InfoGram

September 2, 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.

Emergency Services Hurricane Preparations

Hurricane Charley caused numerous deaths and substantial destruction in many counties and municipalities of Florida. At several locations, even the capabilities of first responders were degraded by the storm. And now, while recovery efforts still continue, Florida and neighboring states must prepare for another major hurricane (Frances) expected to arrive as soon as Friday, 3 September. This presents operational, logistical, and personal challenges that seem overwhelming, with many responders torn between relief activities and family preparations.

This is why many emergency departments located in states susceptible to hurricanes have implemented protective measures to ensure their uninterrupted response-ability during and immediately after these major storms. The EMR-ISAC assembled a collection of some time-efficient and cost restrained "best practices," which are listed as follows for consideration by emergency organizations occasionally affected by natural disasters:

• Revise department emergency plans to include methods to transport stranded department personnel to and from their stations when necessary.
• Ensure plans include all roads expected to flood during heavy rains, ways to avoid them, and methods to access emergencies along these roads.
• Update plans to address "last refuge," and "shutdown," as well as sudden storm change contingencies.
• Know how to access mass communication technologies to push or pull storm information.
• Examine the benefits of participation in the National Weather Service (NWS) Storm Ready Program.
• Look at incorporating geographical information systems (GIS) into the planning process.
• Prepare to reset generators that have failed because of the low air pressure commonly associated with hurricanes.
• Prepare to reset generators that have failed because of high winds causing the fan to spin faster than it was designed to rotate.
• Guarantee electricity for the gas pumps that provide fuel for emergency vehicles.
• Ensure electricity to acquire LPG for emergency generators and other essential uses.
• Move apparatus and equipment to safe, but accessible locations.
• Guarantee each station has sufficient food and supplies for at least 72 hours of continuous emergency operations.
• Remain alert for gas leaks, electrical system damage, downed or loose power lines, sewage and water line damage, etc.
• Remember terrorists may take advantage of the distraction cause by natural disasters.

More about Emergency Vehicles

Previous InfoGrams discussed the responsibility to prevent the unauthorized or illegal use of emergency vehicles considering the increased risk of theft, rental, or purchase by terrorists. This discussion was primarily for the benefit of emergency response department chief officers.

Growing concern about this threat also necessitates the awareness of local government leaders, emergency managers, and hospital emergency department staff because a large number of hospitals throughout the nation do not have their own ambulance services. Therefore, some communities and their hospitals occasionally receive patients transported by unfamiliar people and emergency vehicles. This fact is a real vulnerability unless all emergency room personnel are familiar with the various incoming emergency vehicles and their operators.

Where and when possible, the EMR-ISAC advises hospital emergency department staff to communicate with approaching ambulances and take steps to ensure its legitimacy before the vehicle actually arrives. These actions by hospitals will help to reduce the chance of becoming targets for terrorists.

No-Cost Terrorism Training

The National Emergency Response and Rescue Training Center (NERRTC), part of the Texas Engineering Extension Service (TEEX) located at Texas A&M, has delivered courses in weapons of mass destruction (WMD) to more than 50,000 emergency responders since 1998. The courses, which focus on domestic terrorism, were delivered to more than 3,000 local and state jurisdictions across the United States.

Two "no-fee" courses are offered: one is a three-day WMD threat and risk assessment course; the other is a two-day enhanced course on the same topic. After a jurisdiction has requested the training, its representative is asked to invite individuals to the course who work at the supervisory and managerial levels in law enforcement, emergency management, fire and emergency medical services, hazardous materials, public health, public works, government administration, and public safety communication. Private sector individuals may also be invited (e.g., security and safety managers at critical facilities within the jurisdiction).

According to an article in the August 2004 issue of Security Technology and Design, the courses introduce multidisciplinary group of attendees to the threat and risk assessment model. The model evaluates the sources of potential threats, the likelihood of WMD involvement, possible targets, the vulnerabilities of targets to potential threat elements, and the likely ability of the targets to prevent, resist, and ease the consequences of an incident. This training provides the basis for a jurisdiction-wide plan that encourages collaboration by all agencies.

To request the three-day course, jurisdiction representatives should contact Jim McClung at 1-800-423-8433, or, for the two-day course, Mike Dodd at the same telephone number.

Security Design Information

In response to the most recent warnings of planned terrorist acts, the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) posted the complete abstracts from its recent security design symposium on its website for viewing and download. Entitled "Safe Spaces: Designing for Security and Civic Values," the abstracts feature many of the nation's leading experts in security planning and design. Symposium organizers stated that the information is "incredibly useful in planning a community's security response." Local leaders who attended the event and reviewed the abstracts commented that the information must reach public officials, emergency managers, law enforcement professionals, developers, and other key community decision makers.

The ASLA Security Design Symposium Abstracts can be accessed at the following link: http://www.asla.org/safespaces/pdf/securitydesignabstractfinal.pdf.