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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Several months ago, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano announced her vision for the nation: “a proud, prepared, and resilient America.” In her explanation, Secretary Napolitano validated the long-standing imperative to implement “resilience” as the goal, metric, and means for achieving and sustaining critical infrastructures and national preparedness.
While attending the recent 2009 Annual Critical Infrastructure Protection Congress, the Emergency Management and Response—Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) learned that infrastructure resilience is the ability to reduce the magnitude and/or duration of disruptive events. “It is the ability to anticipate, absorb, adapt to, and/or rapidly recover from a potentially devastating event.” Conference session leaders discussed that infrastructure protection and resilience represent complementary elements of a comprehensive preparedness strategy, but emphasized that resilience has three key abilities:
Accepting that many catastrophes cannot be prevented, event speakers concluded the best strategy for mitigating the effects of all hazards is to “fill the gap” caused by unprotected infrastructures through the development and maintenance of resilient organizational critical infrastructures.
The EMR-ISAC reconfirmed that the 2009 National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP) (PDF, 4.5 Mb) underscores the importance of critical infrastructures and key resources (CIKR) to the nation’s survivability and continuity. It clarifies the indispensability of CIKR, such as the Emergency Services Sector (ESS), for the health and safety of the American people as well as the stability and security of the nation's economy. The NIPP further substantiates the necessity for all CIKR, including emergency departments and agencies, to withstand a catastrophe and rapidly return to normal operations in an all-hazards environment.
Chief Officers of first responder organizations understand that without the availability of ESS mission-essential tasks during and after a disaster, there will be a serious reduction in "quality of life” and the potential discontinuation of other local infrastructures that depend on emergency services for survival. Many of these municipal leaders are improving preparedness by ensuring their infrastructure systems can endure all hazards and successfully reconstitute standard services as soon as possible after a man-made or natural disaster.
Additional information regarding critical infrastructure resilience and preparedness can be seen at the 23 September 2008 Backgrounder published by The Heritage Foundation.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced on 27 October, the release of new proposed guidance for protecting the health of personnel responding to an anthrax attack. According to the Press Release, the draft proposal recommends protective measures such as personal protective equipment, decontamination methods, and hygiene procedures for first responders, public health and medical professionals, skilled support personnel, essential workers in critical infrastructure sectors, federal and private sector employees, and volunteers.
The Emergency Management and Response—Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) confirmed the proposal was prepared by a working group of experts from more than a dozen agencies relating to biodefense, infectious diseases, and occupational health and safety. This special team developed the guidance “to reflect the most current understanding of the unique environment that would exist after a wide-area anthrax attack.”
DHS invites first responders to examine the 24-page document, and to provide comments by 27 November. Recommendations must be identified by docket number DHS–2009–0091, and can be submitted by one of the following methods: (1) Mail: David V. Adams, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Office of Health Affairs, Mail Stop 0315, Washington, DC 20528; (2) Federal Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
The Ryan White Treatment Extension Act (PDF, 39.6 Kb) includes a provision requiring hospitals to alert EMS workers within 48 hours of exposure to infectious diseases. Considering there are several new additions to this Act that affect emergency responders, the Emergency Management and Response—Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) examined the document.
The National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians (NAEMT) news brief states members of Advocates for EMS, including NAEMT, the National Volunteer Fire Council, the International Association of Fire Fighters, the International Association of Fire Chiefs, and the National Association of Government Employees, successfully advocated to have the notification provision again included into the Act.
The bill adds a new section to the Ryan White Act—Part G “Notification of Possible Exposure to Infectious Diseases.” According to the National Association of State EMS Officials Summary (PDF, 39.6 Kb), a list will be established to determine what infectious diseases should be considered “potentially life-threatening” and whether or not a first responder must be notified of an exposure. The EMR-ISAC noted that the Secretary of Health and Human Service has up to 180 days after enactment to complete the development of the following:
The EMR-ISAC will prepare a follow-on report when the list and guidelines have been published.
The Emergency Management and Response—Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) researched the following mobile phone applications that have the capability to monitor and possibly disrupt the operations Emergency Services Sector (ESS) departments and agencies:
The U.S. Fire Administration’s October 23, 2009 memo announced the opening of the application period for the 2010 Harvard Fire Executive Fellowship Program (PDF, 770 Kb). The Emergency Management and Response—Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) learned that the program is once again sponsored through a partnership between the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC), Fire Protection Publication/International Fire Service Training Association (FPP/IFSTA), the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), and the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA).
Senior fire executives who are selected will be awarded fellowships to attend Harvard’s annual “Program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government” as a 3-week program conducted on-campus. According to U.S. Fire Administrator Kelvin Cochran, “the program can provide tools and experiences in confronting the collective challenges which fire executives face.”
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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November 5, 2009 InfoGram