InfoGram

InfoGram November 14, 2002

NOTE: This InfoGram will be distributed weekly to provide members of the emergency services sector with news and information concerning the protection of their critical information systems. For further information please contact the U.S. Fire Administration's Critical Infrastructure Protection Information Center at (301) 447-1325 or email at email at usfacipc@dhs.gov.

Nature Attacks Again

It is very likely that for the past 14 months terrorism preparedness has been foremost in the minds of many U.S. citizens. The seemingly endless stream of threat advisories and warnings regarding potential attacks perpetuates terrorism awareness for good reasons. Yet catastrophic events continue to occur that remind us of our vulnerabilities to attacks of a different sort.

American people, property, and infrastructures were again assaulted by nature during the weekend of 9 to 11 November. According to CBS News, heavy thunderstorms and approximately 88 tornadoes scoured through 13 states killing 35, injuring more than 200, and destroying over 1000 buildings. The National Weather Service said that this was the deadliest outbreak of tornadoes for any November in recorded history.

This recent storm damage reinforces the necessity to accept nature as a serious threat to the survivability, continuity of operations, and mission accomplishment of community critical infrastructures. The FEMA Preliminary Damage Assessment Teams are presently performing their investigations; therefore, the CIPIC is currently unaware of the degradation or destruction of critical infrastructures caused by last week's horrendous weather. Nevertheless, the fact remains that previous natural disasters have incapacitated critical infrastructures and key assets.

As states, counties, and municipalities pursue resources to protect their critical infrastructures and key assets from terrorism, the CIPIC recommends concurrent consideration of countermeasures for those localities susceptible to any type of severe weather activity (e.g., creating and enforcing standards for walls, wall-to-roof connections, building designs to resist wind gusts exceeding 140 mph, etc.). It is prudent and appropriate to apply critical infrastructure protection to prevent or mitigate the adverse effects of nature attacks in addition to terrorist attacks and HazMat accidents.

Citizen Corps for Infrastructure Protection

The National Crime Prevention Council sponsored research during the first half of this calendar year. The results, published in The Wirthlin Report, shed light on how significant a force terrorism is and how Americans view their individual roles in helping to make their communities safer. Additionally, the study suggests people have begun to recognize that changes are necessary in daily life. But it also indicates that too many Americans are still unsure of how they can help strengthen their community against terrorism. According to the researchers, it appears the general public feels incapable of making a difference on an individual basis.

When an emergency occurs, there is usually an immediate need for people to take care of themselves, their loved ones, and their co-workers before the trained first responders arrive on the scene. This reality supports the concept of the Citizen Corps, which was promoted by President Bush several months ago. The Citizen Corps provides ample opportunities to engage citizens in meaningful ways as part of the solution during any crisis. Moreover, community and neighborhood groups can enhance prevention, preparedness, and response capabilities if they know what they are expected to do to assist their civil authorities and emergency first responders.

As demonstrated by several communities throughout the United States, the process of developing and implementing a Citizen Corps begins with the creation of a Citizen Corps Advisory Committee (CCAC). This committee composed of approximately 12 key local government and civilian leaders generally serves to recruit volunteers and coordinate their training and functions. Specifically, the CCAC focuses energies in the areas of volunteer programs, support to emergency first responders, public information, and finance/grants.

The initiation of a Citizen Corps does not have to be excessively costly and time consuming. Indeed, once a local corps is created, it can apply to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for a federal grant to subsidize its training. With minimal training, these volunteers can report suspicious activities, apply basic first aid, suppress small fires, conduct personnel and traffic control, perform clerical work, etc. Furthermore, it is highly probable that a trained corps of dedicated citizens will contribute to the protection of community critical infrastructures and key assets, which is something municipalities cannot afford to ignore.

PSAPs: A Critical Infrastructure

Emergency responders are very familiar with Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs), which are also called 9-1-1 Call Centers. They know that these facilities take 9-1-1 calls from the area populace and manage initial incident coordination or actions. Occasionally, when it happens that the event is larger than responding units can handle, the PSAP temporarily becomes the orchestrator for acquiring, staging, and managing additional resources. PSAP operators are communications professionals who are trained to heighten the ability of response personnel to concentrate on their functional specialties.

In consideration of these and other PSAP capabilities, the CIPC suggests that community emergency response plans include exactly how first responders will capitalize on PSAP strengths in various scenarios. For example, the hazardous materials (HazMat) response plans might have PSAP personnel triaging the reporting callers, directing that someone take charge at the site to lead others to safety, supplying pertinent information to arriving first responders, calling for planned additional resources, staging follow-on units at safe distances, and alerting hospitals of arriving contaminated patients.

The capabilities discussed above substantiate that PSAPs are absolutely among the critical infrastructures of the national emergency services sector. Given this fact, it is essential that communities endeavor to protect the physical, telecommunications, and cyber assets (e.g., computer aided dispatch systems) of these indispensable entities. Outstanding protection measures are justified if only because PSAPs know how community assets are arrayed, are the first to know what is happening within their jurisdiction, and are the communications link that integrates all other disciplines together.

DoD and Community Preparedness

The Armed Forces Press Service reported that Department of Defense (DoD) health care professionals are preparing to respond to a terrorist attack using weapons of mass destruction (WMD). The deputy assistant secretary of defense for health affairs, Edward Wyatt, stated that DoD and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will begin coordination with state and local agencies engaged in terrorism response preparations.

Assistant Secretary Wyatt said that DoD and HHS have planned to commence "collaborative initiatives involving local training and exercising with state and local authorities to ensure all understand how to best integrate resources to address an emergency or contingency situation." He continued that it is a military function under the Federal Response Plan to quickly organize and move large military assets into areas in response to natural disasters and terrorist attacks. Military health care units would be among the assets made available if at all possible.

Local emergency preparedness planning will determine the help that the military, HHS, and other federal agencies deliver to community first responders when and where disaster strikes. According to Assistant Secretary Wyatt, "the challenge is to integrate what's happening at those local and state level activities into what might be potential support from the military health care system." In regards to emergency preparedness and crisis mitigation, "DoD health care professionals are well prepared and practiced. They can train with local fire departments, rescue response teams and others on how they respond to emergencies in local communities."