InfoGram 7-08: February 21, 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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Domestic Extremism Update

Homegrown individuals and groups are seven times more likely than transnational people to commit terrorist acts in the United States, a panel recently reported at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The Emergency Management and Response Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) learned that domestic extremists tend to fall into five general categories: political, religious (including abortion), environmental, animal rights, and youth culture.

Of growing concern, however, are the American men and women who may be radicalized by hateful information found in distributed hard-copy materials and also searchable through Internet websites. There is particular apprehension among counterterrorism specialists that Americans between the ages of 15 and 25 will take comfort in "like-minded souls" and increase the numbers of fanatic activists willing to execute terror strikes on U.S. soil.

For over six years, security and intelligence echelons of the nation have been preoccupied with the probability of domestic al-Qaeda sleeper cells being activated to initiate additional terrorist attacks. But researchers are persuaded that domestic extremists will be responsible for future carnage and damage to the critical infrastructures of this country. Considering this possibility, the EMR-ISAC identified several indicators of individuals preparing to conduct heinous actions for their misguided cause.

The EMR-ISAC offers the following common indicators of nefarious planning to assist Emergency Services Sector personnel to protect themselves and others in the performance of duties:

• Carries false or suspicious identity documents.
• Makes overt attempts to blend and avoid scrutiny.
• Endeavors to keep physically fit for personal protection.
• Develops excellent skills in computers and the Internet.
• Uses Internet search engines to print maps and other critical information.
• Practices surveillance and counter-surveillance techniques.
• Trains with easily obtainable weaponry and explosives.
• Acquires the components for improvised explosive devices.

For more information about domestic terrorism, visit the Institute for Counterterrorism's Website.

IAFC Seeks Best Practices in Critical Infrastructure Protection

The International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC), in coordination with its public-safety partners on the Emergency Services Sector (ESS) Coordinating Council and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, is seeking model practices in ESS critical infrastructure protection (CIP) and critical infrastructure resilience (CIR) efforts. Infrastructure protection for the emergency services sector comprises the protection of human, physical, and communication/cyber elements that maintain and improve the ability of the sector to protect and preserve its own integrity in an imminent or ongoing emergency.

Submissions received by March 3, 2008, will be reviewed by a panel of peers for possible inclusion in a set of model procedures that will be associated with the National Infrastructure Protection Plan and its subordinate Emergency Services Sector-Specific Plan.

The goal of this project is to provide models that will help local and regional entities develop effective and comprehensive emergency plans that include how best to protect the protectors.

The proposal form (PDF, 186 Kb, Adobe Acrobat (PDF) Help) outlining the project scope and submission criteria is available on the IAFC Website.

Please email your proposal submission by 3 March to adavison@iafc.org.

AHB Training Aids

The presence of Africanized honey bees (AHB) in at least eight U.S. states has challenged Emergency Services Sector (ESS) organizations in some jurisdictions to create training materials and institute response plans to protect personnel, the foremost of ESS critical infrastructures. Considering this development, the Emergency Management and Response Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) includes in this article links to training materials meant to help ESS departments and agencies prepare for this menace.

Africanized honey bees (also known as "killer bees") are hybrids of the African honey bee with various European honey bees. As of 2002, they began their spread from Brazil, eventually arriving in Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Florida, Southwest Arkansas, New Orleans, California, and Oklahoma. They have been seen as far as Kansas City, Missouri, although they are more commonly found farther to the south. The Africanized bees are more likely than European bees to attack a perceived threat and attack relentlessly in larger numbers, e.g., 50,000 Africanized bees versus 200 European bees might attack if their hive is upset. The venom of Africanized honey bees is no more potent than that of European honey bees, but the vastly greater number of stings causes more deaths.

After responding to a number of attacks by AHBs, members of the Kissimmee Fire Department in Osceola County, Florida, were issued hoods or "sting shields" to wear with their Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). The bees, which are attracted to carbon dioxide, were lighting on responders' faces and crawling under their helmets. Personnel also learned that lights and sirens on apparatus and vehicles can attract the bees, so they turn them off as they near an incident scene. If it is necessary to perform a rescue, victims are sprayed with Class A foam to suffocate the bees because the application of water alone causes the bees to relocate only momentarily.

Working with Dr. William Kern of the University of Florida, the Osceola County Emergency Services Department created AHB awareness and emergency response PowerPoint presentations and an AHB Standard Operating Guideline (SOG). To assist ESS personnel across the country, the department agreed to share these training materials as well as an mpeg (movie file) of a stinging AHB and stinging European honey bee. The training materials can be accessed at:

Lt. David Langston of the Osceola County Department of Fire Rescue and Emergency Services Training Branch, who assisted in developing the training materials, can be contacted at dlan3@osceola.org. The EMR-ISAC also appreciates the input of Lt. Joan Robinson, EMS Coordinator, Kissimmee Fire Department.

Thefts of Catalytic Converters

In February 2007, the Emergency Management and Response—Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) wrote that increasing thefts of copper from electrical lines, substations, and distribution lines were degrading the reliability of the regional electrical grid and could potentially disrupt Emergency Services Sector (ESS) communications and operations. Such thefts continue nationwide because the stolen materials command high prices from scrap-metal dealers.

To keep emergency leaders apprised of another emerging trend that can degrade assets, thieves are stealing catalytic converters, a component of automotive exhaust systems, because prices of precious metals continue to rise. Law enforcement reports indicate that there has been a dramatic increase in thefts of the components in recent months. Although catalytic converters have only small traces of the metals platinum, palladium and/or rhodium, stolen converters can be resold for up to $200 each to scrap-metal dealers. The units do not have serial numbers that can be used for tracking.

Because the converters are mounted on the exterior undercarriage of vehicles, they can be removed in several minutes with any standard metal cutting tool. According to a report from msnbc.com, the theft of a vehicle's catalytic converter not only renders an exhaust system inoperable, it can be dangerous: "On some of these cars, if that pipe gets cut off near some wiring or a fuel line or a gas tank-which in some cases are not shielded – there is a possibility of a fire and/or explosion."

An individual was arrested several months ago after being caught stealing the converters from vehicles in the impound lot of a state highway patrol. A Baltimore County, Maryland, police auto theft team sergeant told msnbc.com, "Unless you can garage your vehicle 24 hours a day, anyone can climb under your car and cut off the catalytic converter." The EMR-ISAC asserts that thefts of the converters from emergency services' staff cars, cruisers, unmarked vehicles, and SUVs, i.e., ESS assets, would necessitate repairs that take vehicles out of service, create a potential explosion hazard, and affect departments' resilience and "response-ability."