InfoGram

June 10, 2004

NOTE: This InfoGram will be distributed weekly to provide members of the emergency management and response sector with information concerning the protection of their critical infrastructures. It has been prepared by NATEK Incorporated for the Emergency Preparedness and Response Directorate. For further information, contact the Emergency Management and Response - Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) at (301) 447-1325 or by email at emr-isac@fema.dhs.gov.

Eighteen Watch Out Situations

The 3 June InfoGram listed the Ten Standard Fire Orders because they are generally applicable to all firefighters, particularly those who may deploy in support of wildland fire suppression (http://www.usfa.fema.gov/subjects/emr-isac/infograms/ig2004/igjun0304.shtm). At the suggestion of the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) in Boise, Idaho, the EMR-ISAC additionally examined the Eighteen Watch Out Situations. When studying these eighteen situations to be avoided, the EMR-ISAC observed that they also apply to most fire situations. Therefore, to enhance the protection of firefighters and to eliminate the likelihood of wildfire fatalities, they are repeated as follows in the version approved by the National Wildfire Coordination Group in May 2002:

• Fire not scouted and sized up.
• In country not seen in daylight.
• Safety zones and escape routes not identified.
• Unfamiliar with weather and local factors influencing fire behavior.
• Uninformed on strategy, tactics, and hazards.
• Instructions and assignments not clear.
• No communication link between crewmembers and supervisors.
• Constructing line without safe anchor point.
• Building line downhill with fire with fire below.
• Attempting frontal assault on fire.
• Unburned fuel between you and the fire.
• Cannot see main fire, not in contact with anyone who can.
• On a hillside where rolling material can ignite fuel below.
• Weather gets hotter and drier.
• Wind increases and/or changes direction.
• Getting frequent spot fires across line.
• Terrain or fuels make escape to safety zones difficult.
• Feel like taking a nap near fireline.

Media Relations Promote CIP

Emergency response departments throughout the United States have had good and bad experiences with the members of voice and printed media. Many emergency departments have done well and some not so well with maximizing positive media coverage while simultaneously protecting their critical infrastructures. Believing that healthy relationships can promote critical infrastructure protection (CIP), the EMR-ISAC analyzed how a quality media relations program can make a difference in the protection of first responder personnel, physical assets, and communication systems. This analysis made it clear that professional preparation and cooperation between responder organizations and the media will prevent the disruption of duties, promote continuity of operations, and further advance the department image or reputation.

After studying several sources, such as the Introduction to Media Guide (seen at: http://www.nvfc.org/pdf/newtools.pdf), the EMR-ISAC offers the following summarized insights for consideration by Emergency Management and Response (EMR) Sector leaders:

ADVANCED PREPARATIONS

• Learn from the media coverage successes and failures of other response departments.
• Get to know local and regional media representatives.
• Establish and maintain a current contact list of these media representatives.
• Involve these representatives in major department activities, including the preparation of written procedures (SOPs) or guidelines (SOGs) for working with the media.
• Ensure SOPs or SOGs contain media permissions and prohibitions during emergencies.
• Train all responders and media personnel to use the department Public Information Officer (PIO) or the designated media liaison.
• Guarantee that the PIO or designated media liaison enforces the contents of the SOP or SOG, particularly regarding media presence at the scene and releasable information.
• Make every effort to create a successful environment in which the news reporters can work, without interfering with responder duties and operations.

DURING A MAJOR EMERGENCY

• Be proactive and if possible contact the media representatives (list) before or enroute to a significant incident.
• Assemble the media at an "information center" under the control of the PIO or media liaison, in safe view of the emergency, but away from operations.
• Provide an initial briefing to the media as soon as possible after arrival at the incident scene.
• Commit to providing situational updates and honor the commitment.
• Remain truthful and helpful, while always focusing on positive developments and avoiding negative or no information when possible.
• Deliver as much information as possible without jeopardizing operations security or compromising critical information useful to domestic and transnational terrorists.
• Accommodate the safe return by media to the incident scene for related stories after response operations have concluded.
• Always do your best to win the genuine support and cooperation of each media person.

More About Hazardous Materials

The EMR-ISAC has periodically encouraged CIP action by those municipalities and emergency departments with HazMat facilities in their jurisdiction. However, previous InfoGram articles during the past year have not addressed the hazardous materials moving through a community at various times of the day and night. Do municipal leaders (including first responder chief officers) acquire and maintain reliable information regarding the transportation and transmission systems (e.g., highways, railways, waterways, and pipelines) that carry HazMat in or near their jurisdiction? The EMR-ISAC proposes that a new flow study to capture this information is appropriate if one has not been completed in the last twelve months.

Many security specialists assert that a "significant amount" of information on these hazardous commodities should be collected and used to formulate a safety plan in the event of a spill or leak. They recommend the compilation of data including the identification of what HazMat cargo traverses business and population centers. The EMR-ISAC agrees that these findings should be carefully considered to develop a current hazardous materials response plan.

Ammonium Nitrate

Ammonium nitrate is one of the most common farm fertilizers used primarily in the production of pasture crops. The product is deadly if soaked in kerosene or diesel fuel. Law enforcement officials confirmed that the chemical was used in the 1995 Oklahoma City and 2002 Bali bombings, and in other terrorist attacks worldwide. Instructions for making ammonium nitrate-based bombs are available on the Internet. Yet, according to a recent article in the Omaha World-Herald, while other countries are placing restrictions on the sale of this chemical, the United States is not.

"Security of Chemicals in the Pesticide and Fertilizer Industries: A Primer for Retailers, Distributors, Wholesalers, and End-Users" outlines a program that promotes identification of critical assets, establishment of layers of protection, and the practice of deterrence, detection, and delay as key security principles. The eight-page document, which strongly encourages creating and maintaining relationships with emergency responders, can be viewed and downloaded at: http://www.tfi.org/AboutFertilizer/secure_agribusiness.pdf.

Assistant Vice President of Public Affairs for the Fertilizer Institute, Kathy Mathers, explained that the institute takes product security very seriously. "We are most interested in emergency responders having the tools to do their job in the safest manner possible," she said. Ms. Mathers emphasized that the guidance provided in the above-mentioned document advises the industry's members to foster relationships with emergency responders, one outcome of which is to help first responders better protect themselves.