According to the National Weather Service (NWS), above-normal temperatures are forecasted across all of the Central Region of the United States (US) this summer. While extreme heat exposure is the leading cause of weather-related casualties in the US, these record-breaking temperatures also fuel increased wildfire risks across the country. To effectively mitigate these threats, it is important that individuals and communities know their potential risks and take the necessary safety measures to prepare for and respond to the impacts they may face.
Today, to recap Extreme Heat Awareness Month, we spoke with Hagerty’s Deputy Director of Preparedness, Carla Decina, and Senior Mitigation Manager, Scott Baldwin, to discuss their career paths, experiences, and personal summer safety tips.
1. Tell us about yourself and how your career path led you to Hagerty.
Carla Decina: Historically, I’ve looked at my career path into emergency management as fairly non-traditional; however, with how much the field has evolved in the past 10 years (e.g., COVID-19, more complex disasters, focus on mitigation), my path may be more common for “up and coming” professionals. Now the field tends to attract individuals with more diverse backgrounds (which is a good thing I might add!).
My interest in emergency management began when I was working for a refugee resettlement organization, managing a community economic development program and supporting refugee clients displaced and/or forced from their home. Learning more about how and why my clients came to the US led me to pursue an international master’s in public health, where I focused on the impact of disaster displacement on individuals, communities, and countries. After receiving my degree, I came back to the US and decided I wanted to apply my education and work experience to the field of emergency management. I applied to Hagerty, and the rest is history!
Scott Baldwin: I started in Emergency Management at the State of Colorado. During this time, I developed a passion for mitigation — its long-term benefits and forward-thinking approach resonated with me. Additionally, I began to develop a deep curiosity for better understanding the natural hazard risks and innovative approaches communities were adopting to reduce their risks. At the time, wildfires and floods were prevalent, and supporting communities before, during, and after major events made me realize the importance of providing accurate, timely, and actionable information to communities struggling to recover. After 10 years with the State of Colorado, I joined Hagerty in 2019. The Disaster Recovery Reform Act (DRRA) had recently been passed, and it became clear that the opportunities to assist communities throughout the country and mitigate their natural hazard risks would significantly increase as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) sought to place greater emphasis and resources within the Hazard Mitigation Assistance (HMA) program.
2. What do you find most rewarding about working in the field of emergency management?
Carla Decina: I enjoy working alongside our government clients and having the opportunity to embed in their operations. Understanding how they operate in the day-to-day allows us to be more effective in identifying critical issues and developing a comprehensive approach to address the root cause(s). This is where we can be the most impactful, and where our work can live on well beyond our time spent with the client.
Scott Baldwin: Supporting communities as they develop innovative projects to address their mitigation needs. Finding ways to overcome the inevitable obstacles and difficulties that come with tackling urgent and complex mitigation solutions resulting from the climate crisis keeps this job challenging and forces us all to be nimble and adaptive.
3. What are some ways communities can ensure they are empowered to respond to extreme heat and wildfire threats?
Carla Decina: Regarding wildfires and having worked for most of my career in California, I encourage communities and households to leverage their state’s available online planning and preparedness resources and guides. It’s no secret that successful response and recovery boils down to how well we’re prepared, particularly for those most vulnerable in our community. Maintaining adequate, defensible space around your home, creating a plan/checklist to evacuate your home quickly, putting together an emergency supply kit, installing apps to enable access to real-time wildfire updates, and knowing when to evacuate are all critical.
Scott Baldwin: As you can imagine, I have a strong preference and belief in the benefits of mitigation as a cornerstone to being empowered after a disaster event. I have personally worked with communities which have proactively addressed their risks, as well as those that haven’t, and I can state without exception that those who mitigate their greatest risks have profoundly more opportunities to recover and incorporate a positive vision for their future while they recover than those who do not. In the cases of those that did not mitigate, their options were profoundly constrained as they were reactive to the event and the post-disaster circumstances. Prioritizing mitigation allows communities to be less focused on the clean-up and rebuilding process, and instead focus on proactively rebuilding and developing in a thoughtful and calculated manner.
4. What personal safety measures do you take to mitigate the impacts of extreme heat?
Carla Decina: Apart from making sure my air conditioning is tested and works before the summer months arrive, I stay hydrated and take cool showers! Also, I remember to check on others, especially older adults in my family.
Scott Baldwin: We monitor the weather and plan our activities accordingly. If it is going to be hot, our family will take walks, and I will complete my yard activities in the morning or evening. I have young kids, so a pool day is always a welcome option (provided Dad doesn’t forget the water bottles, chips, and soda)!
5. If you could travel to one place you have never been, where would it be and why?
Carla Decina: Japan — their strong sense of culture and tradition combined with their desire for technological innovation has always fascinated me. Also, their food is great, and I’d love to catch a Japanese league baseball game.
Scott Baldwin: Patagonia; the thought of going to a truly remote place at one of the ends of the earth to enjoy and connect with a truly wild and untouched part of the world would be a very new experience.
Carla Decina is Hagerty’s Deputy Director of Preparedness with over a decade of experience supporting state and local governments as they prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters. At Hagerty, Carla plays a key leadership role, managing the firm’s work with several clients across the State of California and utilizing her diverse background and skill set to support a wide range of disaster operations.
Scott Baldwin is a Senior Mitigation Manager at Hagerty with 14 years of experience in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) pre- and post-disaster grant programs. Prior to Hagerty, Scott worked with the State of Colorado as the Deputy State Hazard Mitigation Officer (SHMO) where he administered various grant funding to support the mitigation and recovery efforts for wildfire and flood events.