May 19, 2005
NOTE: This InfoGram will be distributed weekly to provide members of the Emergency Services Sector with information concerning the protection of their critical infrastructures. 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.
The departments and agencies comprising the Emergency Services Sector continue to experience suspicious activities at increasing frequency. Impostors carrying falsified credentials have appeared throughout the United States attempting to gain entry into emergency facilities and access their sensitive information. In all cases the impersonators quickly flee when denied.
Recently, an emergency medical services (EMS) organization contacted local law enforcement to report suspicious electronic mail. The email requested that the rescue squad host the message sender for an internship to study and learn about American response and rescue operations. Using the information provided in the email, the FBI found that the individual matching that name, age, and place of origin had been refused entrance into the country, and is unwelcome based on his suspected affiliations.
Therefore, emergency organizations should be alert for and cautious about similar inquiries or activities. Those intending to harm our nation and its people will try very creative ways to exploit existing vulnerabilities for their terrorist plans and actions.
The EMR-ISAC again encourages emergency sector departments and agencies to report suspicious inquiries or activities to the National Infrastructure Coordination Center (NICC) in addition to local law enforcement. The NICC can be contacted by voice at 202-282-9201, email at nicc@dhs.gov, or by facsimile at 703-487-3570.
The earliest tropical storm that ever threatened Central America appeared on 17 May in the Pacific Ocean, followed by a National Hurricane Center (NHC) forecast that it may strengthen into a hurricane. This event serves as a "wake-up call" that the official 2005 Hurricane Season begins on 1 June, with NHC storm predictions which could equal or exceed last year's experience.
The EMR-ISAC learned about an unofficial survey indicating last year's hurricanes degraded the "response-ability" of several emergency departments in affected areas. Whereas some degree of incapacitation may be realistic in hurricane-prone states, there must be reasonable expectation that preparedness measures are ongoing to prevent the reduction of essential services caused by any storms occurring this year. Necessary preparatory activities inevitably present leaders and chief officers with major logistical, operational, and personnel challenges. Consequently, this ISAC recommends exclusive focus on those matters that will preserve the organization's survivability, continuity of operations, and mission success for hurricanes and all other hazards.
The departments and agencies of the Emergency Services Sector (ESS) nationwide strive for uninterrupted mission-essential task performance during and immediately after man-made and natural disasters. To support this constant struggle by ESS organizations susceptible to hurricanes, the EMR-ISAC summarized some time-efficient and resource-restrained "best practices" in the InfoGram seen at the following link: http://www.usfa.fema.gov/subjects/emr-isac/infograms/ig2004/igsep0204.shtm.
In coordination with numerous Federal Special Teams, the U.S. Coast Guard developed the Hazardous Materials Response Special Teams Capabilities and Contact Handbook for use as a reference job aid for Federal On Scene Coordinators and other federal, state, and local responders and planners. This handbook provides quick access to the capabilities of various special teams specifically related to oil, hazardous material, and weapons of mass destruction (WMD) response. It is not a policy document, but rather an informational guide for response and planning personnel.
The booklet allows responders to rapidly glance at each response component or category of technical expertise and ascertain which corresponding teams have the capability and resources to execute response activities. For planning purposes, additional narrative information is also provided to further describe the level of each team's capability in performing the necessary functions of response. The handbook of 196 pages can be downloaded from the following link: http://www.uscg.mil/HQ/G-M/2005SpecialTeamsHandbook.pdf (PDF, Adobe Acrobat (PDF) Help).
State, local, and tribal public health departments play an extremely important role in all-hazards emergency preparedness and response. Public health professionals within these departments should have immediate access to guidance and information that will assist them in rapidly establishing priorities and undertaking necessary actions during the response to an emergency or disaster. The National Center for Environmental Health, Division of Emergency and Environmental Health Services, Environmental Public Health Readiness Branch developed an all-hazards public health emergency response guide to address this need.
The Public Health Emergency Response Guide for State, Local, and Tribal Public Health Directors is an all-hazards reference tool for health professionals who are responsible for initiating the public health response during the first 24 hours of an emergency or disaster. It provides useful information on the activation and integration of a jurisdiction's public health system into the existing overall emergency response structure during the acute phase of an incident. It also contains guidance that may be unique to specific types of incidents, such as floods, earthquakes, and acts of terrorism.
The guide is not a substitute for emergency preparedness activities and is not intended to replace existing emergency operations plans, procedures, or guidelines within a jurisdiction's health department. It is consistent with the doctrine, concepts, principles, terminology, and organizational processes in the National Response Plan and National Incident Management System. This guide of 65 pages can be downloaded from the following link: http://www.bt.cdc.gov/planning/responseguide.asp
The U.S. Fire Administration/EMR-ISAC does not endorse the organizations sponsoring linked websites, and does not endorse the views they express or the products/services they offer.
This INFOGRAM may contain copyrighted material that was not specifically authorized by the copyright owner. EMR-ISAC personnel believe this constitutes "fair use" of copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use copyrighted material contained within this document for your own purposes that go beyond "fair use," you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
DHS and the FBI encourage recipients of this document to report information concerning suspicious or criminal activity to DHS and/or the FBI. The DHS National Operation Center (NOC) can be reached by telephone at 202-282-9685 or by email at NOC.Fusion@dhs.gov.
The FBI regional phone numbers can be found online at www.fbi.gov/contact/fo/fo.htm
For information affecting the private sector and critical infrastructure, contact the National Infrastructure Coordinating Center (NICC), a sub-element of the NOC. The NICC can be reached by telephone at 202-282-9201 or by email at NICC@dhs.gov.
When available, each report submitted should include the date, time, location, type of activity, number of people and type of equipment used for the activity, the name of the submitting company or organization, and a designated point of contact.
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