September 28, 2006 InfoGram

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.

Suspicious Activities

The Emergency Management and Response - Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) learned from law enforcement sources about recent instances of individuals walking into buildings, activating the fire alarms, and then disappearing. On the few occasions where the incident was observed, witnesses indicated that the perpetrators appeared to be Middle Eastern males. Regardless of appearances, if the false alarms are terrorism related, the EMR-ISAC alleges that these individuals may be conducting surveillance operations. Emergency departments are reminded that responses to fire alarms can provide adversaries with information about numbers of responder personnel, apparatus, equipment, routes used, staging locations, tactics, occupant collection points, etc.

It is common knowledge that extremist Websites contain instructions to assemble home-made weapons of mass destruction (WMD). One particular Website has explicit directions on how to poison local water supply by adding ingredients through fire hydrants. Federal Bureau of Investigation and Environmental Protection Agency laboratories have analyzed these particular instructions and determined that the threat to a municipal water supply is negligible. Nevertheless, the EMR-ISAC encourages emergency departments and agencies to actively cooperate by monitoring hydrants for tampering. Fire and public works organizations should also be attentive for individuals expressing serious interest in fire hydrants, how hydrants work, and how water is distributed throughout the community.

Emergency Services Sector personnel who believe that false alarms or fire hydrant tampering in their jurisdiction may be suspicious should submit a report to local authorities as well as the National Infrastructure Coordinating Center (NICC) at 202-282-9201 (voice), 703-487-3570 (fax), E-Mail: nicc@dhs.gov.

What is Your Organization's Achilles' Heel?

According to Greek mythology, the bravest hero of the Trojan War (1200 B.C.) was Achilles. But the legend tells that Achilles met his demise because of a weak point or vulnerability in one heel. To this day, a weak point is occasionally called an "Achilles' heel."

The Emergency Management and Response - Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) appeals to Emergency Services Sector (ESS) departments and agencies to identify their internal Achilles' heel, which is that weakness or vulnerability having the potential to cause the failure of the ESS organization. Because of the indispensable services performed for community residents and property, ESS departments and agencies are a local critical infrastructure that must remain intact and operational 24 x 7 in an all-hazards environment. Preferably, failure is not an option.

So how do ESS leaders identify the weakness that may hasten the degradation or destruction of the organization? The answer is to conduct an effective vulnerability analysis that will thoroughly examine the people (i.e., responder personnel capabilities), physical assets (i.e., apparatus and equipment readiness), and communication/cyber systems (i.e., ability to communicate in all circumstances). The examiner must identify exactly who or what will not be able to sustain emergency operations during and after man-made and natural disasters.

The EMR-ISAC submits that the mitigation or elimination of an Achilles' heel within a first responder department cannot be accomplished without knowing who, what or where it is! Understandably, mitigating or eliminating a weak point is critically essential to guarantee the organization's survivability, continuity, and response-ability.

PREPnet: an ESS Resource

The Preparedness Network (PREPnet) is an Internet- and satellite-based distance learning system used by the U.S. Fire Administration to bring no-cost, interactive training programs into Emergency Services Sector (ESS) organizations nationwide.

The Emergency Management and Response - Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) reviewed PREPnet's offerings and services from a critical infrastructure protection (CIP) perspective and found many resources relevant to ESS CIP. By selecting from PREPnet's wide variety of topics, emergency organizations can choose programs they wish to view at times convenient for personnel. PREPnet programming is open and in the public domain so that any organizations with access to a C-band or Ku-band analog satellite dish or community cablevision can receive broadcasts and participate in the training sessions. Additionally, PREPnet DVDs are available at no charge to fire departments through the USFA Publications Center (301-447-1189). Other emergency organizations can borrow PREPnet DVD's from their state emergency management training office or FEMA regional office.

Among the topics that offer ESS personnel protection and life safety information are hazardous materials, terrorism preparedness and counterterrorism, secondary devices, weapons of mass destruction, wildland fire operations, and life safety initiatives training. Also offered is training on such topics as floods, sheltering in place, sandbagging, Medical Reserve Corps, and Community Emergency Response Team (CERT).

Emergency responders can subscribe to receive PREPnet scheduling and program information electronically, and view topics useful for their organizations and communities by visiting PREPnet on the USFA Website. The PREPnet staff can be contacted by organizations interested in a newly available PREPnet service: Web streaming. To reach the PREPnet offices, call 1-800-500-5164 or send electronic mail to PREPnet@fema.dhs.gov.

Performance-Based Wildland Fire Training

One of the first performance-based wildland fire training delivery packages recommended in a report to the U.S. Congress by the National Association of State Foresters will be broadcast over the National Preparedness Network (PREPnet) on 4 October 2006.

Wildland Fire Training for Rural Fire Departments, a one-hour program, will be broadcast at 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. EDT, and available to view via the Internet. It is one of a number of products of collaboration between the U.S. Fire Administration and the National Wildfire Coordinating Group. The two organizations are working on projects to provide structural firefighters (local, rural, and volunteer) with the competencies to work safely in wildland urban interface areas.

The 4 October program updates the Training Equivalency/Crosswalk project that identifies the knowledge and skills necessary for a structural firefighter's response to wildland incidents while meeting the National Fire Protection Association's Standards 1001 and 1021. The project considers the common ground between wildland and structural firefighting and what additional information is necessary to work in the wildland environment. The program will assist local, rural, and volunteer responders to assess their readiness to safely engage in wildland fire suppression. The completed "crosswalk" will be given to all states.

The Emergency Management and Response - Information Sharing and Analysis Center (ISAC) agrees that responders are the nation's first line of defense against wildfires and other hazards. However, as with all emergency responses, personnel, the most critical of organizational infrastructures, must be protected from injuries when performing duties. The upcoming PREPnet program addresses that concern.

To register for the Internet session and conduct a system test, visit http://www.prepnet10-4webcast.com before the broadcast date. The Web broadcast will be available to view at the link for 90 days.