As the Super Bowl is approaching in the next few weeks, the question comes up, "How do you prepare?" Whether you are preparing for a major sporting event, a papal visit or your town fair, know that you are not alone.
Before you can start to plan for a special event you have to define what a special event is. The general definition of a special event is defined as "a non routine activity within a community that brings together a large number of people." Some items to consider right from the start are:
- What is the scope of the event: who, what, why and how?
- The risks to spectators and participants: does it involve fireworks, a fly over, etc.?
- What is the impact on the community: will local services be overwhelmed?
- What type of support for the emergency services will be required?
While some cities such as New York City and Washington, DC have full-time units devoted to special events planning, don't be put off if your department doesn't. Just because the United Nations or the White House does not reside in your town, don't think you cannot plan for a large-scale event.
If your city will be hosting the Olympics or Super Bowl you will have several years' notice and the Olympic Committee or the NFL have planning teams to assist the host city. Since most towns will never be involved with such massive, large-scale events, how do you plan for your own special event?
Don't be afraid to ask for help or seek the assistance of others. Most likely the event you are planning for has been conducted before. Unless the event is a last minute visit by the President of the United States, you will probably have several months, if not years, to plan for it. Even with a last minute visit by the President, the Secret Service will be there with advance teams that can give guidance to every detail of the visit.
Planning comes first. You can start with members of your Local Emergency Planning Council (LEPC). The members of the LEPC are representatives of the local emergency services: public works department, local utilities, government agencies and others organizations that work together in emergencies. Along with the LEPC members, contact your local law enforcement, fire and EMS mutual aid groups to assist in the planning as they most likely will be used during the event. Mutual aid groups very likely have the extra personnel and special equipment that the local agency may require for the event.
Ask to review the plans of cities similar to yours that hosted a large fair or music concert. Almost certainly they will be willing to share their experiences and lessons learned with you.
Just as in public speaking, you must know your audience for the event. Will this be a family-based event or an outlaw motorcycle rally? Can you count on the event organizers to provide their own security and event marshals or will your department have to provide complete coverage?
A special event goes beyond what we commonly think of in law enforcement such as crowd control, traffic flow and detention facilities.
Health and sanitation issues have to be addressed. Your local Health Office will be needed to check food preparation and handling facilities. They will be needed to help determine the amount of portable toilets required and to monitor their conditions during the event.
The Building Department will be required to inspect any types of temporary buildings or stages that are constructed. Also what types of local permits are required? This is another reason for these last two agencies and the LEPC to be involved.
Your EMS provider is needed in the planning process too. Whether EMS is provided by a career department, contracted service or local volunteers, their services will be needed during the event. Some of the possible emergencies they might face could range from common first aid calls to mass casualty incidents as the result of food poisoning, a tent collapse, lightning strike or an act of terrorism.
A terrorist attack could be from an international group or it could be from a local home grown group that does not agree with the political viewpoint of the sponsoring organization if it is a politically based event. Unfortunately, the threat of any type of terrorist activity is something that has to be planned for.
The time of the year and location also play a major role in the event planning. How do you plan for a dangerous cold spell during an outdoor winter event or a large number of outdoor summer concert attendees passing out from the heat? Consider the use of alcohol and drugs at the concert for more planning concerns. Add lost children and property to the planning mix and you have a general idea of what will be required.
Planning for a special event is also an opportunity to use the Incident Command System (ICS) and possibly the National Incident Management System (NIMS) for a large scale, prepared incident. The experience and lessons learned in using ICS and NIMS will be very valuable in the day to day operations of your department. This is an opportunity to test how well the ICS Incident Commander (IC) works in your city during the planning phase and at the actual event.
What will your communications structure be like? Can your present daily communications system handle the extra load or will you need to use secondary frequencies and equipment? Will they work? Has it been tested recently? This is another area where your mutual aid agreements will come into play if you need to request a mobile communication vehicle.
When you get the notification that you are to conduct a special event, start planning early and ask for assistance. Remember, you only have one chance to get it right.
