Emergency Management and Response - Information Sharing and Analysis Center

Infogram 1-08: January 10, 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 e-mail at emr-isac@dhs.gov.

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2008 CIP Resolution

The past year saw modest enhancements in the discipline of critical infrastructure protection and resilience. Nation-wide efforts continued within the Emergency Services Sector during 2007 to reduce or eliminate the threats from terrorism and natural disasters. However, every new day brings new threat possibilities. America's enemies remain determined to attack particularly soft targets because of the perceived lack of security related to the openness or exposure of personnel, physical assets, and communication/cyber systems (i.e., critical infrastructures). Furthermore, no one can accurately forecast what "Mother Nature" will do this year in which flooding, drought, and wildfires remain a major concern!

Recognizing the likelihood for future terrorist or nature attacks, the Emergency Management and Response—Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) encourages the leaders, owners, and operators of the nation's emergency services to resolve to proactively practice the protection and resilience of internal critical infrastructures essential for continuity of operations and mission success. For 2008, the EMR-ISAC specifically advocates the revision and rehearsal of plans, procedures, and guidelines to emphasize prevention and protection activities as well as response and recovery actions.

Identifying and reducing the vulnerabilities of internal critical infrastructures will bolster prevention and protection, and make the infrastructures more resilient to both man-made and natural calamities. There are time-efficient, relatively simple, low-cost methods to reduce or eliminate threats and vulnerabilities. Some are limited more by imagination than by time and money. Several useful recommendations can be seen in the CIP Job Aid (2nd Edition, August 2007, PDF, 4.5 Mb) and also in the free CIP DVD that can be ordered through the USFA Publications Center.

The EMR-ISAC extends its best wishes for great success throughout 2008 with the selection and application of protection and prevention measures appropriate for each first responder organization and its community.

Pandemic Flu Preparedness

Public health experts warn pandemic influenza poses an imminent risk to the United States and the world—only its timing, severity, and exact strain remain uncertain. "A severe pandemic influenza presents a tremendous challenge as it may affect the lives of millions of Americans, cause significant numbers of illnesses and fatalities, and substantially disrupt our critical infrastructures, economic security, and social stability," stated Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff.

Currently, there is worldwide apprehension about the possible spread of the Avian H5N1 virus. This virus raised concerns about a potential human pandemic because it is particularly potent. As of 13 December 2007, there are 339 confirmed human cases of Avian H5N1 and 208 confirmed deaths, which is a fatality rate of 61 percent, according to the World Health Organization.

Although H5N1 may not be "the pandemic flu," due to the continuing increase of Avian Influenza virus cases, it is imperative that local governments, community emergency managers, and their emergency services work together now to develop effective pandemic-related continuity plans and to implement successful preparedness activities. To assist this effort, the Emergency Management and Response—Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) recommends consideration of the following practices for pandemic preparedness, which are equally applicable to protect infrastructures for any catastrophe affecting the operations of Emergency Services Sector departments and agencies:

For more practical information, see the Pandemic Influenza: Guide for Critical Infrastructure and Key Resources (PDF, 5.0 Mb). Additional assistance can be obtained from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA) will conduct Avian Influenza Emergency Responder Training on 30 January 2008. The 8-hour course is designed to provide a knowledge base for an effective and rapid response in the event of an outbreak. If interested, contact the PEMA Training Officer at thughes@state.pa.us or at 717-651-2231

Injury Risks for EMS Responders

The Emergency Management and Response—Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) reviewed the December 2007 issue of the American Journal of Industrial Medicine, which reported: "New research suggests that at any given time, almost 10 percent of the emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and paramedics in the United States miss work because of injuries and illnesses they suffered on the job." This is a situation that negatively affects the personnel—and potentially the response-ability and continuity of operations—of the Emergency Services Sector (ESS) at a rate that "far exceeds the national average of 1.3 per 100 lost-work injury cases reported in 2006" (U.S. Bureau of Labor).

According to the research, approximately 900,000 certified Emergency Medical Services (EMS) professionals responded to more than 17 million calls in 2005. Injury rates were highest among EMS personnel who experienced a very high call volume (defined as 40 or more calls per week), those working in urban environments (population > 25,000), and those who had self-reported back problems.

After examining the four most prevalent injury types among EMS professionals as described in the journal article, the EMR-ISAC compiled a few downloadable, free preparedness and mitigation resources for each identified injury type to assist ESS leaders, owners, and operators with their prevention and protection efforts.

Exposure to blood-borne pathogens from needle sticks.

  1. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). How to Prevent Needlestick Injuries: Answers to Some Important Questions (PDF, 2.6 Mb). The publication also explains OSHA's no-cost consultation program for employers, and lists publications and CD-ROMs, grants, mentoring programs, etc.
  2. American Nurses Association. Needlestick Prevention Guide (PDF, 2.0 Mb).
  3. National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). What Every Worker Should Know: How to Protect Yourself from Needlestick Injuries and NIOSH Alert: Preventing Needlestick Injuries in Health Care Settings.

Musculoskeletal injuries associated with lifting and moving patients.

  1. EMS Teamwork Lifting and Injury Prevention and Safe Lifting Techniques Help Prevent Back Injury.
  2. Cal/OSHA A Back Injury Prevention Guide for Health Care Providers (PDF, 2.2 Mb).
  3. OSHA Directorate of Training and Education Training Resources, including links to OSHA Training Institute extension programs throughout the nation.

Wounds inflicted by violent patients.

  1. Coping With Violent People: A Multi-Part Series (four articles, including Levels I and II Physical Restraint, Types of Assault, and Self-Defense During Patient Assessment.
  2. Five Steps to Scene Safety and Five More Safe-Scene Steps.
  3. Scene Safety Urges: Women Especially Vulnerable.

Injuries caused by traffic accidents involving ambulances.

  1. EVOC-ing Safety: The ABCS of Emergency Driving.
  2. International Association of Fire Chiefs Guide to Model Policies and Procedures for Emergency Vehicle Safety includes U.S. Fire Administration and NIOSH reports, state vehicle codes, background, and awareness materials.
  3. Rules of the Road The Must-Haves of an Effective Vehicle-Safety Program.

Examples of Mitigation Measures

During the process of creating the first and second editions of The Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) Process Job Aid for the Emergency Services Sector (ESS), the Emergency Management and Response—Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) considered examples of mitigation strategies that satisfied the objectives of preventing or mitigating attacks on responder infrastructures necessary for survivability, continuity, response-ability, and mission success. An example in a recent news report illustrates the benefits to the emergency services of using the CIP process.

A Southeastern United States city manager appointed a local mitigation strategy committee to prioritize emergency management initiatives for the purpose of obtaining state and federal funding. The first project undertaken was to ensure that a new, larger Emergency Operations Center to be housed in the city hall could withstand destructive disasters such as the hurricanes that strike that geographical area of the U.S. Mitigation steps included strengthening the city hall with perforated metal screening and a roll-down tarp, and installing a generator in each of 14 lift stations to ensure that wastewater treatment plants would be able to continue operations and prevent sewage backups. The generators were factory enclosed and weatherproofed, placed on slightly elevated concrete slabs, and are scheduled to be surrounded by cyclone fencing.

In another project within the same city, perforated metal screens were placed on fire station windows, and apparatus bay doors were covered by roll-down tarps to guard the entrances against windborne debris and damage to the emergency vehicles parked inside. The fire station project was funded partly by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Also due to be weatherproofed is the municipal police station.

The actions taken in this community to identify the threats to and vulnerabilities of local and ESS critical infrastructures, to appoint a mitigation strategy committee, and to prioritize and apply mitigation measures, by taking advantage federal funding sources, is a positive example consistent with the CIP Process described in the CIP Job Aid (2nd Edition, August 2007, PDF, 4.5MB).

FAIR USE NOTICE

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.

Reporting Notice

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 e-mail 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 e-mail 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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