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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Sponsored by the Department of Homeland Security Office of Infrastructure Protection, Toffler Associates released Guarding Our Future (PDF, 1.6 Mb, 52 pages), a report about protecting the future of the nation's infrastructures. Based on the premise that the integrity of the nation's infrastructures is fundamental to maintaining the American way of life, the purpose of this report is to explain how those who protect our infrastructures will need to address complex new challenges while still addressing existing ones.
The Emergency Management and Response Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) observed that the report outlines changes with which infrastructure owners and operators should most concern themselves in preparation for the next 20 years. According to the authors, "preparing for the future means anticipating events and taking action to prevent catastrophic events. Better anticipation can help deter or avoid some threats, and results in more effective recovery, post event." To prepare today for the changes that will occur in the future and to help organizations protect the nation's infrastructures now and then, the report recommends several proactive steps summarized by the EMR-ISAC as follows:
Last week, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Infrastructure Protection released the 2009 National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP) (PDF, 4.5 Mb, 188 pages). The new NIPP replaces the 2006 version and reflects changes and updates to various program elements and concepts. The Emergency Management and Response Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) discerned that the document also addresses the evolution and maturation of the processes and programs first outlined in the 2006 issue. More specifically, the revised NIPP integrates both resiliency and protection, emphasizes an outcome-focused approach to performance management, and broadens the scope of NIPP-related programs and activities to an all-hazard environment.
The NIPP provides the unifying structure for the integration into a single national program of a wide range of efforts for the enhanced resiliency and protection of the nation's critical infrastructure and key resources (CIKR). The EMR-ISAC notes that this document clearly defines the roles and responsibilities for DHS, federal sector-specific agencies, and other federal, state, local, tribal, territorial, and private sector partners. It also provides a comprehensive risk management framework and represents a coordinated approach to establish national priorities, goals, and requirements so that funding and resources can be applied in the most effective manner to strengthen resiliency and protect CIKR.
The overarching goal of the NIPP is to build a safer, more resilient, and secure America by preventing, deterring, neutralizing, or mitigating the effects of deliberate efforts by terrorists to destroy, incapacitate, or exploit elements of our nation's CIKR. The EMR-ISAC confirmed that an essential part of this goal is to strengthen national preparedness, timely response, and rapid recovery of CIKR in the event of an attack, natural disaster, or other emergency.
The Emergency Management and Response Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) located two online publications Emergency Services Sector (ESS) departments and agencies can use to find sources of homeland security monies and compete for funds. As state and local governments struggle to fully fund public safety, the EMR-ISAC recognizes that emergency organizations urgently need all possible fiscal relief.
The HSToday "State and Local Managers' Guide to Homeland Security Grants and Funding 2009" identifies and describes the purpose and eligibility/qualification criteria for 2009 homeland security grant programs, lists online grant research resources, and explains types of funding. Specific sections of the guide discuss critical infrastructure protection funding (p. G6), interoperability funding (p. G15), ideas for building effective collaborations (p. G8), and tips for securing more grants (p. G12).
"The Path to Grant Success" (PDF, 16.9 Mb, 2009 Edition, 20 pages) opens with a brief overview of a systematic approach to vulnerability assessment. As the publication explains, there is an increased emphasis on vulnerability assessments as part of the grant application process. The assessments are requested to identify vulnerabilities in applicants' communities and gauge how awarding the grant would address them. In addition to discussing common grant-writing myths and explaining grant fundamentals, the publication reinforces the value of regionalization, a concept that is receiving renewed attention in today's uncertain economy. Under the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program, " Any eligible applicant, whether a fire department or a nonaffiliated EMS organization, may act as a �host applicant' and apply for large-scale or regional projects on behalf of itself and any number of organizations in neighboring jurisdictions."
The EMR-ISAC ascertained that as stimulus funds under The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 are distributed to states, governors will make crucial budgetary decisions, some of which could affect emergency organizations. Governors, mayors, and their staffs could benefit from the input of ESS leaders, who are in the best position to understand their departments' economic realities.
Emergency Services Sector (ESS) departments and agencies expend precious funds and resources to acquire, maintain, and preserve Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to increase personnel safety and survivability. To keep emergency departments informed and up to date about the expanding array of PPE, FireRescue1 operates PPE101, an informational Website.
PPE101 offers resources for online training (e.g., care and inspection of PPE), videos (e.g., SCBA evolution training), product certifications, links to National Fire Protection Association and Occupational Safety and Health Administration standards, and a large collection of PPE-related articles and news items.
The Emergency Management and Response Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) reminds ESS organizations about the Responder Knowledge Base (RKB), a web-based clearinghouse sponsored by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism. The RKB maintains a searchable database of information on responder equipment, training, and services ESS departments and agencies can access as part of their procurement decision-making process. The database is organized into two lists: the Authorized Equipment List (AEL) and the Standardized Equipment List (SEL). According to DHS, items on the AEL are eligible for purchase using grant monies; qualified grants are mentioned in each entry with links to specific grant programs. The SEL contains items recommended by the InterAgency Board for Equipment Standardization and Interoperability, which seeks to improve standardization across local, state, and federal agencies.
The EMR-ISAC noted that much of the listed equipment includes access to message pages where field personnel who have used specific equipment have volunteered to respond to requests for information. To register as an RKB user, or to access the database as a "guest," visit the Responder Knowledge Base (RKB) Website.
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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February 26, 2009 InfoGram