Mayor Brown To Participate In National Disaster Conference

National Congress for Secure Communities Hosts Two-Day Forum; Names City of Buffalo Disaster Preparedness and Response Pilot Project

Mayor Byron W. Brown will travel to Washington, D.C. on Sunday, December 16th to participate in a two-day forum sponsored by the National Congress for Secure Communities, which is affiliated with the National Council of Readiness and Preparedness (NCORP).  NCORP was formed to help develop ways of multiplying the public sector crisis response capability by leveraging the assets of the private and community sectors.

The forum is designed to foster public/private partnerships for disaster preparedness and response at the local level.

The National Congress brings together leaders from the private and community sectors with top officials from the federal, state and local governments to develop the National Blueprint, a dynamic framework for disaster response based on input from private industry and local/state communities and government.  During the forum, National Congress participants will focus on ways to leverage private and community sector response capabilities to supplement the government’s response during the first 72 hours following a disaster, widely regarded the most critical hours of any emergency.

Mayor Brown will participate in a General Session Panel entitled First Steps to Community Preparedness. The session will be chaired by former U.S. Undersecretary for Homeland Security Asa Hutchinson and will also include former Wyoming Governor James Geringer and Emmy-award CNN journalist Frank Sesno, who will moderate the panel.  Also included in the session will be 12 individuals from across the country representing different community sectors (e.g., Public Safety & Information: Chief Robert Davis, San Jose, CA Police Department; Infrastructure & Economic: Nate Garvis, Vice President Government Affairs, Target Corporation) and 60 Subject Matter Experts, who will be called upon to answer specific crisis preparedness and response questions.

“The National Congress for Secure Communities presents an excellent opportunity to interact with a broad range of private, public and community experts on crisis-related issues that could affect any community in any section of the country,” said Mayor Brown. “I am particularly pleased to participate with such talented and experienced individuals and share the experience of the 2006 October Surprise Storm, which highlighted the City of Buffalo’s ability to respond to a natural crisis. I am also looking forward to Buffalo’s designation by the Congress as a ReadyCommunity pilot project, which will enhance Buffalo’s disaster preparedness and response through the support and advice of national experts who are affiliated with the Congress and the National Council on Readiness and Preparedness.”

Formed on the recommendation by NCORP’s National Task Force, the ReadyCommunity Partnership is designed to strengthen community-level readiness during the first hours after disaster or attack. Delegates to the National Congress for Secure Communities will help determine which community preparedness and response challenges should be addressed first, then help develop templates for best practices, which might be used in the designated pilot programs.  Other communities included in the ReadyCommunity Partnership are: Charleston, SC, Galveston, TX, Oakland County, MI and Hamilton County, IN.