InfoGram 7-07: February 22, 2007

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.

Crisis Operations Software

The Emergency Management and Response-Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) comprehends that weaknesses in interagency crisis operations and response can take a serious toll on the personnel and physical critical infrastructure resources of the Emergency Services Sector (ESS). When researching these vulnerabilities, the EMR-ISAC learned of newly released crisis operations training.

The U.S. Army Research Institute (ARI) for the Behavioral and Social Sciences offers its recently developed "Red Cape: Crisis Action Planning and Execution" training software. It enables the Army National Guard and ESS organizations to participate in interagency crisis operations training.

ARI collaborated with the Indiana Army National Guard and its civil-military interagency partners to identify expert behaviors and create focused and theme-based training to improve performance in crisis action decision-making. The goal was to develop decision-makers who are agile and adaptive in complex situations such as natural disasters and acts of terrorism. Working with first responders, coordinating agencies, and supporting agencies, ARI and the Guard developed a list of nine expert crisis management themes. Then, interviews were conducted to construct 15 scenarios that include a combination of homeland security and national disasters, e.g., power grid shutdown, dirty bomb, industrial plant fire, etc., that require effective coordination among military and civilian agencies at the federal, state, and local levels.

The resulting training materials-animated multimedia scenarios that consist of FLASH®, audio, and text-are designed for group settings. After viewing a scenario presentation, participants independently describe how they would approach the situation. Afterwards, a facilitator leads a detailed group discussion of participants' various suggested approaches, paying extra attention to gaps and inconsistencies in knowledge, so that organizations have the opportunity to correct or update information before arriving at disaster scenes. Each scenario has expert solutions from the perspectives of the different organizations, allowing for process-oriented feedback to the respective stakeholders. A two-page Red Cape fact sheet (PDF, 148 Kb) can be viewed at the ARI Web Site.

Dr. Scott Shadrick of the U.S. Army Research Institute-Fort Knox suggests that ESS senior leaders contact their state National Guard Bureau or local Guard armory as a first step in setting up a Red Cape training session. The training materials are government owned and can be distributed to Army National Guard agencies by emailing Scott Shadrick.

In April 2007, ARI will continue its research to refine and expand existing Red Cape expert themes to make them applicable for national/multinational crisis response situations, to develop scenarios and themes for national/multinational crisis response situations, and to refine and improve existing technology to facilitate online, collaborative training with partners from diverse agencies and nations. Experts interested in volunteering for interviews should contact Dr. Shadrick at his above-listed electronic address.

Background Checks: An Overview

The Emergency Management and Response-Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) notes that the recent passage of a law to require background checks of Emergency Services Sector (ESS) personnel in a Northeastern state, is a reminder that hiring without background checks endangers all ESS critical infrastructure.

Background checks examine the character, general reputation, personal characteristics and overall ethical patterns of applicants. Checks can include a criminal history search, review of credit reports, and driving records, verification of employment history, education, professional references, professional licenses held and, in some industries, drug testing and fingerprint records. These examinations of applicants' past behavior assist in eliminating from the employee ranks people who could degrade, destroy, or steal equipment and communication/cyber critical infrastructure, and harm personnel or the public. Beyond protecting its infrastructure, background checks of potential employees help the ESS maintain its stature as a community trusted and respected by the public.

ESS organizations can be held liable for negligent hiring, selection and retention, making background checks a risk management tool. A review of research on the topic suggests that many organizations hire a third party to conduct investigations. The federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), which governs the acquisition and use of most background information on applicants and employees, provides limited legal immunity to employers that use background-check companies.

Some states have enacted legislation to regulate the background check process. The FCRA generally does not preempt state consumer reporting laws unless they are inconsistent with the federal law. Employers who elect to have background checks conducted must comply with requirements described under the FCRA, the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, and state laws. A free resource, available online from the research services company LexisNexis�, offers background check information about state and federal laws, sample background-check forms, overviews of liability and of the FCRA, and other relevant topics. It can be accessed at the LexisNexis® Website.

For a brief summary of background check information for ESS organizations, see: a two-page article in Employment Practices Update Vol. 4, No. 3 (PDF, 92 Kb), published by Volunteer Firemen's Insurance Services (VFIS®), and Employee Background Checks: Look before You Hire.

Latest Pandemic Planning Guidance

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released this month a guide to assist in planning for pandemics. These calamities can degrade infrastructure and adversely affect continuity of operations within the Emergency Services Sector (ESS), communities, and the nation's many other critical infrastructures.

The Emergency Management and Response-Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) notes that the new document, Interim Pre-pandemic Planning Guidance: Community Strategy for Pandemic Influenza Mitigation in the United States - Early Targeted Layered Use of Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions, focuses on several non-pharmaceutical measures (interventions other than vaccination and drug treatment) that might be useful during an influenza pandemic to reduce its harm. The ESS, communities, businesses, employers, individuals and families, schools, and other organizations will be asked to plan for the use of these interventions to help limit the spread of a pandemic, prevent disease and death, lessen the impact on the economy, and maintain continuity of operations. The interim guidance introduces a Pandemic Severity Index to characterize the severity of a pandemic, provides planning recommendations for specific interventions that communities and businesses may use for a given level of pandemic severity, and suggests when these measures should be started and how long they should be used.

To help coordinate planning, HHS and other federal agencies are holding pandemic planning summits with emergency management and response leaders, and public health personnel in each state. A chart, accessible at PandemicFlu.gov, links state names to pages with additional state pandemic preparedness information. Scheduled dates for upcoming state summits are listed. The page will be updated as summit plans are confirmed.

Considering the potential for a pandemic to cause severe personnel shortages that could degrade critical infrastructure operations and services, the EMR-ISAC suggests that senior ESS leaders consider arrangements for a representative to attend the summit to be held in their state.

Responder Rehab Newsletter

The Emergency Management and Response-Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) wrote last summer about the FireRehab.com website, operated by FireRescue1. The website stresses the vital role of rehabilitation in helping members of the Emergency Services Sector (ESS) to stay safe and healthy during the performance their duties. As the foremost critical infrastructure of emergency organizations, personnel need to be protected before, during, and after operations to avoid degradation and maintain response-ability. The FireRehab.com website offers clinical studies, training tools, suggestions, news, and reports on such topics as cyanide poisoning, carbon monoxide (CO), dehydration, and exhaustion.

Just launched is the inaugural issue of the FireRehab.com Communications eNewsletter. The issue includes articles on fire medicine, mental and emotional rehabilitation, and use of the Pulse CO-oximeter tool at emergency scenes.

The EMR-ISAC offers the eNewsletter registration link as another personnel health and safety resource for the ESS.