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 Emergency Management and Response-Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) received a 17 April release, which provided the results of a survey conducted by the Center for Public Health Preparedness at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The survey found that 66 percent of public health workers felt they would put themselves at risk of infection if they were to report to work during a flu pandemic. Over 40 percent of public health employees surveyed said they are unlikely to report to work during a pandemic.
With similar projections, Bruce Gellin, National Vaccine Program Director at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, said that government offices and private businesses "should expect as much as 40 percent of its workforce to be out during a pandemic." He continued that some of these individuals will be sick, dead, suffering depression, caring for a loved one, or just staying home to prevent contracting or spreading the virus.
The EMR-ISAC suggests that the leadership of the Emergency Services Sector should seriously consider how the above survey results or projections apply to the personnel of their departments and agencies. What are the expectations regarding the numbers of emergency first responders who don't report for duty during an influenza pandemic? What is the potential for those small or large numbers to minimize response capabilities and degrade vital services to citizens?
Planning and preparedness actions for a future flu pandemic that address probable personnel shortages should appreciably assist operational continuity during and after any man-made or natural disaster. The Department of Homeland Security recommended website for more information about this subject is www.pandemicflu.gov.
The National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) recently released the results of its second annual survey of state homeland directors. The results of this survey reflect that public and private infrastructure coordination remains among the top priorities of homeland security leaders. According to the NGA Center, 80 percent of respondents are actively coordinating homeland security plans with infrastructures owned by public and private entities.
The Emergency Management and Response-Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) staunchly maintains that protection of the nation's critical infrastructures necessitates an excellent local public and private partnership for all-hazards planning and preparedness. These partnerships should respect and capitalize on the interdependent connections among community critical infrastructures. Understanding and acting upon these interdependencies will potentially reduce the cascading effect on all aspects of a municipality when a disaster strikes.
To create a seamless interoperable partnership for survivability and continuity, the EMR-ISAC recommends all community support organizations unite to plan and exercise protection, prevention, and response measures for all catastrophes. A new culture of interagency proactivity and teamwork must be established to ensure the outstanding synchronization of the strengths and weaknesses existing within each partner department and agency.
The Emergency Management and Response-Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) learned that the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is seeking candidates to attend a new course designed for law enforcement officers who perform safety inspections and daily roadside interactions with commercial trucks and buses. There will be three iterations of this 30-hour "train-the-trainer" course, each having 30 attendees, and each conducted at a different location of the United States.
Developed by the Counterterrorism Division of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC), TSA's Commercial Vehicle Counterterrorism Instructor Training Course has completed its pilot program. After final adjustments are made to the training materials, the course will be presented to attendees who, upon successful completion, will be empowered to deliver the curriculum to local law enforcement agencies. According to a TSA spokesperson, the training also will be appropriate for local and municipal officers who have only occasional contact with trucks.
FLETC, part of the Department of Homeland Security, conducts training for federal law enforcement officers and agents from more than 80 agencies. The collaboration of TSA and FLETC combines existing counterterrorism training instruction with roadside-specific methodologies to train officers in spotting suspicious driver behavior, identifying fraudulent documents, and searching techniques to locate suspected Weapons of Mass Destruction.
There is no charge for the course itself. Any other costs are borne by the agencies of selected candidates. Names can be submitted to the International Association of Chiefs of Police at http://www.iacp.org or 717-836-6767, the National Sheriffs' Association at http://www.sheriffs.org or 703-836-7827, or to the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance at http://cvsa.org or 202-775-1623.
The EMR-ISAC encourages law enforcement members to explore the varied training opportunities available within the FLETC Counterterrorism Division by visiting the website at http://www.fletc.gov. Most FLETC courses have content that assists the infrastructure protection efforts of emergency departments and agencies.
Members of the Emergency Services Sector can acquire at no cost the Chemical Companion, a software tool developed by the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI).
Designed to help first responders determine what chemical substances are present at an incident scene and understand the inherent risks to humans and the environment, the Chemical Companion operates on Windows CE-based personal digital assistants (PDAs). The software includes detailed information on 130 of the most common chemicals associated with HazMat incidents, with a minimum of 2000 additional chemicals to be added. A desktop version of the software is under development.
GTRI's software project was sponsored by the Technical Support Working Group, the U.S. national forum that identifies, prioritizes, and coordinates interagency and international research and development requirements for combating terrorism. Chemical Companion is intended to help responders make decisions about protective equipment, chemical reactivity, isolation and protective zones, and appropriate medical aid. At incidents where there are no shipping papers, signs, or containers as clues, unknown chemicals can be identified by entering details about a substance's odor, color, state, etc. Another option is to report medical symptoms displayed by victims.
By design, the system is easily updated and additional chemicals will continue to be added to it. A calculator to help determine "stay times" based on type of protective equipment being worn is included. The software's designers point out that being able to accurately project stay times saves lives and money (e.g., expensive, one-use-only suits), which are part of critical infrastructure protection according to the Emergency Management and Response-Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC).
The PDA version of Chemical Companion is scheduled to be available in July, and the desktop version in August. They will be available at the Technical Support Working Group's website (http://www.tswg.gov/tswg/home/home.htm) and at a site to be set up by GTRI for distribution. For additional information, contact project co-director Dr. Christina Baxter at christina.baxter@gtri.gatech.edu.
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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