RaCERS Announces Fall Seminar Series: NYCEM Commish, Merrimack Valley Gas Explosions, FEMA Law to be Discussed

National Transportation Safety Board preliminary report

RaCERS is pleased to announce its Fall 2019 Seminar Series, focusing on emergency management. The series, part of our ongoing programming, brings a diverse mix of speakers to campus where they share information with students, faculty, and the emergency response community.

Our opening (October 15) talk is by New York City’s new Commissioner of Emergency Management, Deanne Criswell. Criswell, an experienced emergency manager, will discuss her background, impressions, and plans for NYC Emergency Management.

In November, Chief Michael Mansfield, of the Town of Andover, Massachusetts, will discuss his experience managing a series of explosions and fires resulting from overpressurization of natural gas mains in his and two other communities northwest of Boston. The event, in which some 80 structure fires and a wide area evacuation was ordered, came to be known as the Merrimack Valley Gas Explosions (see the National Transportation Safety Board’s Preliminary Report).

Our final event (December) features H. “Quin” Lucie, a staff Attorney for the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Lucie will present on the legal underpinnings that govern FEMA’s response to the disaster cycle.  Lucie has authored several articles on law of disasters in Homeland Security Affairs.

For details and to sign up for attending these events, please click here.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.