemination. A. Transmit EAS message on South 9-1-1 EAS Encoder/Decoder. A. South 9-1-1 Center should forward EAS information on template via FAX (preferably) or telephone the National Weather Service, Duluth to request EAS activation and the broadcasting of the message on the NOAA Weather Radio. A telephone contact to verify receipt and/or clarify if necessary is advised. III Following the EAS Message IV EAS Activation Review A. The agency originating the EAS message must keep 9-1- 1 informed of any changes or updates A. The South 9-1-1 Center should forward regular updates to the National Weather Service, to request rebroadcast via NOAA Weather Radio. (Following procedures in section II - D above.) A. Follow-up information must be disseminated to the media by the EAS message originator through their public information officer.
Following all EAS emergency activations, the requesting agency will be asked to sign a hard copy transcript of their request and the resulting EAS message broadcast. Following all EAS activation requests a meeting will be held between all involved agencies for purposes of EAS activation review and debriefing.