InfoGram

January 9, 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 infrastructures. 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.

Critical Infrastructure Protection Leadership

At least once before, the CIPIC has written that the critical infrastructure protection (CIP) discipline is senior officer business because it should be the responsibility of chief officers to make the tough decisions about what department assets really need protection by the application of scarce resources. As it is the case with so many other human endeavors, the essential lesson is that leadership will make the defining difference in the success or failure of critical infrastructure protection. Only by providing the crucial elements of leadership (i.e., purpose, direction, and motivation) can any chief officer succeed in the practice of infrastructure protection within his or her department.

Given that chief officers of emergency first responders are also community leaders, there are activities they can promote within their jurisdiction that may yield positive infrastructure protection results for their department. Citizen Corps Councils are a perfect example of this. These councils potentially bring together firefighters, police, emergency medical personnel, health care providers, emergency managers, elected officials, and local volunteers. Chief officer leadership can appropriately involve all these citizens in infrastructure protection, emergency preparedness, mitigation, response, crime prevention, and first aid.

Once a Citizen Corps Council is intact and operational, chief officer leadership can influence the development of a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Program. CERT cultivates a partnership among emergency managers, response agencies, and the people in the community that they serve. The goal is to train members of neighborhoods and workplaces in basic response skills. CERT members assist community infrastructure protection by applying basic response and organizational skills learned during CERT training. These skills bolster local infrastructure protection with Neighborhood Watch, Operation TIPS, and other programs. Moreover, their abilities can sustain lives until professional services arrive.

More information about Citizen Corps and CERT can be seen at the following website: http://www.citizencorps.gov/cert.html.

Citizen Disaster Preparedness

Senior emergency response leaders can help citizens to help themselves by publicizing the availability of a new publication for citizen disaster preparedness. Are You Ready? A Guide to Citizen Preparedness (FEMA Publication H-34) brings together facts on disaster survival techniques, disaster-specific information, and how to prepare for and respond to both natural and man-made disasters.

This publication, for example, provides a step-by-step outline on assembling a disaster supply kit, determining emergency plans for people with disabilities, locating and evacuating to a shelter, and even conducting contingency planning for family pets. Man-made threats from hazardous materials and terrorism are also discussed thoroughly. The guide additionally details opportunities for every citizen to become involved in safeguarding their neighbors and communities through Citizen Corps Councils and the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Program.

Are You Ready? is designed to help Americans take responsibility for their preparedness by deliberately developing a plan to protect families, homes, businesses, communities, and the nation. An online copy of this guide is available at the following URL: www.fema.gov/areyouready.

Emergency Preparedness for the Disabled

After the tragic events of 9/11, the National Organization on Disability (NOD) (www.nod.org) formed a task force of U.S. Government officials, disability community leaders, and disaster relief groups to identify the special needs of people with disabilities during emergencies and to recommend action. The group quickly recognized that more than 54 million men, women, and children are afflicted with physical, mental, and emotional disabilities that degrade their hearing, vision, thinking, and mobility. They also concluded that those with disabilities are especially vulnerable in all natural and man-made disasters. Resulting from the work of this task force, NOD recently released the Guide on the Special Needs of People with Disabilities.

This guide highlights key disability concerns of emergency first responders and community emergency managers. It assists first responders and emergency managers in developing plans for emergencies that include the safety and survival needs of the disabled. It is neither a comprehensive emergency preparedness document nor a special needs plan in itself. Rather, it is intended to summarize issues that are critical to the requirements of people with disabilities.

In this guide are steps that every first responder and emergency manager can consider in ensuring that the circumstances of people with disabilities are taken into account in all four phases of emergency management: mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery. NOD encourages every jurisdiction to develop and customize a plan for its own community in light of the area's specific hazards, its unique population including the disabled, and its available resources for emergencies.

Emergency professionals can request a free copy of the guide by sending electronic mail to epi@nod.org, or by facsimile to (202) 530-0727.

Norwalk Virus Threat

According to CBS News Online, medical experts in the United States and Canada are predicting that as many as 70 million people in North America could be infected by the Norwalk Virus this year. Some microbiologists suggest that this virus will surpass the flu in the number of infections.

Norwalk is a group of viruses that usually cause symptoms of gastroenteritis. It is typically a short-term ailment indicated by vomiting and diarrhea. The news service reported that numerous outbreaks across the country have already overburdened hospital emergency rooms and quarantine wards.

Since there are obvious risks to the health and performance of firefighters and emergency medical personnel, the CIPIC recommends awareness of this virus and its associated symptoms. As the illness has the potential to disrupt operations, it would be prudent for senior leaders to coordinate with medical authorities to learn methods to protect their personnel from the sickness.