In the past, I’ve talked about building a go bag for public information officers. The idea came from the FirePIO blog, and was supplemented by the great Mike Staley from CDC. Well, now I’ve got an update. I’ve got a brand new bag, as Mr. Brown would say.

Everything listed here is in addition to my more general preparedness stuff (e.g., whistle, blanket, flashlight, car kit, etc.) and is supposed to specifically support a public information emergency response. Not everything listed will be useful in every situation, but it works for me (consider a public health emergency vs. a conflagration or law enforcement response or corporate/PR crisis). I think, though, that the bones are there and this kit will enable you to grab and go into any JIC or war room ready to contribute.

The reason it’s taken me so long to follow up on that original post is because I’ve been struggling with storage. I wanted something that was compact, easy to grab, and could hold everything with a minimum of fuss. Thanks to a post at BoingBoing.net, I think I found something that works: the AmazonBasics Universal Travel Case. Just $15, and I got it within two days, it carries everything.

Here’s what I mean by everything:

• Flip-type video camera (Kodak Zi6) with 4 GB SD card (for four hours of continuous recording)
• Old digital camera with 4GB SD card (can hold hundreds of high-quality pictures)
• Virgin Mobile Mifi card (Converts Sprint 3G network into wifi for up to five devices; great deal when I bought it: $40/Month unlimited bandwidth with no contract. Pay $40 when you need it and you’ve got access for a month.)
• Two Rite-in-the-Rain notebooks
• Two Fisher space pens, slightly modified
• Griffin PowerBlock dual USB charger (can charge both my iPad and my iPhone at the same time, or the Mifi and the emergency iPhone battery at the same time, or any combination thereof)
• Magnetic Joby GorillaPod tripod (This can hold either the digital or the video camera and connects magnetically to anything metal—like hand rails, street sign poles, file cabinets, you name it. Great for setting up, hitting record and walking away.)
• Two USB to iPhone retractable cords (for charging iPad and iPhone)
• One USB to microUSB retractable cord (for charging Mifi)
• One USB to miniUSB retractable cord (for recharging iPhone battery)
• Two extra SD cards (2 GB each) in a case
• SD card iPad Camera Connection kit (for transferring photos and videos to the iPad for editing with Photogene iPad app and use)
• iPad VGA connector (for hooking up to projectors)
• Business cards and emergency responder ID
• Typed and laminated list of emergency phone numbers and email addresses (just in case)

And here’s how I have everything stored, by section:

Left pocket:

Top right pocket:

Bottom right pocket:

Behind right pockets:

And for size comparisons, here is the whole thing next to my iPad:

When combined with my iPad (which has image editing software, video editing software, document editing software, PDF editing software, email, internet access, social media accounts and all of my reference materials), I’m pretty sure I’m ready for just about anything.

Like I said above, not everything here is necessary for everyone, and there are things that you might need that I don’t (PIO armbands, for example). But hopefully this will give you a start on what you may need.