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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Catastrophic events in the United States often create cascading disruptions in essential services that support life, health, safety, security, economic stability, and public morale, according to a recent strategic assessment by the National Infrastructure Advisory Council (NIAC). Because of the cross-sector interdependencies among America’s critical infrastructures as demonstrated in past disasters, the NIAC recommends more attention be given to the importance of these interdependencies in ensuring protected and/or resilient infrastructures.
Having studied the relationship between the Emergency Services Sector (ESS) and other sectors (e.g., water, communications, transportation, electrical, and fuel), the Emergency Management and Response—Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) acknowledges the findings of the NIAC, and the necessity to identify and comprehend the critical infrastructure linkages essential to the survivability and continuity of emergency response operations.
Recognizing how infrastructure sectors are entwined, local sector leaders (including those of the ESS) can mitigate future cascading disruptions and the potential curtailment of vital services by actively participating in planning meetings with municipal governing authorities. The possible degradation of any one or more community infrastructure sectors resulting from a disaster could be alleviated by emergency plans that synergize and exercise the strengths and weaknesses within each sector infrastructure.
The following questions are examples (not inclusive) for emergency planners when considering how to compensate for infrastructure interdependencies and shortfalls:
Review the NIAC Strategic Assessment Study (PDF, 123 Kb)
The U.S. Department of Energy Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) offers resources for the Emergency Services Sector (ESS), including one of interest to emergency managers and personnel tasked to reduce the likelihood of chemical, biological, and radiological (CBR) attacks against buildings and mitigate the severity of such attacks against their occupants.
The information emergency personnel and building managers need to determine key vulnerabilities and implement mitigation strategies for buildings often is targeted to technical consultants and design professionals. To assist the ESS and building operators, LBNL developed the Building Vulnerability Assessment and Mitigation Program (BVAMP), a free software tool to improve emergency preparedness, plan shelter-in-place responses, restrict access to building systems and information, and develop building system control protocols for use during a deliberate CBR release.
The BVAMP tool is a series of yes/no questions about four aspects of a building’s vulnerability—emergency response plan, building access, heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, and HVAC controls—appropriate for small- to medium-sized releases such as those that would be expected from a terrorist attack. After the questions in each section are answered, BVAMP assembles an advice report. Included with the BVAMP tool are a building vulnerability assessment walk-through questionnaire and a list of the questions used in the tool itself.
After experimenting with the BVAMP tool, the Emergency Management and Response—Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) found it simple to use, and the assessment walk-through and questions helpful beyond their intended use. Responders might find them generally helpful for gathering awareness information related to building emergency response procedures, security, access, system locations, and occupants.
Examine the BVAMP tool
BVAMP runs on Java Virtual Machine which can be downloaded at no charge from java.sun.com.
The National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC), in partnership with the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA), released the 2008 edition of the Health and Wellness Guide for the Volunteer Fire and Emergency Services (PDF, 950 Kb). The Guide aims to help volunteer fire departments that face member time constraints and tight departmental budgets develop and implement health and wellness programs to increase survival and protect personnel, the foremost Emergency Services Sector (ESS) asset.
According to the NVFC Guide, the leading cause of all line-of-duty deaths for firefighters is heart attack, and the most common cause of injury is overexertion and strain. Nearly half of firefighter fatalities in 2007 were volunteers and 50 percent of the fatalities were caused by heart attacks. The Guide further indicates that the prevalence of cardiovascular illness and deaths and work-inhibiting strains and sprains among firefighters illustrates the need for a comprehensive health and wellness program in every department. However, department leaders often struggle to implement a program for reasons that include resistance or lack of motivation from members, the lack of well-defined requirements, and the cost of programs.
The current edition presents an overview of health concerns for volunteer firefighters and lays out guidance for developing and implementing a health and wellness program. It also highlights several existing health and wellness programs and how they have maintained their success over time. Originally released in 1992, and updated several times since then, the 2008 version includes new information and resources to help departments ensure the health and well-being of their members.
The Emergency Management and Response—Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) reminds volunteer fire department leaders that the USFA’s Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) Program is among the options to reduce or eliminate the costs of health and wellness programs. Other funding sources are described in Funding Alternatives for Fire and Emergency Services (PDF, 1.0 Mb).
In Fiscal Year (FY) 2009, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will award more than $3 billion (an increase of $24 million from FY08) in grants to states, urban areas, and transportation authorities under 14 programs to bolster national preparedness capabilities and protect critical infrastructure. The funding includes more than $1.7 billion for the Homeland Security Grant Program (HSGP):
The Emergency Management and Response—Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) notes that priorities for FY 2009 HSGP funds include measuring progress against the National Preparedness Guidelines, strengthening preparedness planning, training and exercises, and strengthening preventive radiological/nuclear detection capabilities, and deterrence, prevention, protection, and response capabilities with respect to improvised explosive devices. Applications are due by 20 March 2009.
Application deadlines differ for infrastructure protection programs, such as port security, buffer zone, trucking, and transit, the Emergency Management Performance Grants, Interoperable Emergency Communications Grant Program, and Regional Catastrophic Preparedness Grant Program, and are noted in the grant guidance information.
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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U.S. Fire Administration, 16825 S. Seton Ave., Emmitsburg, MD 21727 | USNG: 18SUJ00529652
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November 13, 2008 InfoGram