The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "Department of Emergency Management" ...
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Code 3
"Code 3" focused on ambulance delays in San Francisco and provided a rare glimpse inside an inherently complex and often secretive bureaucracy. The project began as a two-day series and continued with several follow-up reports. Paramedics and quality control experts say the city does not have enough ambulances and needs to hire more paramedics. A history of tensions between paramedics and firefighters, and a lack of coordination between the Fire Department, the Department of Emergency Management and the Public Health Department, continues to undercut the city's 911 medical responses and the quality of care. The city does not collect sufficient data on 911 responses to fully audit ambulance delays, examine particular treatments and learn from clinical mistakes
Tags: ambulances; emergency response; San Francisco; first responders; fire department; department of emergency management; public health department
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Code 3
"'Code 3,' a two-day series that focused on ambulance delays in San Francisco, provided a rare glimpse inside an inherently complex and often secretive bureaucracy." Findings included: 439 people died while waiting for the ambulance to arrive; in 27 percent of high-priority medical calls, first responders failed to meet the city's time standard; and the city's 911 call center was the weakest link.
Tags: Philip Meyer Award; ambulance; response time; 911; Fire Department; Department of Emergency Management; death; medicine;
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A Chief Under Fire
The story looks at "corruption and malfeasance at the federally-funded, volunteer fire department, the Boone County Fire Protection District." Specifically, the author reveals a misuse of "federal grant money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and public, taxpayer money for the purchase of an 8-foot bronze statue in front of the department's Columbia, Mo. headquarters.
Tags: fire department; misuse of funds; taxpayer money; corruption, Boone County Fire
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FEMA; A Legacy of Waste
The South Florida Sun-Sentinel "exposed waste in the Federal Emergency Management Agency's crisis counseling grants, meant to help people overcome disaster-related mental health problems." In Florida, the $23 million counseling program paid for "puppet shows, Hurricane Bingo and yoga on the beach." Only one fourth of the program supervisors were qualified. Also, the Sun-Sentinel found that "other states had used FEMA grants totaling more than $445 million on activities such as gardening workshops, martial arts classes and "Beat Stress with Crafts." As a result of these stories, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Inspector General and the state of Florida each launched an investigation, and a bill was introduced in Congress to "prohibit spending the grants on puppet shows and similar activities."
Tags: FEMA; Federal Emergency Management Agency; Department of Homeland Security's Inspector General; misuse of federal funds; disaster-related mental problems
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Stingy with Security Funds
Hartford Courant reporters examined what Connecticut towns were spending Homeland Security money on, and why some towns had spent nothing or very little. The story also includes findings from a database that showed how much money each of the 171 communities in the state got, and highlights what they bought with the money they got.
Tags: money; Homeland Security; September 11; Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security; DEMHS
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Lethal Lapses: New Findings show security failures helped courthouse shooter at every turn
This investigation was a follow-up to the March 11 shootings at the courthouse in Fulton County, GA in which Brian Nichols killed a judge, a reporter and a sheriff's deputy. The investigation found that long-standing problems in the Sheriff's Department set the stage for this tragedy; specifically, it cites "rampant absenteeism, conflicting allegiances, a disregard for physical fitness, ineffective management and poor emergency preparedness." The investigation shows how those long terms issues were present in the seemingly insignificant decisions made by sheriff's deputies on the day of the shooting that contributed to Nichols' success.
Tags: courthouse shooting; crime; state government; county government; police inadequacy; FOIA
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Cashing in on Disaster
This investigation started with the observation that many more Floridians were receiving disaster relief funds than were actually affected by the 2004 storms. The story went on to reveal that some relatively unaffected parts of Florida received even more aid than areas that took a direct hit. Residents of Miami-Dade County got more than $21 million, though the actual damage done there was equivalent to a bad thunderstorm. Reporters found that FEMA inspectors often received inadequate training. Results from the story include a state legislative investigation into the hurricane payments and even involvement from the federal Department of Homeland Security.
Tags: FOIA; hurricane; Federal Emergency Management Agency; FEMA; fraud; disaster relief; inspector; homeland security
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Anti-Terror Funds Buy Wide Array of Pet Projects
The Washington Post traced the path of the region's first wave of homeland security aid from its distribution through its final use, a trail that has been largely unexamined by federal regulators. The reporters found that much of the $324 million directed to the Washington region after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks remained unspent or was funding projects with questionable connections to homeland security. The analysis included a review of contracts, grant proposals, and purchasing databases. Results showed millions were spent on items such as leather jackets for police officers.
Tags: anti-terrorism; anti-terrorism funds; terrorism; homeland security; Prince George's County prosecutors; Congress; The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments; World Trade Center; Pentagon; Department of Homeland Security; Bethesda-Chevy Chase Fire Squad; Tom Ridge; District of Columbia Hospital Association; Psychiatric Institute of Washington; Kroll Government Services; bioterrorism; Prince William County; D.C. Department of Mental Health; D.C. Emergency Management Agency; anthrax; Montgomery County; Fairfax County; Federal Communications Commission
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Always Awash
In many Maryland counties, properties that get flooded are rebuilt often at the taxpayer's expense. FEMA is working on the repetitive flood losses. As this report reveals this rebuilding is mainly because the flood maps have not been updated recently.
Tags: Federal Emergency Management Agency; Hurricane Isabel; Maryland counties; National Flood Insurance; Maryland department of Environment
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Emergency
"San Francisco General Hospital was once a model for quality public health care. Now doctors and nurses who keep the hospital running warn that it's on the verge of collapse." Due to federal and state cuts, an increase in uninsured patients, lack of staff and "pressures brought on by managed care", the city's busiest hospital has began to downfall. Tali Woodward reports more on why the "Emergency Department is overburned."
Tags: hospitals; medicine; emergency; health care; doctors; clinics; insurance; funding