Chapter 6

The Disciplines of Emergency

Management: Response

©2014 Elsevier, Inc.

 First Responders
• Local Police, Fire, and Emergency Medical
• Rescue and attend to the injured
• Suppress fires
• Secure and police the disaster area
• Begin the process of restoring order
• Supported by local emergency management

©2014 Elsevier, Inc.

 Presidentially-Declared
Disaster
• If local responders are overwhelmed and damage
exceeds local government capacity, the mayor or
county executive will turn to the governor
• If the governor decides the disaster exceeds state
response capacity, they will make a request for a
presidential major disaster declaration
• The President can accept or reject the request
• If the President grants a major disaster declaration,
the National Response Framework (NRF) guides
the multi-agency response
©2014 Elsevier, Inc.
 Local Response
• Minor disasters handled daily by local fire, police,
and emergency medical personnel
• Their job is to secure the scene, maintain order,
rescue/ treat the injured, contain/suppress fire or
hazardous conditions, and retrieve the dead
• Local officials also first responders to major disaster
events, but they may be supported by community
leaders, the state government, and the federal
government.
• Local first response actions driven by procedures
and protocols developed by the responding agency
• Many communities reviewing plans in 9/11
aftermath
©2014 Elsevier, Inc.
 First Responder Roles and
Responsibilities
• The roles and responsibilities of first responders
are often detailed in the community emergency
plan
• US system is decentralized
• Statutory authorities required
• ICS/NIMS requirements

©2014 Elsevier, Inc.

 Local Emergency Managers
• Typically responsible for developing and
maintaining community emergency plans
• Often serves in other government positions,
or possibly in the private sector—EM role
may be secondary
• The profession of local emergency
management has been maturing, becoming
more academic
• Standardization emerging

©2014 Elsevier, Inc.

 State Response
• Each US state and territory maintains an office of
emergency management
• Funding for state EM offices comes principally
from FEMA and state budgets
• Principal response resource available to governors
is the National Guard
– John Warner National Defense Reauthorization Act
weakened the role of the governor
• Capabilities and capacities strongest in states that
experience high levels of annual disaster activity

©2014 Elsevier, Inc.

 Public Law 109-364
• Early 2007: The John Warner National Defense
Reauthorization Act
• Authority of Governors to deploy the National
Guard was severely eroded
• Section 1076—President given the authority to
commandeer total control of the National Guard
• Believed to be a reaction to Katrina response
• NGA voiced opposition

©2014 Elsevier, Inc.

 Volunteer Group Response
• Volunteers on the front line of response
• National groups (ARC/Salvation Army) roster and
maintain local volunteer chapters trained in
emergency response
• These organizations work with local, state, and
federal authorities to address immediate needs
• May have EOP-designated roles (shelter, food,
clothing, etc.)
• NVOAD—helps member groups at a disaster
location to coordinate and communicate in order to
provide the most efficient and effective response

©2014 Elsevier, Inc.

Volunteer Groups: Post-Katrina
• Katrina changed the response landscape for voluntary
agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGO’s),
and the private sector
• Katrina’s size required resources and capabilities
beyond the usual government programs
• Evacuation created demand for shelters, medicine,
food, and temporary housing—NGO’s/private sector
provided many of the support services
• Private sector raised over $1 billion for the response
and supported a number of activities not covered by
government relief programs

©2014 Elsevier, Inc.

Incident Command System (ICS)
• Developed after the 1970 Southern CA fires
• ICS main function is to establish a set of planning
and management systems to help agencies
responding to a disaster to work together
• There are multiple functions in the ICS system
• 5 major ICS management systems
– Command (Incident Commander)
– Operations
– Planning
– Logistics
– Finance.
©2014 Elsevier, Inc.
 Incident Types

• Single incident command

• Unified command
• Area command

©2014 Elsevier, Inc.

 The Federal Response
• Presidential disaster declaration is the first step toward
involving federal officials, agencies, departments, and
resources in a disaster event
• More than 30 governmental and NGO (including the
American Red Cross) agencies working together to
support state and local efforts
• DHS, through FEMA, responsible for coordinating all
federal activities in support of state and local response
and recovery
• FEMA initiates response and activities are guided by the
National Response Framework (NRF)

©2014 Elsevier, Inc.

 Presidential Disaster
Declaration (PDD) Process
• PDD makes federal resources available
• Governor must make a formal request for assistance
and specify specific disaster area needs
• The HS Office of Operations Coordination and
Planning receives/processes incident information
• Disaster declaration decision completely at the
discretion of the President
• PDDs routinely sought for such events as large floods,
hurricanes, earthquakes, and big tornadoes
• Between 1979 and 2012, 1526 PDDs, averaging 45 per
year
©2014 Elsevier, Inc.
 PDA
• Preliminary damage assessment team comprised
of personnel from FEMA, State's EM agency,
county and local officials, and the SBA
• Team reviews types of damage or emergency
costs incurred, impact to critical facilities, and the
effect on individuals and businesses
• Additional data from the Red Cross or other local
voluntary agencies may also be reviewed

©2014 Elsevier, Inc.

 FRP, NRP, and NRF
• 1992—FEMA developed the Federal Response
Plan
• Signed agreement among 27 Federal
departments and agencies, including the
American Red Cross
• Provided coordination for Federal assistance
and resources to augment efforts of
overwhelmed State and local governments

©2014 Elsevier, Inc.

 NRP
• HSPD-5 authorized the design and development of the
National Response Plan (NRP)
• All-discipline, all-hazards plan that establishes a
framework for the management of domestic incidents
• Provides the structure/mechanisms for coordination of
Federal support to State, local, and tribal incident
managers
• Assists in preventing terrorist attacks within the US;
reducing all-hazards vulnerability; and minimizing
damage and assisting in the incident recovery
• Designed according to the NIMS template

©2014 Elsevier, Inc.

 NRF
• National Response Framework published by DHS
in January 2008
• Replaced the National Response Plan (NRP)
• Currently serves as the guide for response to
major disaster events in the United States
• “Presents the guiding principles that enable all
response partners to prepare for and provide a
unified national response to disasters and
emergencies – from the smallest incident to the
largest catastrophe.”
• 2013 update for Whole Community concept
©2014 Elsevier, Inc.
 Federal Assistance
• Federal assistance can be provided to State, tribal,
and local jurisdictions, and to other Federal
departments and agencies, in a number of different
ways through various mechanisms and authorities
• Does not always require coordination by DHS
• May be provided without a Presidential major
disaster or emergency declaration
• May be led by other Federal departments and
agencies consistent with their authorities

©2014 Elsevier, Inc.

NRF Emergency Support Functions
• ESF #1—Transportation
• ESF #2—Communications
• ESF #3—Public Works and Engineering
• ESF #4—Firefighting
• ESF #5—Information and Planning
• ESF #6—Mass Care, Emergency Assistance, Temporary Housing, and
Human Services
• ESF #7—Logistics
• ESF #8—Public Health and Medical Services
• ESF #9—Search and Rescue
• ESF #10—Oil and Hazardous Materials Response
• ESF #11—Agriculture and Natural Resources
• ESF #12—Energy
• ESF $13—Public Safety and Security
• ESF #14—Long-Term Community Recovery (superseded by NDRF)
• ESF #15—External Affairs
©2014 Elsevier, Inc.
 NRF Support Annexes
• Critical Infrastructure and Key Resources
• Financial Management
• International Coordination
• Private Sector Coordination
• Public Affairs
• Tribal Relations
• Volunteer and Donations Management
• Worker Safety and Health
©2014 Elsevier, Inc.
 NRF Roles / Responsibilities
• Governor
• Local Chief Elected/Appointed Official
• Tribal/Territorial/Insular Area Leader
• Secretary of Homeland Security
• FEMA Administrator
• Attorney General
• Secretary of Defense
• Secretary of State
• NGOs
• Private Sector
• Citizens
©2014 Elsevier, Inc.
 Mission Assignments
• FEMA coordinates the Federal response process
• ESF#5, Information and Planning
• FEMA tasks other Federal agencies using Mission
Assignments (MAs)
• MA is a work order to a Federal agency directing
the completion of a specific task, and citing
funding, other managerial controls, and guidance
• MAs may be given in anticipation of, or in
response to, a Presidential declaration of an
emergency or major disaster
©2014 Elsevier, Inc.
 NRF Operations Coordination
• Local Incident Command Post
• Local Emergency Operations Center
• State Emergency Operations Center
• National Operations Center
• National Response Coordination Center
• National Infrastructure Coordination Center
• National Military Command Center
• National Counterterrorism Center
• Strategic Information and Operations Center
• Joint Operations Center
• Joint Information Center
©2014 Elsevier, Inc.
 JFO Sections
• Operations Section
– Response/Recovery Operations Branch
– Law Enforcement Investigative Operations
Branch/Joint Operations Center
– Security Operations Branch or Mutli-Agency
Command Center
• Planning Section
• Logistics Section
• Finance and Administration Section

©2014 Elsevier, Inc.

 Incident Management
Assistance Teams
• Full-time, rapidly-deployable emergency response teams
• Deploy within two hours of notification / can arrive at an
incident within 12 hours to support local IC
• Support initial unified command establishment / provide
situational awareness
• Built on the concept of former ERT-Ns and ERT-As
• Plan is to have 3 National IMATs and 13 Regional
IMATs
• Provide a forward federal presence to facilitate the
management of the national response to catastrophic
incidents
©2014 Elsevier, Inc.
Key Federal Response Officials

• Principal Federal Official (PFO)

• Federal Coordinating Officer (FCO)
• State Coordinating Officer (SCO)
• Other Senior Officials

©2014 Elsevier, Inc.

 FEMA National Disaster
Reservists
• Cadre of more than 7,000 Reservists
• Formerly called Disaster Assistance Employees
• Work on an on-call, intermittent basis
• Form the bulk of FEMA workforce during
disasters/critical to the FEMA mission
• Staff the JFOs and DRCs, interview disaster
victims, conduct and verify damage assessments,
provide administrative, financial, and logistical
support and other tasks
©2014 Elsevier, Inc.
 FEMA Qualification System
• Establishes benchmarks of skills and knowledge
required for each position
• Baseline qualifications for each program position
• Each cadre member evaluated against standards
for training, experience, and performance
• Grew out of NIMS
• Two rating levels: Trainee and Qualified

©2014 Elsevier, Inc.

 Emergency Management
Assistance Compact (EMAC)
• Established in 1996 –1st national disaster-relief compact since the
Civil Defense and Disaster Compact of 1950 to be ratified by
Congress
• Ratified by states, DC, Puerto Rico, territories
• Strength and quality lie in its governance structure, relationship with
stakeholders, and the ability to move resources from state to state
• Assistance readily available
• Uses unique human resources and expertise possessed by member
states
• No declaration needed
• Establishes a firm legal foundation
• Fast and flexible assistance
©2014 Elsevier, Inc.