Ann SanCartier, Firestorm Expert Council Member and Employee Crisis Planning Expert, discusses ways organizations can meet the needs of victims and families. Examples include having group debriefings, setting up a Family Assistance Center, and making emergency preparedness part of the company’s culture.(This article is part of a larger paper with contributions from Firestorm Principals and Expert Council Members) Firestorm© understands that “Every Crisis in a Human Crisis”.  For your employees, sympathetically (and empathetically) responding to a crisis event, while remaining in control of the situation, is extremely important.  It is equally important to thoroughly understand the short- and long-term emotional and physical impact a crisis event has directly on victims and their families, as well as indirectly on the uninjured members of the community. At the onset of a cris...

Ed Levy on the 2012 Global Alert Conference Firestorm Expert Council Member Ed Levy presented at the 2012 Global Alert Conference, recently, and gives us his thoughts on the event. Edward M. Levy is a seasoned and innovative, senior security executive with more than 29 years of experience leading people and complex organizations in the corporate and US Government sectors. Mr. Levy is the former Vice President, Global Head of Security for Thomson Reuters (NYSE/TSX: TRI), and he was the Director of Security for the Empire State Building. Read his full bio here. Ed will be presenting on the topic of Travel and Security at the Western NJ Chapter of ASIS International on November 9th. The 2012 Global Alert Conferencewas conducted at the Time Warner Center in New York City, hosted by Send Word Now.  Participants were represented by many corporate, government, and non-government organi...

Retired U.S. Army Officer the Latest Firestorm Franchisee MAY 17, 2011 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ROSWELL, Ga. – During a 20-plus year military career, Lt. Col. Oz Hill (U.S. Army, ret.) learned the necessity and value of preparedness. As the newest Firestorm® Franchise Principal, he will be using those lessons to help business consulting clients reach their peak preparedness levels.  Lt. Col. Hill has extensive experience in security management, emergency preparedness and response, and continuity of operations planning. He said the value of Firestorm’s intellectual capital was evident during his franchise research. “Two things resonated with me,’’ Hill said, “Firestorm’s extraordinary capacity to provide solutions tailored to meet the specific requirements of each client, as evidenced by its Online Resource Center of proprietary documents and materials; and the body of knowledge repr...