InfoGram

December 4, 2003

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. It has been prepared by NATEK Incorporated for the US Fire Administration. For further information please contact the U.S. Fire Administration's Critical Infrastructure Protection Information Center at (301) 447-1325 or email at usfacipc@dhs.gov.

Evacuation Planning and Preparedness

Emergency responders and emergency managers throughout the nation are occasionally requested to provide guidance regarding building evacuation planning and preparedness. Because buildings and their occupants can be critical infrastructures, the CIPIC collected some lessons-learned from evacuation drills that were observed by skyscraper-safety experts and reported to a National Commission created by Congress to study the matter. The following ten recommendations may help emergency responders and emergency managers whenever solicited for guidance or assistance with this subject:

• Ensure all job descriptions or occupancy contracts include participation in evacuation rehearsals and drills with provisions for required feedback.
• Conduct realistic evacuation drills at times when occupants (employees) must return inside to receive a debriefing and evaluation.
• Require participants to provide constructive criticism after each drill.
• Perform drills at least twice yearly to give occupants the opportunity to improve their response.
• Employ unpredictability into actual drills to eliminate advanced preparation by participants that skews outcomes.
• Precede drills with realistic rehearsals using different emergency scenarios that change the circumstances, escape routes, etc.
• Accurately assess the capacity of stairwells and the effects if people trip or fall during emergency evacuation.
• Attempt to limit rehearsals and drills to 30 minutes or less.
• Frequently test any public address systems to guarantee all occupants (employees) can hear emergency announcements.
• Designate a primary and alternate individual who will meet arriving first responders and provide comprehensive information about the building and its occupants (e.g., building plans, maps, directories, details about personnel, equipment, and materials, etc.).

Theft or Disappearance of Police Badges

The CIPIC learned that the theft or disappearance of police uniforms, badges, and gear during this year has law enforcement authorities worried that terrorists might use such items to gain access to the critical infrastructures and high-security areas of the country. "Hundreds of official identification cards, badges, decals, uniforms, and government license plates have been reported stolen or lost," said a recent state police bulletin. Last month, another police department reported that a box containing 50 new badge-sets was stolen. Additionally, security experts are concerned about the "worldwide proliferation of individuals or companies that traffic in high-quality imitations of emergency vehicles as well as uniforms."

Chief officers of emergency departments must be made aware of the above information in order to reconsider the threats to and vulnerabilities of their own critical infrastructures. Furthermore, the CIPIC suggests that first responders remain vigilant for police impersonators wearing incomplete or inappropriate uniforms and driving suspicious or copycat police vehicles. Caution is particularly recommended at incidents involving a large number of responders and critical assets. Finally, it is advisable for fire/EMS leaders to review and update their internal procedures pertaining to stolen or lost department property.

GIS for CIP

The application of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) has increasingly contributed to emergency management and critical infrastructure protection (CIP) in recent years. All-hazards GIS modeling using small portable computers to powerful desktop computers has significantly improved the understanding of hazards and the decision-making of numerous emergency managers. As an illustration of more powerful GIS hazard applications, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will imminently release their new HAZUS-MH (Hazards United States - Multi Hazards) Program.

HAZUS-MH is a nationally applicable standardized methodology and software program that will contain models for estimating potential losses from earthquakes, flood, and hurricanes. Loss estimates produced by HAZUS-MH will be based on current scientific and engineering knowledge of the effects of natural disasters. Estimating losses is essential to decision-making at all levels of government, providing a basis for developing mitigation plans and policies, emergency preparedness, and response and recovery planning. The estimations will also yield reliable data from which community leaders can responsibly decide where to invest scarce resources to protect critical infrastructures.

More information about the capabilities of this multi-hazard utility can be found on the FEMA website at: http://www.fema.gov/hazus/hz_meth.shtm.

Bioterrorism Detection Program

Last week the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Division unveiled details about the BioWatch Program currently operating in thirty-one metropolitan areas across the county to help detect a biological attack. It is a $60 million network that places air-monitoring sensors throughout major metropolitan areas. Highly sensitive and capable of detecting minimal quantities of targeted biological pathogens, the system plays a crucial role in reducing the public health consequences in the event of an attack.

The program has been operational in some of the nation's cities since early 2003. Air samples are collected daily and tested for biological pathogens. Over a half million analyses have already been performed. Led and funded by DHS, the BioWatch Program is operated in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Environmental Protection Agency, and state and local environmental, health, and homeland security agencies across the United States.

The CIPIC recommends that the senior leaders of emergency response organizations, particularly those of the emergency medical service, know about the presence of these monitors in their jurisdiction, and ascertain how and when they will be involved if there is a positive detection in one or more of the sensors.