InfoGram 20-08: May 29, 2008

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.

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Active Hurricane Season Possible

The 2008 Atlantic hurricane season officially starts on 1 June and may peak between late August and mid-October. According to specialists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, it will be an active period with 12 to 16 named storms of which 6 to 9 are expected to become actual hurricanes. The nation's premier climate agency also predicted that 2 to 5 hurricanes will be major ones of Category 3 or higher with winds above 110 miles per hour.

The Emergency Management and Response Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) recognizes that the United States made it through largely unscathed during the last two years despite predictions for active seasons. However, the EMR-ISAC remembers that 2004 and 2005 hurricanes seriously degraded the capabilities of several emergency departments and agencies in affected areas.

Whereas some degree of incapacitation may be realistic in hurricane-prone states, there must be reasonable expectation that preparedness measures are ongoing to prevent the reduction of essential services caused by any storms occurring this year. Necessary preparatory activities inevitably present the leaders of communities and their first responders with major operational, logistical, and personnel challenges. Therefore, the EMR-ISAC encourages exclusive focus on those matters that will preserve survivability, continuity, and "response-ability" for this year's hurricanes and all other hazards.

Emergency Services Sector (ESS) organizations nationwide strive for uninterrupted mission-essential task performance before, during, and after catastrophes. To support this constant struggle by ESS departments and agencies susceptible to hurricanes, the EMR-ISAC offers the following "best practices" for consideration by sector leaders:

• Revise emergency plans to include methods to transport stranded ESS personnel to and from their stations when necessary.
• Ensure plans include all roads expected to flood during heavy rains, ways to avoid them, and procedures to access emergencies along these roads.
• Update plans to address "last refuge," and "shutdown," as well as sudden storm change contingencies.
• Know how to access mass communication technologies to push or pull storm information.
• Examine the benefits of participation in the National Weather Service Storm Ready Program.
• Prepare to reset generators that have failed because of low air pressure and high winds commonly associated with hurricanes.
• Guarantee electricity for gas pumps that provide fuel for emergency vehicles and LPG for emergency generators.
• Move apparatus, vehicles, and equipment to safe, but accessible locations.
• Make sure each station has sufficient food and supplies for at least 72 hours of non-stop emergency operations.
• Remain alert for gas leaks, electrical system damage, downed or loose power lines, sewage and water line damage, etc.
• Remember terrorists or criminals may attempt to take advantage of the distraction caused by natural disasters.

For more information, visit the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)'s Hurricane Awareness Web page.

E-Plan Implementation for First Responders

Responding to incidents involving chemical hazards is especially dangerous to first responders because many do not have extensive hazardous materials training or readily available resources. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Emergency Services Sector’sector Specific Agency (ESS-SSA) informed the Emergency Management and Response Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) created E-Plan to help satisfy the need of emergency responders for immediate, actionable information about local chemical hazards.

Developed by the EPA, in collaboration with the University of Texas at Dallas, E-Plan is a means of collecting chemical facility reporting information and addressing Federal regulations regarding chemicals in the community. Its purpose is to encourage and support emergency planning efforts at the state and local levels and to provide the public and local governments with information concerning potential chemical hazards present in their communities.

E-Plan is a free access-restricted on-line database of chemicals and chemical facility information, with cross-references to vulnerable assets such as schools and hospitals. The database is fully searchable by company and facility name, chemical name, chemical amount at the facility, placard number, Chemical Abstract Services (CAS) number, and reporting area. Search results will display facility listings, including amounts of chemical stores, high and low volume reporting, as well as corporate and emergency contact information.

To make more information available to sector personnel, the ESS-SSA, in cooperation with the EPA, is working to increase use of the E-Plan database by chemical facility owners and emergency managers for more complete reporting across the nation.

Questions regarding E-Plan can be directed to the ESS-SSA point of contact: Melissa Glover at melissa.glover@associates.dhs.gov.

CEDAP Application Period Opens

The Commercial Equipment Direct Assistance Program (CEDAP) was established by Congress in Fiscal Year (FY) 2005 to ensure that Emergency Services Sector (ESS) departments and agencies could acquire specialized equipment and training. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) FY 2008 CEDAP application process opens on 30 May and continues until 5:00 p.m. EDT on 30 June 2008.

The FY 2008 CEDAP complements the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) other major grant programs to enhance regional response capabilities, mutual aid, and interoperable communications by providing technology and equipment, along with training and technical assistance required to operate the equipment, to ESS entities in smaller jurisdictions and certain metropolitan areas. Interested state and local response organizations must demonstrate in their applications that the equipment will be used in working relationships with other first responders, e.g., by offering plans for sharing equipment, joint training or use of equipment, or to conduct joint operational planning.

Aware that the 2008 CEDAP guidance would not be available before 9:00 a.m. EDT on 30 May, the Emergency Management and Response Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) contacted FEMA's CEDAP program support technical agent (1-866-659-9170) to learn what types of equipment will be available. Among this year's offerings are extrication devices, hydraulic tools, night vision kits, mini thermal monoculars, binoculars with night vision, forensic video enhancement tools (with camera), chemical detectors, biological agent detectors, radioactive detector kits, Global Positioning System (GPS-based) advanced vehicle tracking systems, risk analysis software, and case and records management software.

Prospective applicants are asked to complete their application online at the Responder Knowledge Base Website. After connecting to the site and choosing the CEDAP main page, users can access a "knowledge links" box of more than two dozen Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about program details, application process, prerequisites, reasons applications are unsuccessful, and other topical areas. The EMR-ISAC encourages emergency organizations to review the CEDAP materials promptly and apply for equipment to protect personnel and enhance "response-ability."

First Responder Hot Weather Preparedness

Emergency responder experiences substantiate the possibility of diminished individual performance and potential for degraded organizational effectiveness caused by intense summer heat. Accepting this fact, the Emergency Management and Response Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) acknowledges that incident scene emergency responder rehabilitation (rehab) is imperative, but never more so than during periods of hot weather.

As high temperatures and excessive humidity affect the nation, one question that challenges Emergency Services Sector (ESS) leaders is when to halt training exercises. A recent FireRescue1 article discusses how an ESS department took steps to increase safety during hot-weather training. One criterion established for future training was to monitor "humiture" (i.e., a combined measurement of temperature and humidity) to determine when to suspend training activities. The department also examined NFPA 1403: Standard on Live Fire Training Evolutions.

According to the article, "Firefighter Safety during Extreme Hot Weather," the department ruled that because there are times when responders must go out into heat to perform various duties, proactive and aggressive rehabilitation policies had to be enforced. Some recommended rehab processes from various sources include the following:

• Require medical personnel with a transport unit to be on site throughout training evolutions.
• Create shaded areas with tents.
• Provide electrolyte sports drinks and bottled water.
• Set up limb immersion chairs under tents and provide cool towels.
• Monitor temperature and relative humidity continuously.
• Provide medical monitoring of participating personnel, and emergency medical treatment in accordance with local protocol.
• Ensure personnel accountability.
• Enforce work-to-rest ratios.

A ready-to-use rehabilitation guideline training aid (29-slide PowerPoint presentation) is available at FirefighterCloseCalls.com (PPT, 4.6 Mb). See also the 2008 Federal Emergency Management Agency/U.S. Fire Administration document, "Emergency Incident Rehabilitation," (PDF, 5.6 MB, 174 pp.).