 Minutes
of the Proceedings of: Friday,
December 16, 9:00-noon Boston Public
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Welcome The meeting started at 9:20, with BPL President Bernard Margolis welcoming everyone. He introduced the core members of CEMT: Arthur Beale, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; J. Michael Comeau, Massachusetts Archives; Steve Dalton, Boston College; Lori Foley, Northeast Document Conservation Center; Bernard Margolis, Boston Public Library; Gregor Trinkaus-Randall, Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners; and G. Fred Vanderschmidt, FEMA, Region I (not present at this meeting). Mr.
Margolis stated the intention of the meeting, which was to update
everyone about Alliance for Response (an effort sponsored by
Heritage Preservation to encourage collaboration and cooperation between
the emergency management and cultural resources communities), but
emphasized the need for involvement from audience members. He then
introduced the meeting's moderator, Arthur Beale. Mr. Beale has been the
“spark plug” to getting Boston cultural institutions involved in
Boston's emergency response community.
He is currently “at the table” at the Boston Emergency
Management Agency's Emergency Operations Center. “Disaster
Recovery: Working within a Government System” (PDF
File) Ms. Wolfe started her presentation by
saying that working in disaster recovery can be both a blessing and a
curse; she came to this profession kicking and screaming in Sept. 2003
after Hurricane Isabelle, when a storm surge flooded the Visitor Center
of the Jamestown unit of Colonial National Historical Park. Hurricane Isabelle:
Hurricane Ivan: Ivan made landfall on Sept. 16, 2004.
Since Isabelle, they had formed teams to respond; two teams were ready
to go, but only one needed to respond. At Ft. Pickens, the entire
collection building moved off of its foundation and turned over two or
three times. When the responders got there, they were weeks behind the
curve. Cultural resources were considered low priority. Lessons learned:
Surprises:
Hurricane Katrina: Making landfall on August 29, 2005,
Katrina was a multiple-event hurricane. It caused more damage than
anyone could have anticipated. It was unique because NPS responders
couldn’t get to the National Park sites; they couldn't even get close.
The closest they could get was Houston. There were no resources, not
even a place to camp. There
were no disaster recovery companies available because FEMA had co-opted
everybody. Interestingly, this was the first time
that cultural resources were included in the Incident Command System for
the response. Cultural resources were third on the list of what was
important to recover; there were still people missing. Finally, four
days after the hurricane
they were able to enter the New Orleans area from their base in Houston.
They were allowed in only with a law enforcement escort, and Ms. Wolfe
had to beg to go in to conduct an assessment. NPS didn’t have much
damage; they were lucky, but still had to choose what to take and what
to leave behind. Law enforcement agents removed them from the building
after 45 minutes. They were able to remove the most valuable materials
because they had the blueprints and knew where the collections were. Surprise lessons:
What do we have to learn?
The Heritage Emergency National Task
Force was founded because cultural resources protection needs more than
just one group; it calls for the formation of a community, like CEMT is
doing. Knowing CEMT is an all-volunteer effort makes it that much more
impressive. The Task Force was founded in 1995, and
is sponsored by Heritage Preservation and FEMA. It consists of forty
members, loosely aligned, because it too is a volunteer organization.
The Emergency Response and Salvage Wheel is their most famous product.
Heritage Preservation also prepared a report on the impact of 9/11 on
the nation's cultural resources, called “Cataclysm and Challenge.”
Cooperation has always been paramount, as has forming bonds across
disciplines. This is how they ended up creating the Alliance for
Response. Most of the disasters in museums, libraries, etc. are more
localized. Alliance for Response was funded by the Fidelity Foundation,
which began by sponsoring forums in: Boston, Cincinnati, Dallas, and New
York. CEMT is a “flagship” group that evolved from Alliance for
Response, and Boston is the only city with a seat at the city-level
emergency operations center. A cultural resource curriculum will be
introduced into the FEMA training for firemen, policemen, first
responders, etc. They will learn why cultural organizations are
“special” and perhaps more dangerous, with many collections
containing potentially toxic substances such as lead and asbestos. The government office of emergency services in California is funding four Alliance for Response forums there, and cultural institutions have already signed up to host meetings. It is hoped that other states will sign up to do the same. The Task Force, concerned about the response to Katrina and other hurricanes this year, has been facilitating communication between organizations and hosted conference calls. These calls have served to assess needs, identify resources, and remind people that it’s very important to communicate with people at the local level. “Before and After Disasters” was put on Heritage Preservation's website before it was published (http://www.heritagepreservation.org/PDFS/Disaster.pdf), and over 8,000 copies were downloaded in the days after Katrina. Issues with Katrina, 9/11, and other disasters:
Is this likely to happen again? The
answer is yes. Forecasters predict that the cycle of heightened
hurricane activity should last another ten years. Always say, “not if
but when.” We all know well that all sorts of “garden variety”
disasters happen. Heritage Health Index
“Protecting
our Commonwealth’s Cultural Heritage” (PDF File) In response to the question, have we
learned anything? – We are further along than many other parts of the
country. MEMA recognizes the importance of cultural resources and has been working with many of them for over a decade. MEMA:
On a day-to-day basis, MEMA has no assets, but when a disaster strikes, it owns all the assets and is responsible for those assets during a disaster. The Mass. Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan:
The Massachusetts Emergency Management Team:
State Inter-agency Hazard Mitigation Committee:
Key members have been the Massachusetts
Historical Commission and the Massachusetts Board of Library
Commissioners. Importance of disaster planning:
Elements of Emergency Management:
Emergency Response Procedures:
Incident Command System (ICS) provides:
MEMA offers a course in ICS. Disaster Planning Involves:
In a disaster situation, you want to
achieve COOP (Continuity of Operations) and COOG
(Continuity of Government). You need to tell employees how you'll
notify them and how and when to return to work. Support documents are
key: call lists, site maps, mutual agreements with vendors or
organizations. Emergency Management Assistance Compact
(EMAC) allows people to send assistance to other states. Your disaster plan should be practiced,
using tabletop exercises, and it should be distributed to all who need
it. Proper implementation of the plan means going through steps of
practice, update, etc. It should be a living document. Good
planning can be the key to your institution's survival. “CEMT
Initiatives and dPlan” (PDF File) At the Alliance for Response meeting in November 2003, the afternoon session was devoted to the discussion of 4 broad topics:
CEMT has been holding monthly meetings
since 2004, with the ultimate goal of improving mitigation, response,
and recovery efforts from both manmade and natural disasters that affect
cultural resources. Cultural heritage organizations and emergency
management agencies must work together in all areas of disaster
planning, and Ms. Foley invited everyone to join CEMT in creating a
model for the protection of Boston’s rich cultural heritage. CEMT’s initiatives are:
CEMT also
intends to create an inventory of all cultural resources in the greater
Boston area. CEMT also intends to create an inventory of all cultural resources in the greater Boston area.
To accomplish these goals, funding
sources will need to be identified and tapped. Ms. Foley
then described dPlan, a free, online disaster-planning tool
created by the Northeast Document Conservation Center and the
Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners with funding from the
Institute of Museum and Library Services and the National Center for
Preservation Technology and Training. dPlan takes the hassles out
of creating, maintaining, and updating an institutional disaster plan
with such features as:
The latest version of dPlan will
available to all Massachusetts institutions early next year.
As the Secretary of Public Records, Mr.
Cote oversees public records throughout the Commonwealth. Massachusetts
has a unique public records law. Many are available by request, and the
hope is to eventually have them available online. Access
to public records is a cornerstone of democracy and one of the essential
elements in understanding government and holding it accountable.
Security and long-term preservation of the Commonwealth's permanent
public records are primary functions of the Archives. As custodians of
the public trust, a comprehensive strategic approach to disaster
assessment and mitigation is an integral part of the Archives’
mission. Imagine trying to prove you own your own house if the Registry
of Deeds were gone. Since
first assuming office, Secretary Galvin has had a strong commitment to
statewide disaster preparedness and response. The inclusion of a
cultural component addresses a specific need long neglected in existing
emergency plans. As the custodian of the Commonwealth's public records
and head of the State Historical Commission, the Secretary recognizes
the State’s compelling interest in the formation of such a cultural
annex to emergency preparedness, realizes its benefits, and supports the
proactive efforts of the CEMT initiatives fully. To
benefit from our effort, all must participate, and all in attendance are
encouraged to join CEMT and commit to its efforts. “Moving Forward” Mr. Margolis wrapped up the forum by encouraging everyone to participate at some level in CEMT’s activities. He reviewed the activities on the sign-up sheet, and emphasized the need to get more people around the table if CEMT is to accomplish its ambitious goals. It’s not if a disaster will strike, it’s when. Only by working together can we protect Boston’s unique cultural resources from disaster.
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