Disaster Tough Podcast

What is the best use of a firetruck? Dr. Frazier answers this question with host John Scardena, as they dive into disaster analytics and how the Great Pandemic of 2020 will shape emergency management for decades to come. We talk about climates, populations, and the need for the collaborative environment within emergency services. Dr. Tim Frazier’s GU bio includes the following: “Much of Dr. Frazie...

Kevin Coleman is an experienced Federal Response Official with years of experience and countless deployments to large-scale disasters. During the COVID-19 Federal Response, he worked on a joint agency taskforce to recommend and build federal capabilities around the county. This task force was responsible for testing over a million people by the beginning of the summer alone. As the program Liaison...

Using, "In the moment after actions," this episode addresses the numerous hazards and potential threats that we are currently facing. From President Trump testing positive for COVID-19, to massive wildfires burning across California, Oregon, and Washington, to hurricane recovery, to potential civil unrest, to schools reopening... we look at each sector and suggest course corrections. We also talk...

U.S. Air Force member, Jason Clapp lead a successful career in meteorology, as he began helping response operations, he found emergency management and now works in Yakima County as an emergency planner. His unique experience allows him to address natural disasters through the lens of weather science. He uses his data background to look for gaps that others are unable to see. We talk about the Wash...

This episode is like 5,000 candles blowing in the wind, of an earthquake. Amanda Siok is the, “Leslie Knope of Earthquakes” due to her passion and work on earthquake policy. She has spent her entire career in the Northwest, focusing on mitigating the some of the most catastrophic natural events on Earth. This earth shattering interview covers several key elements of earthquake, tsunami, and volcan...

Mike talks about his experience with 9/11. He was serving in the U.S. Army in Eastern Europe when it happened. He talked about that fateful day from his perspective and the lessons learned as he has responded to countless emergencies as part of the U.S military, as a firefighter and as a paramedic. He now leads emergency management operations for an organization in California and talks about the l...

By talking about disaster events from hurricanes, wildfires, and tornadoes to apply information to any disaster. We provide tips and reminders about preparing your home by reviewing emergency plans and equipment, we talked about the Doberman Family Emergency Plan that you can download from our website dobermanemg.com we talked about the rule of thumb with fires, safely evacuating, COOP plans, earl...

Having both deployed to Hurricane Harvey and leading the geospatial efforts for this record breaking event, John Scardena and James Dewer talk about their experiences responding to catastrophic disasters. Utilizing the anniversary of Hurricane Harvey to set the stage, we talk about Hurricane Laura, Super Storm Sandy, innovation in emergency management, and lessons learned for other emergency manag...

The future in emergency management is all about data. Interim Director Jayson Kratoville dives into numerous projects with ample examples of how emergency management and response will rely more and more on data to assist in the Disaster Life-Cycle. We talk about applying the data, the tools to access it and the differences between the emergency manager, general public, and politicians will react t...

From tactical level responses as a paramedic, to Deputy Director of Emergency Management for Forsyth County, GA. Ashley Lauria-Golden dives into her experiences applying tactical, operational, and strategic levels of emergency management throughout her highly successful career. Of the several experiences we discuss, Ashley and our host both attended the elite Georgetown Master's program in Emergen...

In this after action report (AAR) style episode, John Scardena walks emergency managers through hazard materials (HAZMAT) and chemical, biological, nuclear, radiological, and explosive (CBRNE) events. Using the Disaster Life-cycle and world events such as the Beirut Explosion, Hiroshima Bomb in World War 2, the Oklahoma City Bombing, Chernobyl Nuclear Incident, and Halifax Harbour Accident. We tal...

Hey everyone, thank you for supporting the Disaster Tough Podcast! We are over the moon that so many have tuned in and are supporting our show. This week we decided to cap of the month by explaining who Doberman Emergency Management is, what we do, and how we help our community. We also explain the the name behind our podcast.

Continuing our discussion, Patrick McGinn shares lessons learned from his time at The Salvation Army, talks about how and why people need to volunteer, even in a pandemic, and what his organization is doing to keep people safe. We also talked about how our host, John Scardena saved his life several years ago (but not really, it’s a hilarious story). We laugh a lot and talk Emergency and Disaster S...

Expert emergency manager, Patrick McGinn serves as the Regional Disaster Services Director at The Salvation Army for all of Northern California and Nevada. He talks about his response experiences and shares lessons learned on emergency training exercises. Patrick also served the elite National Incident Management Assistance Team (N-IMAT West) for FEMA with our host, John Scardena. Patrick is truly...

Emergency mangers must be training for a hurricane response in a pandemic environment. The Seven Community Lifelines will be impacted. Safety and Security, Food Water Shelter, Health and Medical, Energy, Communications, Transportation, and Hazardous Materials. We address general public situational awareness, and our role in deescalation.

Emergency management is a natural progression for many military vets. Will talks about his experiences with anti-terrorism CBRNE missions, the skills required to transfer into emergency management and his prestigious tactical firearm response training for law enforcement (police), military, and civilian members. If you are in the military and thinking about emergency and disaster services, this is...

L3Harris has almost 50,000 employees and does 18 billion dollars in revenue, annually. Nino DiCosmo joined the company as the President of Public Safety and Professional Communications at L3Harris nearly 4 years ago. He has ample experiences leading large teams and major contracts with the Department of Defense and First Responder agencies by providing technologies like our favorite radio app, BeO...

In this episode we talk with Mary Kent. A professor, public speaker, victim advocate responder, and intelligence asset to help identify human trafficking and provide disruption assistance. She talks about her experiences in the field and provides emergency managers the insights required to find, address, and help survivors of forced servitude and sexual exploitation.

We talk about the inaugural use of sUAS drones from the federal disaster perspective. Our Host, while serving on the National Strike Team developed the first tactical level team in response and provides numerous applications for this asset. While talking about providing situational awareness, John talks about civil unrest, George Flyod, and reform. This is the official statement of Doberman Emerge...

The episode highlights the major components of a hurricane, how to better communicate and understand the numerous complexities in with a hurricane response. Good luck this Season- it's likely going to be a busy one!

During this episode we talk about the Michigan Dam Failures. We talk about how to work with leadership or partners who don't want to spend the time or money to mitigate issues, a constant battle for emergency managers to climb, and we talk about how to create a proper emergency plan for Dams. Disclaimer: Our host, John Scardena, is from Ohio- he does his best to hold back feelings on the Buckeyes...

Mr. Rodney Melsek has served over 20 years as a Type 1 Planning Section Chief on the National Strike Team, planning for and responding to the most catastrophic disasters in modern U.S. history. Rodney's experience goes beyond the federal emergency response official experience, as he also served for 15 years in international humanitarian aid, including The Balkans, Asia, and Africa. Rodney's unique...

Part 2- Cam Starrett shares his experience as a Peace Corps Member in Panama. He talks about the people, his projects, the living conditions, and the lessons learned during his deployment. We dive into the details of the blog post he wrote for Doberman Emergency Management and the struggle to get back to the states while countries were shutting down due to the Coronavirus.

What drives someone towards service and what keeps you going when things become difficult? In this 2 part episode, Cameron Starrett shares his experiences with multiple volunteer based or organizations. We talk about disasters and lessons learned working in the US together, and his journey of volunteering over the past several years. Come listen to Part 1 The Humanitarian Life with Cam and I.

News broke that all deaths that could be related to the Coronavirus Pandemic, are considered a COVID19 Death. I explain why this isn’t bad, but actually really good for emergency response and research. I compare this collection to how to rise our confidence with flood impact numbers and how to avoid the infamous, “Brownie, you’re doing a heck of a job!”