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.
Receive InfoGrams and Bulletins by Email
The Department of Homeland Security Disaster Management (DM) Transition Team will complete the conversion of email notification from DisasterHelp.gov to GovDelivery by Friday, 12 October. This means that individuals subscribed for Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) InfoGrams, Bulletins, and the CIP (For Official Use Only) Notices sent by the Emergency Management and Response – nformation Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) will begin receiving these documents from emr-isac@govdelivery.com, rather than from emr-isac@disasterhelp.gov.
Accessing the weekly InfoGrams and periodic CIP Bulletins will still occur by clicking a link within an electronic (email) message. All email accounts have been moved over automatically from DisasterHelp.gov to the GovDelivery notification system without any necessary action by EMR-ISAC CIP information subscribers.
Although the periodic CIP (FOUO) Notices will be delivered by GovDelivery, the documents will be stored on the DHSInteractive collaboration system. Therefore, the DM Transition Team has begun sending notifications to personnel validated and subscribed to receive the CIP (FOUO) Notices. Only personnel who have been frequently opening and reading these notices in the past year should receive a message from administrator@interactive.dhs.gov stating that they must log into the DHSInteractive portal at https://interactive.dhs.gov with a user name and password provided in the email. If you receive this message, please comply with the directions to ensure your uninterrupted receipt of the CIP (FOUO) Notices.
In the event you experience difficulty accessing the CIP information disseminated by the EMR-ISAC through the new delivery system, please send a message to emr-isac@fema.dhs.gov with sufficient details.
Research by the Emergency Management and Response – nformation Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) frequently identifies potential threats to and vulnerabilities of the Emergency Services Sector (ESS) and the communities they serve. This week the EMR-ISAC observed in a Homeland Security Daily Wire Report that there are approximately 409 biological laboratories in the United States approved by the federal government to work with organisms and poisons which can cause serious illness or death. According to reports obtained by the Associated Press, these labs experienced more than 100 accidents and missing shipments since 2003, with 36 accidents and lost shipments occurring during the first nine months of 2007.
In testimony last week before the House Energy and Water oversight subcommittee, the Government Accountability Office chief technologist stated that the growing number of U.S. biological laboratories has elevated the risk of deadly accidents. "More accidents are bound to happen as the number of laboratories increase and more researchers�with varying levels of experience�handle deadly agents." The technologist continued: "The more laboratories there are, the more opportunities for mistakes there are, the more opportunities for release."
Confronting the threat of a hazardous release from a biological lab will require close collaboration among local, state, and federal officials. The owners and operators of these facilities must be encouraged to cooperate with local authorities (including those of the emergency departments and agencies) to achieve safety and security reliability, environmental consciousness, and improved community relations.
Considering the risk of an accidental biological release, the EMR-ISAC recommends ESS organizations with biological labs within or adjacent to their jurisdiction to bolster community infrastructure protection as well as their own internal infrastructures. This can be accomplished�in part�through periodic visitation, communication, coordination, training, and exercises with the operators of the nearby biological lab. Additionally, a dependable and substantial mutual aid system should be developed for when an accident occurs that threatens the municipality.
Functional fire hydrants are essential to successful emergency operations, yet Emergency Services Sector (ESS) departments do not own this "community" critical infrastructure. At a recent incident noted by the Emergency Management and Response – nformation Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC), fire department members encountered hydrant after hydrant in the response area that produced only trickles of water. This discovery necessitated the laying of thousands of feet of hose to reach hydrants that had adequate pressure. In this city's case, aging, undersized water mains created the problem.
In addition to operational difficulties caused by the nation's aging infrastructure, the U.S. loses approximately 6 billion gallons of drinking water each day through leaks. According to a report in The Christian Science Monitor, "If you're in a situation for many years where water is plentiful, there's not a lot of incentive to maintain reservoirs and pipe. But then you get a drought and you find major leaks, and all of a sudden it becomes critical." Fortunately, first responders are well positioned to observe, and report, water leaks they observe while working in their communities.
While the ESS neither owns nor controls the water system infrastructure, the need for water to perform fire suppression and decontamination operations and to safeguard personnel at incident scenes is an example of a critical infrastructure interdependency. This interdependency reinforces the need for the leaders, owners, and operators of the ESS to work closely with their local utilities. Further, in hundreds of jurisdictions, emergency organizations are responsible for administering hydrant testing and inspection programs. Two examples of hydrant testing and inspection programs can be found here (PDF, 40 Kb) and here.
A joint program by the City of Euless, Texas, Fire Department and the city's Global Information System (GIS) staff uses existing GIS data and Global Positioning System (GPS) technology to locate and inventory hydrants, and track inspections and maintenance. The benefits to the department, emergency dispatching, and other city services are explained in the article, "Fire Hydrant Maintenance Using GPS and GIS." Information regarding hydrant software programs can be found at http://www.firehydrant.org/links/software.html.
The safe operation of emergency vehicles is vital to protecting the personnel and physical infrastructures of Emergency Services Sector (ESS) organizations. Accidents continue to be a leading cause of injury and death across the emergency services. While reviewing recruiting and retention strategies for volunteer organizations recently, the Emergency Management and Response – nformation Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) became aware that some are considering the practice of recruiting for "driver-only" positions, further increasing the need to screen and train members to operate vehicles safely.
In his article, "Ambulance Accidents: When Will We Wake Up?" author Steve Wirth suggests that all responder organizations strive to "put the right people behind the wheel in the first place." He recommends monitoring driver behavior closely, taking steps to change it when problems occur, and, if the problem behavior cannot be changed, removing the individual in question from the position of driver.
In addition to those suggestions, Wirth offers ESS leaders ten ideas, with accompanying explanations, as "food for thought" on the safe driving issue. They range from the low-to-no-cost proposals of screening drivers and setting a culture of safety, to relatively inexpensive strategies like electronic vehicle monitoring. View the full article here.
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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