DERT INFORMER

“Happy Holidays and a

Safe and Prosperous

New Year!”

In This Issue

Downtown Safety Patrol

Winter Safety

Dallas ALERT

Trauma Kit Initiative

Welcome Dallas Fire-Rescue

Chief, David Coatney

Training Links—Weather

Links—Helpful Hints—Other

Resources

2017 Public-Private Partner-

ship Symposium

Downtown Wanderland

Downtown Dallas, Inc. celebrated

another year of spectacular Down-

town events with the 2016 Down-

town Wanderland. In addition to the

Veteran’s Day Parade, the Dallas

Marathon, and other major events,

Downtown Wanderland featured

pop-up shopping, Santa sightings,

movies, live activities and events in

a festive holiday spirit.

Downtown Wanderland is a season-long, holiday event that encourages resi-

dents, businesses, and visitors to explore Downtown and enjoy decorations

as well as the special events. Weekends featured themes such as Evening

Wander Walks, family-friendly activities, local businesses, and gave shoppers

unique gift buying opportunities.

Downtown Wanderland partnered with DART and D-Link to provide easy and

safe transportation to visitors who might not want to try to find parking or add

to traffic congestion—or who may not be as familiar with Downtown.

These types of events are

vital to the quality of life and

economic prosperity of Down-

town Dallas. We look forward

to many more such opportuni-

ties in the New Year and in

the foreseeable future.

Downtown Dallas, Inc. JANUARY 2017

Downtown Safety Patrol We’ve all seen these officers patrolling Downtown on foot, bicycles, and Segways.

These dedicated professionals work with law enforcement to preserve quality of

life to the residents, workers, and visitors to Downtown. But do you know what all

they do?

Key Facts About Downtown Safety Patrol

The Downtown Safety Patrol (DSP) is a private security force with about 50 members working with and in support of Dallas Police.

DSP officers are on duty from 6:30 am to 11 pm Sunday—Thursday and until Midnight on Friday and Saturday.

DSP provides free escort service for anyone wanting or needing a security escort to and from work, hotels, restaurants, DART Rail, etc.

DSP responds immediately to engage ordinance violators and calls in Police Officers to issue trespass warnings or citations.

DSP provides information on personal protective measures to businesses and resident organizations on situational awareness, self-defense, and avoid-ing or diffusing threatening situations.

DSP officers complete a 3-week, extensive training program including work-shops with Dallas Police, DART Police, and the Crisis Intervention Team. They serve as additional eyes and ears to law enforcement and act as am-bassadors to anyone in Downtown.

To learn more about Downtown Safety Patrol or to request a Safety Patrol escort, visit www.downtowndalllas.com, email safetypatrol@downtowndallas.com, or call 214-741-1151.

Winter Safety

Texas weather is ever-changing.

Winter cold can strike at any time.

Be ready with these tips:

Stay indoors as much as possi-

ble.

Be careful with heaters or fire-

places to reduce fire risk.

If you have to be outdoors,

dress in layers to stay warm.

Watch for ice and walk careful-

ly.

Don’t leave kids or pets in the

car unattended.

Check on neighbors who are

older or have access or func-

tional needs.

Downtown Safety Patrol

Dallas ALERT

Do you have a way to get

information quickly if there’s

an emergency? Dallas OEM

has several ways for every-

one to receive notifications

in case of emergency.

DERT and OEM operate

systems to notify groups

within the CBD in case of

emergency. Check with your

facility managers and securi-

ty directors on how your

building sends out notifica-

tions.

Outdoor warning sirens are

a first line of information, to

tell those outside to get in-

doors. Traditional media, like

television and radio, is the

next line of defense, as are

wireless emergency alerts

(WEA) through cell phone

carriers. You can also regis-

ter to receive notifications by

cell phone, text, or email

through our Dallas ALERT

system.

Check the website:

www.DALLASALERT.com for more information on how

to receive warnings to your

mobile device or email. You

can also go by OEM’s web-

site:

www.DallasEmergency

Management.com for

more information .

Trauma Kit Initiative

The Office of Emergency Management, in partnership with Dallas Police and

Dallas Fire-Rescue, has taken a phased approach in increasing response capa-

bilities of traditional and non-traditional responders in mass shooting/mass

casualty events. The first phase equipped law enforcement with hemorrhage

control kits to assist fellow officers and communities served.

The second phase includes installing wall-mounted trauma kits in City facili-

ties such as City Hall, Dallas Police substations, Love Field, and other cultural

affairs facilities. Many of these kits are mounted next to existing AED devices.

Over time, we will equip additional facilities throughout the City of Dallas. We

hope to also include non-City facilities such as American Airlines Center and

area shopping malls like North Park Center in the future.

These kits allow non-medically trained personnel to use the contents by

providing easy to follow instructions within the kits themselves. We will also

be rolling out training to various points of contact that can then work with

others to use the kits should they be needed.

We unveiled the trauma kits to press and City of Dallas employees on Tues-

day, September 6, 2016, as part of National Preparedness Month. For more

information on the trauma kits, contact Bridgette Smith at

Bridgette.Smith@dallascityhall.com.

Trauma Kit Initiative

Greetings,

I have been asked to write a brief note introducing myself to the members of the Emergency Management Community of North Texas.

It has been an interesting and challenging first six months in my new role as the Dallas Fire-Rescue Fire Chief. I have been in the fire service for more than 30 years and have worked in two other departments prior to coming to Dallas. I served for more than 25 years in the San Antonio Fire Department (SAFD), retiring as the Assistant Fire Chief. During my tenure in San Antonio, I filled a number of roles and was exposed to a broad background of emergency ser-vice delivery. Like the majority of fire departments in the U.S., I promoted through the ranks, serving as a firefighter, paramedic, fire officer, and eventually chief officer in the SAFD. I served as the department’s Health and Safety Officer, Executive Officer of Emergency Medical Services, Special Operations Chief (USAR, Technical Rescue, Hazardous Materials, Wildland and Aircraft Rescue Fire Fighting), Chief of Training, and Chief of Fire Operations. I served my last year in San Antonio as the city’s Emergency Management Coordinator. After my service in San Antonio, I assumed the position of fire chief for the City of Round Rock, a mid-sized city of approximately 110,000 citizens located in central Texas. I served in this capacity for a little more than five years. The chal-lenges of working in a rapidly growing city were very informative and it provided a great environment to grow professionally and also provided in-depth exposure to all aspects of city government, which was something that I had not previously had in San Antonio.

Specific to the discipline of emergency management, I have been involved with grant management for more than 15 years and have had significant experience in management of an EOC floor. I remain engaged in emergency management through participation on various state-level committees and maintain a Certified Emergency Manager (CEM) certification through the International Association of Emergency Managers.

I took over as the fire chief for Dallas Fire-Rescue (DFR) on July 13th, the week following one of the most tragic days in the city’s history. It was a difficult week to watch the Dallas Police Department say goodbye to their fallen officers, but a privilege to see the city and community come together to honor the officers’ service and loss.

Since my arrival in Dallas, I have toured the different department bureaus and also visited several fire stations to sit down and meet the members of the department. During each of these meetings, I have enjoyed very direct and informative con-versations with the personnel of DFR. I have also been able to respond to a number of structure fires and medical calls with our crews, observing how we work and serve the community.

Moving forward, our department will internally focus on three key areas. These areas are:

Safety Training Customer Service

Safety will remain our top focus: The safety of our personnel and the safety of our citizens and visitors to our city should remain our highest priority. Training: Safety cannot be achieved without proper training. We will continue to focus on training everyone across the de-partment to be better prepared to manage any all-hazards event. Customer Service: Simply put, we wouldn’t have a job if it wasn’t for the citizens and visitors to our city. We will treat all people we come into contact with the same way you would treat the members of your own family—basically, follow the Golden Rule. Also, customer service is not simply about our external customers, it is also about our internal customers—i.e., our coworkers. Uniform or civilian, we are all part of one organization and should treat one another as partners and col-leagues.

Externally, we will work to maintain, improve, and establish relationships with partner agencies and other disciplines across the metroplex. We recognize that no singular agency can manage every event alone and developing and maintaining these relationships is as important as maintaining a safe and well-trained workforce.

Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to introduce myself and outline what the members of DFR are doing. We are here to help, please feel free to reach out to us.

Respectfully,

David Coatney

Welcome Dallas Fire-Rescue Chief, David Coatney

—Training Links—

http://www.preparingtexas.org

http://www.fema.gov

http://www.nctog.org/ep/training

—Weather Links—

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/fwd

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/fwd/radio.html

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/fwd/skywarn.html

—Other Resources—

http://www.knowhat2do.com

http://www.ready.gov/america/getakit

http://www.dallasalert.org

http://www.dallascert.com

http://www.domesticpreparedness.com

Training Links—Weather Links—Helpful Hints—Other Resources

—Helpful Hints—

Emergency supplies to keep handy:

Flashlights with extra batteries

First Aid kit

Food/water for employees and customers

to use during a period of unexpected

confinement at your business

Plastic to cover expensive equipment and

furnishings

Hard hats, gloves, and boots

NOAA weather radio with batteries

Communication plans

Subscribe to Downtown Dal-

las, Inc.’s newsletters and e-

blasts to stay up to date on

the latest Downtown news,

events, and openings!

www.downtowndallas.com

2017 Public-Private Partnership Symposium

Office of Emergency Management

1500 Marilla, Room L2AN

Dallas, TX 75201 Tel: 214.670.4275 Fax: 214.670.4677

oem@DallasCityHall.com

www.dallasalert.com

Planning is in full swing for this year’s Public-Private Partnership Symposium. More information will be coming

soon on this event. For vendor sponsorship or other information on how to be involved in the symposium, contact

Rhonda Simpson at rhonda.simpson@dallascityhall.com.