Carlo Boccia

"Look at [Hurricane] Katrina. Think about what I'm saying-a need for leadership, single leadership, single command," said Boccia to HSPH students on September 20 in Kresge G-2. "I'm not saying that the commander doesn't have an appropriate staff from every entity and every agency that exist, but we have to invest in that one manager, that one supervisor, that one general, that one field commander who's going to call the shots."

Boccia's talk kicked off this year's Emergency Preparedness Speakers Series, sponsored by the Division of Public Health Practice. He was an inaugural member of the National Preparedness Leadership Academy, a University-wide training initiative established by HSPH and KSG. At the HSPH talk, Boccia was introduced by Leonard Marcus, co-director of the academy, who is studying the leadership response to Hurricane Katrina at the invitation of the Federal Emergency Management Association.

The federal government has developed the National Incident Management System (NIMS) to create a single, comprehensive system for incident management. The system seeks to standardize procedures in cases of domestic emergencies to make their handling more efficient. The system is great but for one flaw, asserted Boccia

"Who's the boss?" he asked. The system has not yet evolved to designate automatically who will be in charge of different kinds of situations. Boccia thinks that an expert on the subject at hand should be in charge, so a chemical spill would require the leadership skills of the fire department, while a spill of a biological agent might demand the expertise of a public health professional.

These roles can be assigned pre-disaster, he said, pointing to a system in the Boston region that has defined fairly well what agency, and often which person, would be in command of a particular kind of incident. The lead can shift to another agency, he noted, as an incident progresses from initial emergency to long-term management.

Assigning leadership before an emergency is relatively easy. What rears its ugly head after an incident is what Boccia referred to as the "p" word--politics.

To circumvent the predictable politicking, Boccia convenes a monthly meeting through the Mayor's Office of Homeland Security with city commissioners who represent key preparedness offices, such as the fire department, police department, city services, public health, and emergency medical services. The group shares their preparedness plans with each other and with the Mayor's Office so that they can better coordinate their responses to incidents. Referring to an adage, Boccia said that the first time responders exchange business cards should not be at the scene of an emergency.

He said that Boston presents an interesting perspective in terms of homeland security. While not a huge metropolis like New York or Washington, D.C., the city does present an array of classic terrorist targets, such as bridges and tunnels, as well as what Boccia called "psychological targets," such as the Freedom Trail.

Boccia has been working to merge the Metro Boston Office of Homeland Security with its Office of Emergency Management. He sees the merger as critical to an "all-hazards approach" to preparedness that can cope with manmade or natural disasters, a model that is being adopted by other cities. His office is also working on integrating voice, data, and video systems so that responders across the state can easily communicate with each other in emergencies.

His advice to the students was two-fold. They can best contribute to emergency preparedness by conducting research that identifies possible risks, such as avian flu, and then raising the public's awareness.

"There is a difference between scaring people and making them aware," said Boccia. "Sometimes, you have to give them bad news."