InfoGram 9-13: February 28, 2013

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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Pyro-Terrorism Real Threat to United States

In an address last week at the Firehouse Conference, U.S. Forest Service’s Deputy Director of Fire and Aviation Management Robert Baird spoke about arson in wildland fires and the threat of pyro-terrorism on U.S. soil. Baird studied and wrote on pyro-terrorism used against the United States as a weapon of mass destruction.

Deputy Director Baird referred to last year’s article by Al Qaida directing its followers to start fires as acts of terrorism. Baird reminded the audience of the history of fire as a weapon and how it has been used by foreign and domestic foes in acts of violence. He cited Osama bin Laden’s understanding the effect of a jet fuel fire on the World Trade Center buildings, the 2006 wildfire arsons (PDF, 44 Kb) in California, and the New York fire and shootings in December. All these incidents killed firefighters.

In terms of responding to the possibility of pyro-terrorism used in the Wildland Urban Interface, Baird suggested several best practices:

• Cultivate partnerships across all agencies to strengthen relationships and the sharing of reliable strategic information,
• Develop a “cohesive wildland fire strategy,”
• Build “robust intelligence” by identifying and reporting suspicious activity.

(Source: Marine Corps University)

Text-to-9-1-1: Like It or Not, Here It Comes

As the public increasingly flocks toward advancing technology and communications become more mobile, public safety industries must keep up with changing needs. The 9-1-1 community began to address this when Next Generation 9-1-1 (NG9-1-1) (PDF, 1 Mb) came into being. NG9-1-1 tries to encompass technologies such as cell phones, voice over internet protocol (VoIP), pictures, and now text data.

The increase in the public’s use of SMS text messaging – especially the expectation of using it to contact 9-1-1 – has lead to a joint agreement to have text-to-9-1-1 available by 2014. The National Emergency Number Association (NENA) president states “we in public safety are constantly striving to meet the needs of the public and serve them as best we can, and right now that means implementing text-to-9-1-1 solutions.” 9-1-1 Magazine interviewed NENA’s president to discuss the many issues facing call centers in regards to this agreement and the changing technology.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) states: “Consumers should be able to use text messaging networks to their full capacity in emergency situations. To ensure these capabilities, the FCC supports the Next Generation 9-1-1 initiative, designed to connect consumers to emergency systems like 9-1-1 via text messaging.”

(Source: NENA)

"Once in 100 Years" Meteor Event Worth Study

Scientists at NASA are calling the meteor “detonation” earlier this month a “once in 100 years event.” At 55 feet across and weighing in at approximately 10,000 tons, the explosion it caused was estimated to be over 300 kilotons, 30 times more powerful than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. It is the largest reported meteor since the historic 1908 impact in Siberia.

While on the surface people may be thinking they are off the hook for the next hundred or so years, meteors and space debris do hit earth’s atmosphere on a regular basis. Either way, this event gives emergency planners an opportunity to observe the public’s reaction to a very unexpected event and incorporate the findings into plans for similar events in the future.

• Low-frequency but high-impact – though this event is rare, the explosion caused injuries to nearly 1,500 people and damaged thousands of buildings.
• Mistaken identity – some people thought they were under attack, and an international nuclear detection system was triggered by the blast.
• Curiosity versus duck-and-cover – people ran to windows for a better look and were cut by glass when the shockwave blew out windows.
• “Citizen Sensors” – using dashboard-mounted camera and cell phone video, scientists had more intelligence on the event through civilian sources than through “official” government or science-based agencies.
• Damage repairs – 24,000 people and over 4,000 pieces of equipment were deployed over several hundred square miles. A major concern was heating buildings with broken windows in the sub zero temperatures.

(Source: NASA)

National Advisory Council Application Appeal

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is currently accepting applications and nominations for membership to the National Advisory Council (NAC). The discipline areas currently available for appointment are listed on the NAC site. Members of the 35-person council are appointed by the FEMA Administrator.

The NAC aims “to ensure effective and ongoing coordination of Federal preparedness, protection, response, recovery and mitigation for natural disasters, acts of terrorism and other manmade disasters” and “advises the FEMA Administrator on all aspects of emergency management.”

There are 8 positions available for a 3-year term beginning June 15, 2013. The application deadline is March 8, 2013. Instructions, contact information, upcoming meeting schedules and a current member list are available on the NAC website.

(Source: FEMA)