InfoGram

September 23, 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.

Future Plan Revisions

The recent series of hurricanes that attacked the Eastern United States seriously tested the preparedness and response plans of hundreds of communities and their emergency responders. Although these natural disasters were responsible for the loss of many lives and millions of dollars in property damage, there were numerous response and recovery successes. However, the storms also exposed occasional flaws in state and local emergency plans and operations.

During and after each hurricane event, first response departments had to contend with traffic flow difficulties when evacuating people, washed-out roads and highways, damaged or destroyed bridges, finding adequate shelter, acquiring sufficient survival supplies, degraded communications, and much more. These challenges necessitated expeditious and innovative problem-solving on matters that sometimes were and were not addressed in existing plans.

When relief and recovery efforts have terminated, the EMR-ISAC encourages each municipality and the emergency department within affected jurisdictions to quickly record their lessons-learned. As soon as convenient, calculated efforts should commence to use these lessons for appropriate revisions to state and local emergency preparedness and response plans. Doing this will potentially improve the "response-ability" of first responders and provide greater protection for the community critical infrastructures during future man-made and natural disasters.

Flu Prevention Measures

A recently released study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealed that the number of people hospitalized in the United States because of influenza has climbed substantially over the past two decades. "The study demonstrates that the ailment is not trivial, and underscores the importance of prevention," said the lead CDC researcher. Another flu expert also stated: "The study is yet another clear, solid argument for people to get themselves vaccinated."

Severe cases of the flu can result in pneumonia, dehydration, and a worsening of other medical conditions. When the illness affects multiple personnel within one organization, it can likely diminish the ability of the organization to efficiently accomplish its missions. This is an unacceptable possibility for the nation's emergency response agencies, particularly the smaller volunteer departments. Therefore, the EMR-ISAC encourages the leaders of the Emergency Services Sector to again consider deliberate measures to acquire inoculations for all eligible first responders.

Last year a major metropolitan fire department exercised a little innovation to prepare for the flu season. It tested how quickly fire and emergency medical personnel could be vaccinated in the event of a bioterrorist attack by simulating its response to a smallpox outbreak. In reality, however, the eligible emergency workers received their annual flu shot. This action ensured that the department's "response-ability" would not be weakened by a local influenza outbreak.

Developing a Strong Cyber Defense

The EMR-ISAC reviewed the current cyber security best practices that should be relevant and applicable to the communication and cyber systems of the Emergency Services Sector. The following general recommendations were collected from various reputable cyber security sources:

• Perform a comprehensive systems inventory documenting the location and purpose for each piece of hardware.
• Assess the impact if the systems were rendered unavailable as a result of an attack by either people or nature.
• Protect the systems by identifying and implementing appropriate baseline security controls.
• Monitor the systems to ensure that the security controls remain active and new vulnerabilities are identified and immediately eliminated.
• Guarantee that all employees are informed and well-trained in systems security procedures.
• Establish a quarterly review process to measure the effectiveness of security controls.

Emergency Response Guidebook

The 2004 edition of the Emergency Response Guidebook (ERG2004) was developed jointly by the U.S. Department of Transportation, Transport Canada, and the Transportation Secretariat of Mexico for use by all emergency services personnel who respond to transportation incidents involving hazardous materials. It is primarily a guide to assist first responders in the following activities:

• Quickly identifying the specific or generic classification of the involved materials.
• Protecting themselves and the general public during the incident response phase.

The Department of Transportation's goal is to place one Emergency Response Guidebook in each emergency service vehicle nationwide through distribution to state and local public safety authorities. Nearly nine million copies have already been distributed without charge. Copies are available free of charge to emergency departments through each state's emergency coordinator. The guidebook can also be downloaded from the following link: http://hazmat.dot.gov/gydebook.htm.