One thing that all emergencies have in common is NEWS. Local events like car crashes, house fires and convenience store holdups to major natural disasters like hurricanes, floods and tornados always include the media--there to get the story and tell the public what is going on. Smart public safety officials have learned by experience that working with the media is one of the best ways to serve the public in times of emergency. The best way to accomplish this is by having skilled Public Information Officers (PIO) on the emergency management team. To help train these essential individuals, the Emergency Management Institute has conducted its Advanced Public Information Officers course since 1991.
The Advanced Public Information Officer course, better known as APIO, places students in a situation where an emergency situation escalates over the four-day course. During that time, students develop a strategy for risk communication, create written products, plan and participate in news conferences, and work in a Joint Information Center (JIC). Along with these activities, and group and individual presentations using best PIO practices, subject matter experts present lectures on legal issues, policy development and interpersonal communications.
APIO is one of EMI’s highest rated courses, and for that reason is difficult to get into—wait lists are not unusual. One of the reasons for its success is its instructors. Each offering is taught by professional PIOs from across the nation—with |
backgrounds in the news business, for example, CNN--and keep up with the latest trends and how those impact the job of the PIO. The course is designed so that course participants can share their success stories with their classmates. With this information exchange, problems that one student may be having in their jurisdiction can be solved by listening to the experience of others.
What our students learn in the APIO course is often put to work very soon after leaving Emmitsburg (the home of EMI). Long term feedback from APIO students has been excellent. Sometimes this happens within days of completing the course. The record is held by a student from West Virginia who was dealing with a major highway accident involving hazardous materials and an evacuation less than 12 hours after receiving his APIO course completion certificate!
Our guiding principle in conducting the APIO course is that lives can be saved and property protected when the public gets the right information, to the right people, at the right time, so they can make the right decisions.
Application information for the APIO course is on the EMI web site at www.training.fema.gov or call the NETC Admissions office at 301-447-1035. For continual updates on other EMI exercise-based courses, please sign up for our free e-mail subscription service at: http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/IEMC/ |
