-Written by David Whittier

I don’t know if I should be proud of this or not, but the first time I saw the acronym “RTFM” I had to Google it.  I’m pretty good with acronyms as a rule, but this one was completely new to me, and I had no idea what it meant.

RTFM: Read The F*&%^ Manual!

It’s usually used in the context of someone who posts a relatively simple question on line, one that would be easy to find out if the asker were to just dig into the books for a minute or two and look it up.  The implication is the asker is too lazy to take the time and figure something out for themselves.

It’s good advice for the Emergency Management world as well, although for a slightly different reason.  In this context, it means when you are starting an EOC activation or exercise, take a few minutes to re-familiarize yourself with your organization’s Emergency Response Plan and the details of your own role before you dive in to solve the problem of the emergency.

I think the issue here is that people get excited.  They get to the EOC, phones are ringing, people are talking, things are happening, and they want to get into it and get useful as soon as possible.  A good attitude, and I applaud it.  But it may have been many months since they last worked in an EOC, and who knows what they remember or maybe what has changed since the last time.

The Emergency Response Plans have been carefully put together and coordinated so that everyone knows what to do when the time comes.  Many EOCs have plasticized cards detailing the roles and responsibilities of each position, so that there are no gaps or overlaps in who does what.  The 10 or 15 minutes it takes to refresh your memory will pay of in spades once things start getting really busy.

Or better yet, if you can spare the time, review the plans regularly, before the emergency hits.  You never know when it will come in handy…