InfoGram 28-08: July 24, 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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Avoiding Ambush - Continued

On 21 July, a firefighter from the St. Louis suburb of Maplewood was shot and killed while responding to the scene of a burning car. Two police officers were also wounded in the attack. In June, a Chicago fire investigator was shot in the performance of duties. And in May, an emergency medical technician was shot when treating a gunshot victim in East St. Louis.

Research by the Emergency Management and Response Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) corroborates that shootings of Emergency Services Sector (ESS) personnel are not unusual, particularly those directed against police officers. However, the EMR-ISAC sadly speculates that active shooter situations involving responders of the fire and emergency medical services (EMS) will continue to increase in frequency within the United States. Indeed, the potential presence of an active shooter has become another threat to emergency responders for which ESS departments and agencies must prepare.

According to Chief Dan Jones, Chapel Hill (NC) Fire Department, "Firefighters and EMS personnel frequently find themselves in contact with mentally/emotionally disturbed individuals, angry individuals, gang members, criminals and other people who are high risk for violent behavior." The EMR-ISAC suggests that this reality necessitates preparedness and protective measures to mitigate ESS vulnerabilities to the threat of hostility and ambush by active shooters.

In their attempt to be proactive, some organizations now conduct active shooter awareness programs and periodic training drills. Other departments instruct their first responders to assess each situation, call police if they perceive danger, and "get back into the truck and leave," when gunshots are heard. Still others have applied for a Fire Act Grant this year under the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) category for bulletproof vests.

For more information about recent shootings and mitigation actions, go here and here.

New Metal Theft Threatens ESS

There is no humor in the pun that the latest twist in metal thefts plaguing Emergency Services Sector (ESS) departments and agencies across the nation is the removal of brass hydrant nuts. According to news accounts reviewed by the Emergency Management and Response Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC), jurisdictions report dozens of hydrants being rendered inoperable, sometimes including all hydrants in proximity to working fires. Hence, the epidemic of metal thefts continues to degrade critical infrastructure resources.

The brass hydrant nuts are the latest addition to a growing list of equipment stolen by metal thieves that includes hydrants, hose connections, backflow-prevention devices, valves, and water meters. Fire departments need the equipment not only to maintain continuity of operations and response-ability, but to ensure that personnel are not endangered at locations where water is unavailable or must be shut off until repairs are made.

The 15 May 2008 EMR-ISAC CIP InfoGram article on metal thefts included a list of mitigation practices in use by ESS departments across the United States. In order to position fire departments to mount an immediate proactive response to the current theft of brass hydrant nuts, the EMR-ISAC encourages the following measures:

• Visit scrapyards within the jurisdiction as soon as possible to leave copies of equipment descriptions and pictures of the brass nuts, and ask proprietors to report individuals who attempt to sell them.
• Alert law enforcement agencies so that their personnel who visit recycling sites and scrapyards looking for stolen material will be aware of the newest threat.
• Carry spare parts on all apparatus to access hydrants that have been maliciously altered.
• Solicit the help of local media outlets in requesting that community members call 9-1-1 if they observe suspicious activity in the vicinity of hydrants.
• Contact the Theft Alert system operated by the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, Inc. (ISRI), which, in turn, will notify scrap facilities about the thefts of brass hydrant nuts. To access the alert system and view or download metal theft resource materials, visit here.

Nuclear Waste Incident Response

The Emergency Services Sector (ESS), the first line of defense in virtually every imaginable emergency or disaster situation, can participate in training to prepare for nuclear waste transportation incidents, and build on training in existing hazardous materials curricula, through the Department of Energy's (DOE) Modular Emergency Response Radiological Transportation Training (MERRTT) program.

Among personnel acquiring the training this summer are responders near Tennessee's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, where shipments of nuclear waste originate and then are transported to New Mexico for burial. Because the shipments are scheduled to continue for five years, emergency personnel risk exposure if accidents, leaks, or other unanticipated events occur.

The MERRTT program combines hands-on familiarization with trucks and vessels. The program offers the choice of an instructor-delivered or student-paced self-study course that consists of 16 concise modules and 4 practical exercises. The instructor guides, student manuals, and overheads provided are designed to meet the training needs of all ESS disciplines. Continuing Education Units (CEUs) have been approved for EMS personnel. The national training schedule, MERRTT fact sheet, Emergency Responder Radioactive Material Quick Reference Sheet, and videos are available here.

The DOE also offers the Transportation Emergency Preparedness Program (TEPP) to ensure that federal, state, tribal, and local responders have access to the plans, training, and technical assistance necessary to safely, efficiently, and effectively respond to transportation accidents involving DOE-owned radioactive materials. To access the suite of tools developed to aid jurisdictions in their readiness activities, click here.

As the United States enters a period of renewed growth in the nuclear power industry, the Emergency Management and Response Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) suggests ESS organizations consider these free training opportunities to bolster organization and community critical infrastructure protection.

ESS Family Preparedness

Frequently, the Emergency Management and Response Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) writes that personnel are the foremost of an organization's critical infrastructures. Without the intelligent and resourceful attributes of Emergency Services Sector (ESS) personnel, other internal infrastructures (e.g., physical assets and communication/cyber systems) would be unsustainable and undependable. ESS infrastructures are completely dependent upon the people within the emergency department or agency, putting responders at the center of any critical infrastructure protection or resilience program.

The report, "Managing Catastrophic Events: The Lessons of Katrina," found that front-line responders who were already operating in highly stressful circumstances were pushed to a breaking point because of worry and uncertainty about the welfare of their families. The report, written for the Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement, recommended strongly that, "Predetermined emergency evacuation and shelter sites for First Responder families is critical for effective response." Unfortunately, as a recent Homeland1 article points out, "programs to provide shelter and other care for the families of emergency responders remain very rare." Logistical challenges, concern that providing shelter for family members could be misconstrued by the public, and even the difficulty of defining "family members," are among issues that arise when attempting to create family programs.

Still, some departments and agencies across the country are implementing changes to strengthen the resiliency of responders and their families, such as:

• Providing a family preparedness plan at the time of hiring while also requiring hires to sign letters acknowledging they will report during emergencies.
• Requiring responder families to keep and maintain a 72-hour go-kit as a condition of the responder's employment.
• Stipulating that personnel receive time before a hurricane to ensure their families are evacuated.
• Maintaining telephone numbers of third-party contacts for each family, e.g., an out-of-state relative, who agree to be an established point of communication throughout the disaster.
• Arranging with a department in an out-of-area location to exchange and safeguard telephone numbers for one another's employees.
• Ensuring that families have command center contact information.
• Requesting command centers assign one or more individuals to coordinate communication between family members and personnel in the field.

Guidance on preparing go-kits and planning and preparedness information for 19 natural and man-made disasters can be found the READY.gov website. Especially useful during the summer months are the segments devoted to wildfires, hurricanes, and tornadoes. To view the Homeland1 article, click here.