BMP-2-COPE-4-ESP
(Be More Prepared – To – COPE – For – Emergency Survival PREparedness)
The concept of this system is to ensure that critical supplies and systems are already in place in a community during 
PHASE ONE (First 72 Hours) ACTIVATION of a disaster.
This concept is accomplished on a community-by-community basis.

Be MorePREpared is a grass roots movement of Whole Community Trained Volunteers.

COPE Preparedness is a 501c3 Non-Profit to facilitate receiving tax-deductible donations of In-Kind products and cash.

Working together these two organizations can provide supplies, systems and services to help communities be More PREpared for an emergency/disaster.

This is accomplished by helping communities:

1. Create VEPODs (Volunteer Emergency PREparednessOnDemand – Point Of Distribution)

2. Help stock the VEPODs with appropriate supplies

• The BMP VEPOD Network was developed as a local area extension of the FEMA C-POD Program
  A VEPOD is a 20 foot Shipping Container (CONEX) that is re-purposed to serve as a local-area storage of PRE- Positioned and PRE-Paid Supplies

3. Establish a VEC (Volunteer Emergency Command – If required)

• NOTE: First Responders form an Incident Command (IC) when Activated to Respond to an Emergency or Disaster
• We created VEC so that Trained Volunteers could be part of an IC and provide needed solutions and services that supported the IC and maximized available and combined resources of time, energy and dollars

4. Establish a VECOM (Volunteer Emergency Communications – If required)

• A developed HAM Radio Communications Room for HAM Radio Operators

Not all incidents are emergencies or disasters but all emergencies and disasters are incidents and require one, two or all three of the following:

1. Incident Management

• The Incident Command System (ICS) is a standardized approach to the command, control, and coordination of emergency response providing a common hierarchy within which responders from multiple agencies can be effective
  When an emergency occurs or there is a disruption to the status quo, organized teams will respond in accordance with established plans. Public emergency services may be called to assist. Contractors may be engaged and other resources may be needed. Inquiries from the news media, the community, employees and their families and local officials may overwhelm telephone lines. There should be an incident management system (IMS) in place. An IMS is “the combination of facilities, equipment, personnel, procedures and communications operating within a common organizational structure, designed to aid in the management of resources during incidents” [NFPA 1600].
• When an incident occurs, incident stabilization activities (e.g. firefighting, damage assessment, property conservation) may be underway at the scene of the incident. Others assigned to support incident stabilization or crisis communications activities will report to an emergency operations center (EOC). The emergency operations center is a physical or virtual location from which coordination and support of incident management activities is directed.

2. Emergency Operations Center

An emergency operations center (EOC) is a physical (e.g., a conference room) or virtual (e.g., telephone conference call) location designed to support emergency response, business continuity and crisis communications activities. Staff meets at the EOC to manage preparations for an impending event or manage the response to an ongoing incident. By gathering the decision makers together and supplying them with the most current information, better decisions can be made. A primary EOC should be established at the main business facility and a secondary EOC should be available at another company facility, a temporary facility (such as a hotel) or through a teleconference bridge established to bring staff together virtually. The EOC supports the following incident management functions.

Activation -Bring knowledge and expertise together to deal with events that threaten the business

Situation Analysis -Gather information to determine what is happening and to identify potential impacts

Incident Briefing – Efficiently share information among team members

Incident Action Plan – Provide a single point for decision-making and decide on a course of action for the current situation

Resource Management – Provide a single point of contact to identify, procure and allocate resources

Incident Management – Monitor actions, capture event data and adjust strategies as needed

An EOC is not an on-scene incident command post (ICP) – where the focus is on tactics to deal with the immediate situation. An EOC is used to support on-scene activities through the prioritization of activities and the allocation of available resources. A major function within the EOC is communications between the emergency response team, business continuity team, crisis communications team and company management.

The conference room or other space to be used as the EOC should be equipped with the following equipment and supplies:

• Communications equipment including sufficient telephones (cell and landline with at least one speakerphone) to handle incoming and outgoing calls; incoming and outgoing fax machines; and access to any radio systems used by the business
• Computers and printers with access to network resources (including electronic copies of emergency response, business continuity and crisis communications plans that can be printed on demand), electronic mail and the internet
  Information gathering and display tools including access to broadcast radio and television (preferably with recording capability) or internet news sources; white boards, TV monitors, projection units or flipcharts with easel and markers to compile and display information
• Hard copies of emergency response, business continuity and crisis communications plans, contact/telephone lists, resource inventory and diagrams of facilities and systems
• Stationery, business and incident management forms, pens, pencils, markers and supplies
• Food, water and dining supplies for EOC staff
• The emergency operations center should be activated whenever there is a major incident that causes significant property damage, potential or actual business disruption or has the potential to cause a significant impact on the business.

Be MorePREpared can provide supplies, systems and services to help communities be More PREpared for an emergency/disaster.

We can assist you acquire the correct supplies; help you set up your POD for storage and distribution; provide information to help you train your volunteers as well as aide you in interfacing with your community’s first responders.

The goal is to have your community More PREpared to ensure that critical supplies and systems are already in place in a community during PHASE ONE (First 72 Hours) ACTIVATION of a disaster.