---

5.1.2 Planning

1. Integrate Pre-Incident Planning into the Incident and Unified Command Structure – “Most of the critical data to support strategic and tactical decision-making existed in pre-incident planning documents, but in general it was not effectively integrated into incident and unified command. When it was, respondents found it extremely valuable they said it should be ‘pushed, pulled, or dragged’ into the incident command.
   
   When this information got disseminated down to division and group level, it enabled more effective tactical planning and increased the situation awareness of ground resources.
   
   Many leaders rated the integration of pre-incident planning information as an area for improvement using existing interagency meetings or developing a GIS-based system.”
   Southern California Firestorm 2003: Report for the Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center

2. Involve Utilities in the Incident Organization and Planning for Service Restoration – “Pre-incident planning improved coordination between fire agencies and utilities but many did not anticipate the difficulties in sequencing the return of evacuees and services restoration. They said that in the future they would involve utilities in the incident organization and planning early to coordinate restoration of services.”
   
   Southern California Firestorm 2003: Report for the Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center

3. “Plan for All Types of Emergencies – Emergencies can come in many forms. Some agency staff members indicated that they have developed a single emergency plan—often based upon emergency response to a large storm or other natural disaster—without tailoring it for other types of emergencies. There may be much overlap between types of emergency responses. For example, several organizations mentioned that their snow emergency plans were useful during the blackout. The greater the types of events considered, the more likely an agency will be prepared for whatever happens.”
   Effects of Catastrophic Events on Transportation System Management and Operations: August 2003 Northeast Blackout Great Lakes Region

4. “Plan Evacuation Routes based on the demand, capacity, and clearance time for a particular region.”
   Compendium: Graduate Student Papers on Advanced Surface Transportation Systems: Application of ITS Technology to Hurricane Evacuation Routes

5. Plan for Evacuations – “Public transportation played a key role in evacuating Lower Manhattan and Washington, DC. Chemical, biological, or radiological attacks and natural disasters such as hurricanes and earthquakes also may require large-scale evacuations. The evacuation effort in New York was successful because the transit operators had thought about it and planned for it.”
   Saving City Lifelines: Lessons Learned in the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks

6. “Plan for the Evacuation of Those with Special Needs – This includes the elderly and handicapped as well as hospitals and other institutions with resident populations. Transit plays a critical and unique role in meeting this need.”
   Disaster Response and Evacuation User Service: An Addendum to the ITS Program Plan

7. “Plan for How to Deal with Construction along Evacuation Routes when construction is scheduled to take place on major evacuation routes during hurricane season. Where feasible, alternate evacuation routes may be developed and provided to the public. Detours around the construction area may also be planned in advance. If the evacuation route is needed despite the delay due to construction, the use of shoulders as temporary travel lanes might be considered with the aid of law enforcement direction.”
   Compendium: Graduate Student Papers on Advanced Surface Transportation Systems: Application of ITS Technology to Hurricane Evacuation Routes

8. “Plan in Concert with Other Agencies – For example, the Detroit-Windsor Truck Ferry staff is now working more closely with US Customs Service officers to better plan for emergencies that impact the crossing of freight between Canada and the US.”
   Effects of Catastrophic Events on Transportation System Management and Operations: August 2003 Northeast Blackout Great Lakes Region

9. “Plan for the Use of Shelters in case evacuation is not possible or is not mandatory.”
   Compendium: Graduate Student Papers on Advanced Surface Transportation Systems: Application of ITS Technology to Hurricane Evacuation Routes

10. Use Pre-Incident Planning – “Pre-incident planning was essential to effective evacuation compared to those areas that did not conduct extensive pre-incident planning.”
    Southern California Firestorm 2003: Report for the Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center

---

February 7, 2006
Publication #FHWA–HOP-08-015