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.
According to a survey of 117 top American terrorism and foreign policy specialists, 67 percent indicated the frequency of suicide attacks worldwide substantiate that suicide bombs strapped to people or hidden in cars are the likely weapons of choice for use in the United States as well as for insurgents in Iraq. Radiological weapons followed in second place with 20 percent. Chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons ranked much lower on the experts' threat list.
"Americans have never feared a suicide bombing the way the people of Amman and Jerusalem have," the survey said. "But the odds that America can elude the world's most popular form of terrorism may be fading fast." Those surveyed included academics, retired military officers, think tank analysts and former administration, Foreign Service, and intelligence officers. Organizers describe the survey as the first of an annual series to establish a "terrorism index." The survey, published online at www.ForeignPolicy.com, shows a wide gap on key issues between public perceptions and the views of experts.
The Emergency Management and Response-Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) finds meaning in this survey for the Emergency Services Sector (ESS). Although other national critical infrastructure sectors (e.g., energy, chemical, information technology, transportation) might be targeted before the ESS, the emergency services are especially vulnerable to secondary attacks. Therefore, the EMR-ISAC urges all ESS personnel to be particularly alert to suspicious individuals and vehicles when responding to any and all incidents. The protection of emergency responders (i.e., force protection) must be a leadership priority.
The Emergency Management and Response-Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) understands that senior leaders of the Emergency Services Sector (ESS) make many decisions regarding the critical assets of their organizations. An issue that confronts every ESS leader is the judicious purchase of department equipment, including what protects their most precious asset-personnel.
According to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), firefighters know that protective "turnout gear" can save their lives. Nevertheless, choosing the turnout gear system that best matches desired safety and performance can be complicated. To help purchasers design and acquire gear based on their individual needs for safety and performance, NIST researchers released a free software tool this month called "ToGS," which means Turnout Gear Selector.
ToGS users specify the relative importance or value their organization places on each of the gear's performance attributes. Based on default values established at a NIST-hosted meeting in 2005, all turnout gear systems are ranked according to how well they score. When the ToGS user changes the importance of an attribute, the ranking of the gear system also changes. Also available are underlying performance data for the 41 turnout coat systems. NIST asserts that the system helps prospective purchasers to both comprehend tradeoffs between performance attributes and how to take them into account when making decisions. Therefore, the EMR-ISAC suggests that the tool might help to enhance the protection of an organization's personnel and conserve scarce equipment dollars. The free ToGS can be downloaded at http://www2.bfrl.nist.gov/software/TOGS.
To determine its value to the Emergency Services Sector (ESS), the Emergency Management and Response-Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) reviewed what may be the first large-scale, national assessment of hospital integration into community emergency preparedness. The assessment from the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) found that the relationship between hospitals and critical response entities is "not adequately robust," and that national benchmarks are needed to measure and promote emergency preparedness planning.
The great majority of ESS leaders nationwide accept that pre-event planning and established relationships with community stakeholders (e.g., public works, transportation, communications, medical, etc.) are crucial to improving response operations and protecting sector critical infrastructures. The JCAHO agrees. It advises that hospitals and their personnel improve their coordination with responders and establish strong linkages for preparedness and response among community stakeholders in advance of incidents or disasters.
The assessment notes that unlike public sector organizations, local government authorities lack direct control over private health care assets and, consequently, have less leverage to promote participation. Yet a quality linkage to responders is a vital aspect of preparedness, especially when hospitals are full, emergency departments overcrowded, and failures of civil infrastructure occur.
This study ideally may prompt hospital personnel to reach out to the ESS for thorough coordination and synchronization supporting the common good of the community. Regardless, the EMR-ISAC recommends that ESS decision-makers should seize the initiative to integrate hospital leaders in all pre-event planning, training, and exercises, especially any opportunity to rehearse life-endangering events that require large-scale decontamination, isolation, etc.
"Integrating Hospitals into Community Emergency Preparedness Planning" can be viewed at http://annals.org/cgi/content/full/144/11/799.
When researching the relationship between the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) and the Emergency Services Sector (ESS), with the assistance of the U.S. Public Health Service, the Emergency Management and Response-Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) reviewed several matters of relevance to emergency medical services directors and emergency managers. Specifically, the SNS is a national repository of antibiotics, chemical antidotes, antitoxins, life-support medications, intravenous administration, airway maintenance supplies, and medical/surgical items. It is designed to supplement and re-supply state and local public health agencies in the event of a national emergency within the U.S. or its territories.
The SNS is organized for flexible response. The first line of support is the immediate response 12-hour Push Packages. These are caches of pharmaceuticals, antidotes, and medical supplies designed to provide rapid delivery of a broad spectrum of assets for an ill-defined threat in the early hours of an event. The Push Packages are strategically located in secure warehouses and ready for immediate deployment to a designated site. SNS Push Package assets will arrive at that site within 12 hours of the federal decision to deploy.
If an incident requires additional pharmaceuticals and/or medical supplies, follow-on Managed Inventory (MI) supplies will be shipped to arrive within 24 to 36 hours. MI can be tailored to provide pharmaceuticals, supplies, and/or products specific to the suspected or confirmed agent(s).
Planning to use the SNS is in alignment with Homeland Security Presidential Directive-8, the National Preparedness Goal, and is directly related to one of the top four National Priorities: "Strengthen Medical Surge and Mass Prophylaxis Capabilities." To support this, the CDC Public Health Emergency Preparedness Cooperative Agreement provides funding to 62 public health entities to strengthen emergency preparedness and response capacity at the state and local levels.
State/local agencies are responsible to develop and test plans to receive, stage, and store SNS assets, including dispensing medications in their local communities. In their planning, state and local governments must identify warehouse facilities to receive SNS assets and locate facilities to pass out medication or administer vaccinations, commonly known as "PODs." During a bioterrorism event or catastrophic public health emergency, these facilities and their staff become an indispensable component of local critical infrastructure.
An updated version (10.01) of the SNS planning document, "Receiving, Distributing, and Dispensing Strategic National Stockpile Assets: A Guide for Preparedness" was recently released. Copies can be obtained by contacting your state health department's public health preparedness program. Additional information on the SNS can be found at CDC's website: http://www.bt.cdc.gov/stockpile/
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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