Infogram

December 16, 2004

NOTE: This INFOGRAM will be distributed weekly to provide members of the emergency management and response sector with information concerning the protection of their critical infrastructures. It has been prepared by NATEK Incorporated for the Emergency Preparedness and Response Directorate. 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.

Revising Emergency Response Plans

In the past several years, particularly since 9/11, local emergency management agencies and the emergency response departments within their respective communities developed Emergency Response Plans to prepare for, respond to, and recover from human-caused or natural origin calamities. Generally, these plans provide a standardized protocol for disaster preparation, response, and recovery in order to prevent, minimize, and mitigate injury, death, and destruction resulting from catastrophic emergencies.

Specialists in the discipline unanimously agree that Emergency Response Plans should be kept up-to-date in a "hardcopy" format and available to community stakeholders. Experience dictates that electronic versions of the plans may not be accessible during extended power outages or system interruptions. Additionally, the EMR-ISAC suggests serious consideration of community critical infrastructures during any revision to these plans. Prevention, protection, and mitigation efforts of emergency managers and responders must apply to local critical infrastructures to guarantee continuity of emergency operations and essential services to citizens.

The EMR-ISAC maintains that revisions to Emergency Response Plans should be developed through workshops and consultations with first preparers (e.g., emergency managers and planners), first responders (e.g., police, fire, EMS), first receivers (e.g., hospital emergency staff), as well as public utilities/works, mass transportation, emergency communications, and other local decision-makers. Revised plans must clearly outline the communication and coordination that will occur among the previously mentioned community leaders to ensure the protection of critical infrastructures.

Emergency Response Planning

When revising Emergency Response Plans, many planning experts advise municipalities to anticipate the complete inadequacy of their response capabilities and resources for catastrophic events. This supposition should raise concerns about potentially degraded or obstructed local life-saving and infrastructure protection operations. The discipline specialists expect that natural, technological, or terrorist weapons of mass destruction (WMD) actions will overwhelm community "response-ability" in the following areas: search and rescue, decontamination, emergency medical services, medical equipment and supplies, mass care, victim transportation, critical infrastructure protection, etc.

Recognizing that federal resources will be required to support state and local response efforts, the federal government pre-identified resources expected to be hastily needed at catastrophic incident sites. When directed by the Secretary of Homeland Security, these resources will be automatically deployed to a federal mobilization center or federal reception point near the affected area or areas of the nation.

According to sources within the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the effective addition of federal assistance into the jurisdictionally-led incident response will be greatly enhanced by the integration of those pre-designated resources into jurisdictional Emergency Response Plans. Specifically, the following local planning activities will accelerate the utilization of federal resources:

Revising Emergency Response Plans to reflect a coordinated advance strategy for receiving, deploying, and utilizing pre-identified resources.
Identifying mobilization centers, staging areas, receiving and distribution sites, casualty collection points, temporary housing sites, and other key operational support facilities.
Identifying priority support requirements not satisfied by existing local, mutual aid, and state resources and capabilities.

CIP (FOUO) Notices

Beginning in April 2004, thousands of Emergency Services Sector (ESS) senior leaders have been receiving Sensitive CIP Notices containing emergent, actionable information For Official Use Only (FOUO) regarding threats to and vulnerabilities of the ESS critical infrastructures, and forwarded by the EMR-ISAC quickly after receipt from the Department of Homeland Security. Fire/EMS/police department chief officers, assistant/deputy chiefs, fire marshals, emergency medical services directors, emergency managers, FEMA Region staff officers, etc., (i.e., ESS senior leadership) have been targeted for this information because of its relevance and significance for emergency plans and operations.

Effective Monday, January 10, 2005, the name of the Sensitive CIP Notices will change to "CIP (FOUO) Notices" in cooperation with a request from the Infrastructure Coordination Division of the Department of Homeland Security. This change intends to clarify "up-front" by electronic message title that the information is For Official Use Only. CIP (FOUO) Notices will continue to be sent to the registered and subscribed ESS senior leadership without interruption. However, if any sector senior leaders are not currently receiving these FOUO documents, then contact the EMR-ISAC immediately at 301-447-1325 or at emr-isac@dhs.gov for assistance.

Holiday Vigilance

As thoughts understandably turn to family, friends, and celebrations between 24 December and 2 January, Emergency Services Sector (ESS) leaders are reminded that the critical infrastructures (i.e., personnel, physical assets, and communication/cyber systems) upon which our loved ones and citizens depend must remain intact and operational without incapacitation or destruction by deliberate, natural, or accidental causes. Therefore, during these holidays, the EMR-ISAC recommends continued vigilance and preparations to ensure survivability, continuity of operations, and mission success.

The staff of the Emergency Management and Response - Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) wishes happiness and safety for all ESS personnel throughout the United States. It was an honor and pleasure to serve your CIP needs during this past calendar year. Please know that there will be no INFOGRAM published on 23 and 30 December. The next INFOGRAM will be dated January 6, 2005.

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.

Weekly INFOGRAM's are now available as an RSS Feed. More Information »