From the Thailand tsunami of 2004 to Colorado wildfires, global disasters require a coordinated response and that is why the International Association of Emergency Managers was formed. The organization is the largest and most comprehensive entity to bring together emergency management professionals from different regions and countries so that there can be a uniform and direct response to emergencies and natural disasters worldwide.
What Emergency Managers Do
Emergency managers are people who create plans that assist people, neighborhoods and even countries anticipate disasters and cope with them. They don’t work to avert the emergency in itself, but deal with how to manage and coordinate services to make people less vulnerable to the disaster and to its aftermath. Although there are now degree programs for emergency management, people historically “stumbled” into the profession from other careers such as engineering and medicine.
An real world example of what emergency managers do can be found in the Emergency Management Magazine’s article on Seattle’s older buildings and how they might respond during an earthquake. The article discusses the issues that such a disaster might bring and proposes advocacy for legislation that would address the problems old structures present to public safety. Besides the general problem of building codes and emergency response, the emergency managers quoted in the article also evaluate some possible solutions for the actual buildings involved.
What is the IAEM
The International Association of Emergency Managers was founded in 1952 as the U.S. Civil Defense Council. In 1985 it became the National Coordinating Council of Emergency Managers. In 1997 the organization changed its name to the current title. It has 9,000 members from around the globe. The group is governed through local representatives and has the set goals of representing professional emergency managers and promoting the Principles of Emergency Management which state:
- Emergency management must be comprehensive
- It must be progressive
- It should be risk-driven
- Emergency management must be integrated
- It must be collaborative
- Emergency management should be coordinated
- It should be flexible and professional
The organization sets standards for professional development and seeks to educate managers and the general public. To that end, it maintains a social media presence in an informative Facebook page and LinkedIn, as well as other sites. It even has a scholarship program. In accordance with the association, FEMA is developing a certification program for emergency manager professionals. Groups included in the association include, but aren’t limited to, the Department of Homeland Security, FEMA, IAEM, EM, NFPA, EMAP and NEMA.
Partners With the Association
Nationally, the organization partners with the Geological Society of America, The National Hazard Mitigation Association, The National Disaster Medical System and others. It also has global partners such as the African Center for Disaster Studies, the Church World Service and Feed the Children. There are also affiliates that include universities and colleges that support emergency management education and promote the career to students. All of these entities have mutual goals and through research and experience further the role of emergency management worldwide.
With the plethora of organizations responding to emergencies around the globe, response management professionals are vital. As in any organization, however, there must be unity of thought in goals and in how to attain them. This is the role of the Internatio0nal Association of Emergency Managers.