FACTS MAKE THE DIFFERENCE

so this is fiction when we face reality we must be prepared to base our decisions on fence in disaster situations the need for accurate information is most immediate and crucial information comes from a variety of sources it must be translated into facts that are meaningful to the user and his mission this is not a complex process it is part of everyday living we use it when we cross the street check the weather determine the best way to fight a fire make an estimate of the situation or save a life in each of these situations a decision was made based on facts and facts make the difference without the facts you may well find yourself in the position of a fire dispatcher who received a frantic car my two children are trapped inside hurry please do something do something that was the firefighter's job they had the time equipment and personnel to save the children but where would they go the woman failed to give her address to the dispatcher a fact she ignored to understand the mechanics of getting the facts let us examine the steps this includes collecting information processing it and disseminating the facts to those who need them let's begin with the first step collection of information any official of government has certain inherent responsibilities for the collection of information to meet this responsibility a reporting system must be established within the framework of government based on its existing resources information may be of a general and non-technical nature which can be reported by anyone on a geographical basis or technical information related to specialized function which is reported by operating services such as police fire public works health agriculture or a shelter manager who may report information to the emergency operating center just as newspapers use reporters who are specialists in their fields like science sports politics government uses personnel assigned to each functional or technical area to report the facts to get the information needed to make a decision on a specific problem these people working together to gather information should be aggressive accurate reliable and observant they should know and understand people facilities areas and communications and they should cover both geographical and functional information to be effective people in this information system should be organized trained equipped and assigned well in advance of the emergency they should be welded into a skillful team for facts do make the difference everyone involved in emergency operations should be conscious of the need for accurate information he should be alert he should be aware he should recognize that information flows to and from the various governmental departments already functioning police firemen personnel of federal agencies industry public utilities public works community shelters anyone or any situation can be a source of information all persons involved must be trained to anticipate the need for and recognize the significance of information sometimes confusion arises in determining the difference between raw information and fact this needn't be if raw information is questioned investigated and validated raw information may not necessarily be factual the difference is a matter of proof and verification information from a reliable authoritative source can usually be trusted in this case it is a matter of reliability trained people are needed not only to report occurrences but to anticipate what might happen based on information they already have for example an astute police officer observing a group of youths on the street late at night with nothing to do and no place to go senses what might develop into a situation he handles the situation in the right way and at the opportune time in doing so he uses his training and experience to anticipate and prevent possible trouble this illustrates the value of recognizing the significance of a situation in collecting information everyone should understand and use the familiar five w's essential in establishing facts for example the people have received a ten renkin dose of radiation by 7 pm in the jefferson park shelter because of fallout from an upwind nuclear explosion the second step processing simply means transforming information into usable facts incoming information is examined sorted and placed into the proper category for example data related to a particular area in a radiological situation is so labeled every piece of information is examined to determine its pertinence for example is it needed immediately if so by whom is it a future value if so to whom is it of value to this government or to other governments processing of information requires is examination to determine the reliability of its source is the source completely reliable fairly reliable or unreliable or cannot be judged information must also be examined for its probability is it confirmed is it probably true is it improbable or can it be judged these and other questions must be answered for example if the information comes from a specialist in the field of law enforcement medicine fire agriculture is it likely there is a basis of fact personal knowledge of the source of information helps determine its reliability is what is vital to one department of government equally vital to another personal knowledge of the significance of the information helps to determine its use is the information reported realistic feasible and consistent with what is already known personal knowledge of existing facts help determine its probability arriving at a decision is a deliberate and systematic process yet there's only one best way to function be thorough do the pieces of information fit together logically so that the total picture comes into sharp focus the gathering of all information that is pertinent to a particular situation all the bits and pieces under one roof constitutes the basis for a factual estimate of the situation if some needed facts are missing what then questions relating to the evaluation of the situation are called essential elements of information or e e i these questions must result in necessary answers for example asking what are the limits of radiological contamination though important will not provide the answers the leader needs to make a decision it is not the essential element of information a better question would be where how and with what effect will radiological contamination impede or deny operations another question what roads are blocked is of some value but again does not give the answers required to make a decision the decision maker is interested in those roads which are important to his operation a better question is where how and with what effect will blocking of streets and highways impede operations when the decision maker has the answers to the essential elements of information he has a basis upon which to make judgment when the information has been converted into facts it must be made available to appropriate users otherwise it is useless to provide these facts to those who need them you need communications messenger telephone radio twix for example in addition to the warning given by sirens or other means information under emergency conditions can be communicated to the public over the emergency broadcast system people can be warned of the potential radioactive fallout hazard and receive information about shelter locations and the actions they should take to increase their chances for survival as requested by the united states government this is the emergency broadcast system normal broadcasting has been discontinued for an indefinite period this station will remain on the air to broadcast news only the public but agency officials responsible for dealing with emergency conditions need factual information both for field operations and headquarters decisions and direction thus communications are vital to the dissemination of facts to those who need them and must use them the steps represented by this complete cycle provide the means to get the raw information establish the facts and get them to the point where they can be used the ability to develop useful facts from broad data is essential in this process the success of your decisions survival actions taken by your community will depend on your knowledge your alertness your judgment and successful decisions are based on facts the payoff is in terms of life your life and mine facts do make the difference foreign you