InfoGram

October 21, 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.

Formalizing Regional Coordination

As requested, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) reviewed coordination practices in various metropolitan areas to find regional programs with lessons-learned that could be applied in the National Capital Region and elsewhere. After recently completing this study, the GAO released a report on 15 September entitled "Homeland Security: Effective Regional Coordination Can Enhance Emergency Preparedness." To view the full product, including the scope and methodology, click on this link: www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-04-1009.

Although the GAO report focused primarily on urban areas, it acknowledged that "the threat of terror is regionwide, and resources for responding to that threat are distributed among many jurisdictions." While recognizing the complexity and significant challenges to multijurisdictional organization and preparation, the GAO, nevertheless, concluded that "the most effective responses are coordinated and planned across the region, rather than being jurisdiction-specific." The benefits of regional coordination are assured for emergency preparedness; however, the EMR-ISAC submits that there can be advantages for critical infrastructure protection (CIP) as well. Multijurisdictional efforts to protect local and regional critical infrastructures (i.e., personnel, physical assets, and communication/cyber systems) will enhance survivability, continuity of operations and mission success of participating communities and their first responders.

The GAO study disclosed that several factors characterize effective regional coordination:

• Regional organizations that include representation from many different jurisdictions and diverse stakeholders serve as structured forums for these parties to discuss public policy problems and agree on possible solutions.
• Where regional collaboration is encouraged by the leadership and political traditions of state, regional, and local entities, flexibility for regional organizations to establish their membership requirements and collaborative processes is important.
• Strategic plans developed by regional organizations can be effective tools to focus resources and efforts to address problems.

Firmly accepting the favorable outcomes of regional coordination, the EMR-ISAC encourages the emergency services leadership in all urban, suburban, and rural areas to consider and promote the formulation of a Regional Preparedness Planning Group (RPPG) and preparation of a Regional Emergency Operations Plan (REOP). An active RPPG and a quality REOP will substantially bolster emergency preparedness and CIP in the geographic regions where they exist.

Update: Vehicle-Borne Improvised Explosive Devices

Vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices (VBIEDs) are among the many threats that members of the Emergency Services Sector must consider in their vigilance, emergency planning, and response operations. Intelligence and international news sources report that terrorist organizations increasingly use VBIEDs to inflict mass casualties and extensive property damage. Moreover, terrorists learned that hitting multiple soft targets simultaneously with numerous VBIEDs is a methodology that works.

Although VBIEDs have already been employed in the United States (e.g. 1993, World Trade Center; and 1995, Oklahoma City), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has no specific information to corroborate that future attacks in America with VBIEDs are being planned. However, emergency managers and responders should be aware that counterterrorism experts expressed growing concern regarding terrorist use of one or more of the following tactics to gain access to national, state, or local sensitive areas containing critical infrastructures:

• Providing small arms to the driver and/or passengers of a VBIED.
• Disguising the vehicle transporting a VBIED as an official vehicle.
• Using a fixed or mobile assault team to precede the VBIED.
• Applying a breaching charge to open an entry point for the VBIED.
• Utilizing two VBIEDs working in tandem.

Contending with Endless Vigilance

Continued vigilance for terrorism during the last three years has adversely affected the physiological and psychological health of first responders at many locations throughout the country. According to articles found in The Washington Post and New York Times, an increasing number of emergency departments, particularly law enforcement organizations in metropolitan areas, communicate that their personnel are extremely fatigued and "stressed-out." Some police chiefs convey that "the heightened alert and the strain of working long hours with no end in sight are taking their toll."

The American Medical Association (AMA) and American Psychological Association (APA) have written that "the unresolved continuation of fatigue and stress will usually cause illness and decrease performance." Notwithstanding that long, stress-filled hours are a necessary reality for emergency response agencies often dealing with "mission creep," the AMA and APA strongly recommend active steps to mitigate the detrimental effects of prolonged vigilance. Both associations endorse individual and group implementation of specific activities to improve the physical and psychological hardiness of agency personnel: exercise, relaxation, social support, positive imagery, and optimism.

If serving the foremost of critical infrastructures-personnel-is the fundamental premise of leadership, then promoting their health and safety must be essential to taking care of personnel. Therefore, the EMR-ISAC proposes that helping subordinates contend with the perpetual state of readiness supports an invaluable internal critical infrastructure as well as the discipline of CIP.

Fire Service Emergency Vehicle Safety Initiative

The Fire Service Emergency Vehicle Safety Initiative is a partnership effort of the U.S. Fire Administration and the U.S. Department of Transportation. The intent of this project was to develop a comprehensive effort to change behavior and support the development of technology to mitigate emergency vehicle crashes and subsequent loss of the lives of firefighters, emergency medical personnel, and other emergency responders.

The report addresses, in detail, the recommendations developed from this initiative regarding Standards and Standardized Operating Procedures (SOPs), training, and technology that could be utilized to enhance emergency vehicle operations safety as well as the roadway safety operations of firefighters and other emergency responders. It also includes examples of "best practices" from several fire departments throughout the nation, which have developed innovative emergency vehicle safety mitigation techniques and technologies.

Limited quantities of this publication are now available, free of charge, by calling (800) 561-3356. It can also be downloaded at http://www.usfa.fema.gov, and clicking on publications. Requests for the report can also be faxed to (301) 447-1213.