Course Syllabus

FES 4825: Disaster Planning and Control

Course Description

Course: FES4825 Disaster Planning and Control

Credit Hours: 3 Credit Hours Summer 2025 Online

Instructor:   Ronnie Gill

                      Email: rgill@ufl.edu

                      Phone:240-832-8832

OFFICE HOURS:    I can be contacted during normal business hours. I check emails regularly and should respond to any requests within 48 hours.

**Textbook Required: Disaster Planning and Control, (2009); 3rd edition William Kramer, PennWell Corp. http://www.pennwellbooks.com/diplandco.html (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.  ISBN: 1593701896

Ronnie Gill Jr. has over 30 years of public safety experience as the Director of the Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Management (OHS) for Prince George’s County, Maryland. Mr. Gill was previously employed with the District of Columbia Fire & Emergency Medical Services Department and retired as the Deputy Fire Chief of Special Operations and Homeland Security. Mr. Gill is responsible for the OHS vision and implementing the County’s homeland security and emergency management programs.  These programs include the planning, training, exercise, mitigation, cyber preparedness, critical infrastructure,  corrective action, community preparedness, and operations programs supporting the County’s over 35 departments and agencies, 8,000 employees, and 980,000 residents.

Mr. Gill is a United States Fire Administration’s National Fire Academy, Executive Fire Officer (EFO) Program graduate. He earned his Associate and Bachelor of Fire Science Degrees from the University of the District of Columbia and his Master of Science in Management from the Johns Hopkins University. In addition, he is pursuing a Doctor of Philosophy in Public Policy from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

Learning Objectives

COURSE DESCRIPTION:  This course examines concepts and principles of community risk assessment, planning, and response to fires, natural and human-caused disasters, including National Incident Management System, Incident Command Systems (NIMS/ICS), mutual aid and automatic response, training and preparedness, communications, civil disturbances, terrorist threats/incidents, hazardous materials planning, mass casualty incidents, earthquake preparedness, and disaster mitigation and recovery.

Prerequisite Knowledge and Skills: No prerequisites for the course are needed.

The student will be able to:

• Discuss the importance of disaster planning, preparation, and mitigation.
• Evaluate the hazard assessment processes and the firefighter's role in community disaster planning and recovery.
•  Assess hazard response and planning procedures.
•  Define the impact of hazard occurrence on community response.
•  Define the parameters and effectiveness of an Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) and its components.
•  Differentiate the multilevel agency responsibilities in disaster mitigation.
• Define the relationships between disaster planning, mitigation, and recovery.

Course Goals

1. The student will interpret and apply the terminology, concepts, methodologies, and theories in systems management.
2. The student expresses ideas in a convincing, organized, clear, coherent manner that is nearly error-free and uses a style and language appropriate to the emergency services and the analytic profession.
3. Submitted written assignments should include well-crafted paragraphs, a persuasive organizational structure (e.g., introduction, body, conclusion; or introduction, methods, results, discussion), well-supported claims, and appropriate and effective stylistic elements adhering to APA style 6th edition.
4. The student considers the issues from multiple perspectives, logically analyzes evidence from credible, relevant sources, and develops reasoned conclusions.

• Teaching Philosophy: I am looking for students to demonstrate a working knowledge of the subject. You must be creative when completing your assignments, but maintain a professional appearance. Your work should be completed so someone can pick up your document and understand your message. Your work should be supported with research and cited in APA format. 

USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)

Any use of machines that emulate human capabilities (ChatGPT, Stable Diffusion, DALLE, etc.) to perform assignments or other work in the course should be disclosed, as it can border on plagiarism. As long as this use is properly documented in the references, AI-generated information must include the prompt and the significant parts of the response. The use of generative AI tools is not permitted in this course for the following activities:

• Complete the group work that your group has assigned to you.
• Writing a draft of a writing assignment.
• Writing entire sentences, paragraphs, or papers to complete class assignments.

Instructional Methods: The course is designed for individual and group interactivity. It is important to post and respond to discussion questions in the course within the time frame allotted. This provides a learning environment by networking with other students in the course. The assignments are individual-based, allowing you to do various activities, in many cases, similar to what you will be doing as a leader in the emergency services profession.g

Course Policies

Attendance Policy: The course is designed in a module format. You should check the site at least once a week. You'll need to complete the assignments, including discussion questions, within the time period designated on the module. There will be meetings set up throughout the course. Requirements for class attendance and make-up exams, assignments, and other work in this course are consistent with university policies that can be found in the online catalog at: https://catalog.ufl.edu/ugrad/currentregulations/info/attendance.aspx.

• Assignments & Discussions:  All assignments and discussions have a due date. Please check the dates and times they are due in each module. All due dates are set to provide consistency with the discussions and assignment submission. Each module will be opened early so you have time to read the material, formulate and answer discussions, and finish and submit the assignment. Each conversation and assignment will be closed one week after the due date.
• Final Project: This course has a final project. There are no exams or quizzes. The final project will cover all the material learned and discussed throughout the course.
• Make-up Policy: If you need audio/mic at least to complete an assignment due to technology, notify me as soon as possible.
• Course Technology: Class meetings require a web camera and mic/audio. If you are not able to use a web camera, you will need to provide audio/mic at least. You can also call in on the phone. 

Canvas Information & Technology

Class meetings may require a web camera and mic/audio. If you cannot use a web camera, you will need to provide audio/mic at least; you can also call in on a phone. Otherwise, discussions and assignments will be web-based, and submissions will occur electronically. If technology help is required, please contact the UF Help Desk at:

• Learning-support@ufl.edu
• (352) 392-HELP - select option 2
• https://lss.at.ufl.edu/help.shtml

Any requests for make-ups due to technical issues MUST be accompanied by the ticket number received from LSS when the problem was reported. The ticket number will document the time and date of the problem. If you wish to request a make-up, you MUST e-mail your instructor within 24 hours of the technical difficulty.

Other resources are available athttp://www.distance.ufl.edu/getting-help for:

• Counseling and Wellness resources
• Disability resources
• Resources for handling student concerns and complaints
• Library Help Desk support

Should you have any complaints with your experience in this course, please visit http://www.distance.ufl.edu/student-complaints to submit a complaint.

UF online/internet privacy statement: http://privacy.ufl.edu/privacy-policies-and-procedures/onlineinternet-privacy-statement/​

UF Honor Code

UF students are bound by The Honor Pledge, which states, “We, the members of the University of Florida community, pledge to hold ourselves and our peers to the highest standards of honor and integrity by abiding by the Honor Code.  On all work submitted for credit by students at the University of Florida, the following pledge is either required or implied: “On my honor, I have neither given nor received unauthorized aid in doing this assignment.”

The Honor Code (http://www.dso.ufl.edu/sccr/process/student-conduct-honor-code) specifies a number of behaviors that violate this code and the possible sanctions.  Furthermore, you must report any condition that facilitates academic misconduct to appropriate personnel. If you have any questions or concerns, please consult with the instructor in this class.

UF Policies

University Policy on Accommodating Students with Disabilities: Students requesting accommodation for disabilities must first register with the Dean of Students' Office. Here is the link. 

The Dean of Students Office will provide documentation to the student, who must then provide this documentation to the instructor when requesting accommodation. Please submit this documentation before you submit assignments, take quizzes, or take exams. Accommodations are not retroactive; therefore, students should contact the office as soon as possible when they seek accommodations.

University Policy on Academic Conduct:

UF students are bound by The Honor Pledge, which states, “We, the University of Florida community members, pledge to hold ourselves and our peers to the highest standards of honesty and integrity by abiding by the Honor Code. On all work submitted for credit by students at the University of Florida, the following pledge is either required or implied: "On my honor, I have neither given nor received unauthorized aid in doing this assignment." 

Netiquette: Communication Courtesy: All class members are expected to follow the rules of common courtesy in all email messages, threaded discussions, and chats. 

Grading Scale

Grades

The grade is based on a point system. You divide the earned points by the total points available to determine your grade. A grading rubric for the final project is under the Resource tab of the course.

Late Assignments and Discussion Posts

Please note the close date on ALL assignments. There are no exceptions after this date, and you will receive a zero for that grade.

Assignments submitted 48 hours late will receive a 10% deduction in their grade.

Assignments over 48 hours but less than 14 days late will receive a 20% deduction in their grade.

See https://catalog.ufl.edu/ugrad/current/regulations/info/grades.aspx (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. regarding current UF grading policies.

Initial posts are due one week before the due date. You'll need to respond to two other students 24 hours before the due date to receive full credit. Discussions are like being in class, it should be a back-and-forth discussion. You will lose 1 point per day of being late with the initial post and 1 point per day for not responding to other students' posts. Please respond to any post that is replied to on your post.  Posting early allows other students to respond appropriately.

Please note that students with less than 75% of their work completed for the semester cannot earn an “I” contract. If you complete 75% of the work, you can propose an "I" contract to the instructor.

You'll need to keep your instructor informed whenever you get a chance. With proper notification and under extenuating circumstances, the instructor has the right to assist the student by extending the above time requirements.

Grading Scale: https://catalog.ufl.edu/ugrad/current/regulations/info/grades.aspx (Links to an external site.)

Evaluation process:

Students are expected to provide professional and respectful feedback on the quality of instruction in this course by completing course evaluations online via GatorEvals. Guidance on how to give feedback professionally and respectfully is available at https://gatorevals.aa.ufl.edu/students (Links to an external site.). Students will be notified when the evaluation period opens and can complete evaluations through the email they receive from GatorEvals, in their Canvas course menu under GatorEvals, or via https://ufl.bluera.com/ufl (Links to an external site.). Summaries of course evaluation results are available to students at https://gatorevals.aa.ufl.edu/public-results/ (Links to an external site.).

Please note: Students with less than 75% of their work completed for the semester cannot earn an “I” contract. If you complete 75% of the work, you can propose an "I" contract to the instructor. It is your responsibility to keep your instructor informed at all times. The instructor does have the right, under extenuating circumstances, with proper notification, to assist the student by extending the above time requirements. *Points will be deducted for all late assignments.

Information on current UF grading policies for assigning grade points:

To convert the final grade to credit hours, please refer to the link to the web page:  https://catalog.ufl.edu/ugrad/current/regulations/info/grades.aspx

Course Schedule

Evaluation Process

Students are expected to provide feedback on the quality of instruction in this course based on 10 criteria. These evaluations are conducted online at https://evaluations.ufl.edu. Evaluations are typically open during the last two or three weeks of the semester, but students will be given specific times when they are open.