Conducting a full-scale emergency management exercise during COVID-19: A case study of Puyallup Chill Out 2021
Abstract
The COVID-19 public health emergency severely limited the ability of emergency managers to conduct emergency exercises, particularly at the functional or full-scale level. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic response, other emergencies continued, and local emergency management was called to respond, ensuring that local guidelines and COVID-19 restrictions were observed. This paper describes how the pandemic impacted on the City of Puyallup’s emergency management training and exercise programme and how the City adapted to conduct a full-scale exercise in the autumn of 2021. Multiple delays, planning partners overwhelmed by COVID-19, and emergencies that occurred prior to the exercise were all addressed and included in the exercise scenario. The City of Puyallup and its planning partners built in contingencies in the run-up to the exercise, all the way through to the day of exercise play. Providing a safe, realistic and timely opportunity for the City of Puyallup and partners to conduct the exercise has resulted in a far-reaching after-action report and improvement plan to guide the preparedness and planning efforts of the City and its partners.
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Author's Biography
Kirstin Hofmann is the Emergency Manager for the City of Puyallup. She was exercise director and lead of the Puyallup Chill Out 2021 exercise planning team. Ms Hofmann is a Master Exercise Practitioner and a member of the Pierce County Type III All Hazards Incident Management Team. Her previous roles include Office of Emergency Services Director for the County of Santa Clara; 2-1-1 Santa Clara County Director for United Way Silicon Valley; and Emergency Preparedness Manager for a consortium of federally qualified healthcare clinics in San Jose, California. She has also worked for the American Red Cross. Ms Hofmann completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Washington and her graduate studies at Seattle University.
Greg Massey is a captain with the City of Puyallup Police Department (PPD), where he has worked for 17 years, following almost 23 years serving with the US Army. Captain Massey’s previous roles at PPD include working as a patrol officer, detective and instructor. He is now a team commander for the Metro Tactical Response Team, a member of the City of Puyallup Emergency Operations Center team, and a candidate for Master Exercise Practitioner certification. Greg was Lead Controller for Puyallup Chill Out 2021, and a primary author of the Master Scenario Events List.
Citation
Hofmann, Kirstin and Massey, Greg (2023, June 1). Conducting a full-scale emergency management exercise during COVID-19: A case study of Puyallup Chill Out 2021. In the Journal of Business Continuity & Emergency Planning, Volume 16, Issue 4. https://doi.org/10.69554/TTIX4470.
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