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 effects of man-made and natural disasters are frequently prolonged and intensified by disruptions to local and regional critical infrastructures, such as those of the emergency services. Emergency Services Sector (ESS) departments and agencies provide vital lifeline assets and systems to protect, defend, and preserve societal functions essential to health, safety, and security in addition to economic well-being. The degradation or loss of first responder organizations in any catastrophe can potentially result in widespread disruption to patterns of civic and human activity.
The Emergency Management and Response-Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) confirmed that many analysts, planners, and decision makers nationwide understand the interconnectivity and interdependency of community critical infrastructures. Consequently, countless local governments adopted the position that "interdependency analysis" must be integrated into community prevention, protection, response, and recovery decisions. These municipalities have accepted that comprehensive emergency preparedness necessitates a systematic examination of each local critical infrastructure, including an assessment of the fragility resulting from the relationships among these infrastructures.
Recognizing the ESS dependency on the availability of other critical infrastructures (e.g., water, communications, transportation, electrical, and fuel), the EMR-ISAC recommends ESS leaders become actively engaged in any community process to examine cross-sector dependencies. Citizens and response personnel will immensely benefit from senior leaders who plan and prepare for continuous operations with and without support from other critical infrastructures such as those discussed below, which are typically experienced during and after a major disaster:
Heart attacks continue to be the most common cause of Line-of-Duty Deaths (LODDs) among members of the Emergency Services Sector (ESS) each year. The Emergency Management and Response-Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) examined a report released this week by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) that concludes measures by responders, and responder organizations and agencies can preserve personnel, the most critical of ESS infrastructures.
Multiple physical, physiological, and environmental stressors unique to emergency operations increase responders' odds of suffering sudden cardiac death. The new report, NIOSH Alert: Preventing Fire Fighter Fatalities Due to Heart Attacks and Other Sudden Cardiovascular Events, incorporates findings from 131 NIOSH investigations into sudden cardiac-related deaths in firefighters, an extensive review of scientific, professional, and medical literature, and reviews from 12 outside experts in the fire service and the occupational health communities.
The report states that ESS members "with medical conditions presenting a risk for sudden incapacitation pose a hazard to themselves, their co-workers, and civilians." However, medical evaluations can diagnose these conditions. While "the fire service recommends medical evaluations and participation in comprehensive fitness and wellness programs to reduce the number of on-duty cardiovascular disease (CVD) fatalities," findings from the NIOSH Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program document an urgent need for ESS departments to implement member medical evaluation programs, and to follow published guidelines regarding medical return-to-work clearance.
A 2006 U.S. Fire Administration survey indicated that 76% of fire departments lack programs to maintain basic fitness and health. It found that "obvious barriers to implementing these programs are costs, job security issues, and (for volunteer fire departments) maintaining a critical number of members," and urged additional research to identify factors that can lower these barriers. The NIOSH Alert offers numerous detailed recommendations for ESS departments to reduce members' risk of heart attacks and other sudden coronary events. Some of the recommended measures include:
NIOSH is sending copies of the alert to fire service and allied organizations and to 35,000 fire departments across the country. More information on the firefighter fatality investigation and prevention program is available at the NIOSH Website or by telephoning 1-800-356-4674.
The Emergency Management and Response-Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) publicizes resources to enhance personnel protection and survival awareness as they become available. The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) recently re-designated its Chemical and Biological Defense Information Analysis Center (CBIAC), established in 1986, as the Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense Information Analysis Center (CBRNIAC). It now offers technical assistance on CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear) defense technology to the Emergency Services Sector (ESS) at no charge.
The CBRNIAC maintains an online, menu-driven bibliographic database that provides users remote access to more than 126,000 citations to documents across all CBRN Defense and Homeland Security (HLS) subject areas. More than 70,000 of the citations correspond to documents at the CBRNIAC, with the rest accessible through other DoD collections. CBRNIAC staff use the database, and access to analytical support, equipment and facilities, and technical area experts to answer technical inquiries submitted by DoD agencies, state and local governments, and first responder organizations.
ESS owners and operators can submit inquiries about chemical and physical properties of CBRN defense materials, chemical identification, counterterrorism, force protection, decontamination, survivability, domestic preparedness, smoke and obscurants, toxic industrial chemicals and materials, warning and identification, and many other topics. Inquiry responses that require fewer than four technical labor-hours are provided at no charge, and can be submitted at the CBRNIAC Website. To receive access to the CBRNIAC database, and receive a user name and password, complete a database access request form.
Last week, the Emergency Management and Response-Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) revealed the federal government's intent to award nearly $1 billion for Public Safety Interoperable Communications (PSIC) grants to Emergency Services Sector (ESS) organizations. Communications interoperability is a high priority for federal, state, and local jurisdictions.
Communications is a top-tier critical infrastructure that, if damaged or destroyed, paralyzes emergency operations. Communications equipment, services, and systems are complex and vary by jurisdiction. To assist responder organizations in better understanding the various systems, types of equipment, and planning needs, and to guide the conduct of tactical interoperable communications plan (TICP) exercises, the Department of Homeland Security's Lessons Learned Information Sharing (LLIS) website created two new communications resource pages.
The LLIS "Interoperable Communications" page is designed as a one-stop resource for interoperable communications guidance, research, and plans. Standards, language, strategic and tactical planning, best practices, and governance are some of the key areas addressed. The "Tactical Interoperable Communications Plan Exercises" resource page highlights lessons learned from the 2006 TICP exercises conducted in more than 76 metropolitan areas. After-action reports and original LLIS research examine topics such as communications protocols, incident command and its unified command component, and exercise design.
Considering the absolute criticality of the communications infrastructure, the complexity and variety of the systems and equipment, and the upcoming award of almost $1 billion in interoperability communications grants, the EMR-ISAC suggests the LLIS resource pages could benefit ESS leaders, owners, and operators as they write grant applications and render optimal procurement decisions. The information can be viewed at LLIS.gov. LLIS is a free and secure system open only to vetted emergency response providers and homeland security/defense officials.
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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