Fall Energizes Alliance for Response Partners

HERA members rescue historical records from the Atlanta Daily World after the March 2008 tornado.

Alliance for Response Forums have been held in 12 cities around the country since 2003. The Forums, which bring together cultural heritage leaders and emergency responders, are the first step toward community partnerships and often lead to new networks and projects. Local Alliance for Response committees are sponsoring a variety of programs this fall and making ambitious plans for the future.

Philadelphia. The Philadelphia Alliance for Response group met in historic Philadelphia City Hall on September 19th, to review its first year of activities, plan future initiatives, and hear updates on a variety of ongoing projects. Thomas Mills, Assistant Archivist for Regional Records Services from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), discussed the agency’s national and regional disaster recovery efforts. He presented representatives of the Philadelphia Mayor’s Office with a plaque to recognize the support of the City—especially Commissioner of Records Joan Decker and Deputy Managing Director for Emergency Management MaryAnn Marrocolo—in developing the Philadelphia Alliance for Response initiative.

Other program highlights included a discussion of continuity of operations plans led by Michael Hajdak from the Federal Emergency Management Agency Region III, and an analysis of national response capabilities by Howard Lowell, NARA External Coordinator for Disaster Recovery and Response. MaryAnn Marrocolo brought the group up to date on the many links she is developing from the City’s Office of Emergency Management to the cultural heritage community including the Ready Philadelphia incident notification system, citywide evacuation plans, and Emergency Operations Center representation for cultural institutions.

Atlanta. The Heritage Emergency Response Alliance (HERA) held a meeting on September 30th at the Library and Information Center of Georgia Tech. A panel of speakers discussed working with FEMA after the tornado at Oakland Cemetery, lessons learned from a recent water emergency at Emory University’s Woodruff Library, contracting for commercial disaster recovery services, and tips for handling three-dimensional objects damaged by water.

Since its formation last year, HERA has held a tabletop exercise, organized supplies and volunteers to rescue historical records damaged by a tornado in March, and studied the effects of the tornado at the historic Oakland Cemetery. Plans are in the works to apply for funding to obtain shared disaster supplies. New members are always welcome. Contact Christine Wiseman for information.

Pittsburgh. The first follow-up meeting to the June 2008 Pittsburgh Alliance for Response Forum will feature a tabletop disaster planning exercise. The University of Pittsburgh will host the meeting on October 20th. In addition to the exercise, which can test even the best emergency plans, participants will discuss essential disaster supplies, the potential for a shared supply cache in the Pittsburgh area, and mutual aid agreements for disaster response.