FPRA Volusia County Chapter

September 11, 2007

During the six-year anniversary of the tragic destruction of the World Trade Center twin towers in New York City, Brandon Haught, public information officer (PIO) for the Volusia County Sheriff's Office, recalled another tragedy that set the nation in mourning during a meeting with local public relations professionals at the Daytona Beach International Airport.

It was only by chance that Haught escaped the fate of the 168 who died in the bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City April 19, 1995. He worked in the building but was not there at 9 a.m., when a truck bomb destroyed one-third of the building and 10 other structures. He had returned from a few days of work related travel, and was given the morning off by a boss who was among the fatalities. After his house shook, his wife turned on the television.

"To sit there on a couch and see my office in that state... there are just no words to describe what I was feeling at that moment," he said.

	Lessons learned as a PIO from the Oklahoma City disaster Brandon Haught, 9-11-07 (Compiled from reports from various responding agencies and the media) 1) Family first. Tell victim's families first and tend to their needs for information. At first, the family assistance center was positioned near the media; and media were interviewing the family members on a rooftop overlooking the scene. 2) Avoid rumors. Report accurate information, backed up by credible sources. The media overheard conversations of a need for blood, doctors and nurses and reported it, causing a flood of donations to the strained hospitals. 3) Don't neglect local reporters. Avoid being star struck by national media that does not need the information as quickly as local. Advise public officials not to use the event to grandstand. 4) Train PIOs from all agencies to use the same terminology. Also, allow the media to attend disaster planning or training at the emergency operations center. 5) The public needs an accessible leader. One main person should represent all agencies to the public. Originally, several agencies were hosting their own media briefings. When the state's governor left the EOC and spoke at media conferences, communications improved. 6) Establish a staging area and credentialing for the media. According to the state highway patrol, media were posing as doctors to enter the area. Credentialed media were later positioned two blocks from the blast scene with a good vantage point.
Image of rescue workers gazing up at the Federal building, Oklahoma City, after April 19, 1995 bombing. Associated Press photo
At the time, Haught was public affairs non-commissioned officer for the U.S. Marine Corps. His desk was near the area that was reduced to a 35-foot-high pile of rubble. His children were not in the day care they sometimes used on the second floor. "I would have been there," Haught said. With phone lines down or clogged with calls, Haught had difficulty performing his first task of the morning, locating the many surviving members from his office and notifying their families they were all right. "I had their itineraries and their home numbers. I called the places they were going and it wasn't sinking in," Haught told the group of about 40 professionals from the Florida Public Relations Association Volusia County Chapter, Tuesday. "They didn't understand, this was not a drill; this was not a joke."

Next, he assisted the families seeking information, then the growing numbers of reporters who wanted to know numbers of fatalities and injuries. While the 2,000 media personnel pouring into town were setting up a "satellite city" of live-feed trucks two blocks from the blast origin, the first formal press conference was not held until 4 p.m. that day. A joint information center (JIC) between the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the state's Department of Civil Emergency Management was not in place until four days later. Oklahoma's governor could not be reached at first, as he was sent to a bunker-like emergency operations center. According to Haught, communications issues abounded.

"PIOs were doing great individual jobs," he said. "What was lacking was a coordinated effort."

The news was grim. The blast affected a 48-square-block area, causing some damage to 312 buildings. There were plenty of walking wounded, while rescue efforts were hindered by two more bomb scares, Haught said. Out of respect for the dead and the fragile crime scene, workers had to use buckets instead of bulldozers to slowly remove debris.

As a public information officer, the main lesson Haught took away from the experience was that victims' families come first, then local media. "You have to be thinking of family the whole time. You just can't neglect them," he said.

 

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FPRA Volusia/Flagler Chapter

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