Inter-Agency Collaboration and Consequence
Management: An All-Hazard Approach to
Emergency Incident Response
Shawn D. Smith
CEO -- Emergency Visions
"About 15 floors down from the top, it looks like it's glowing red," the pilot of one
helicopter, Aviation 14, radioed at 10:07 a.m. "It's inevitable. Seconds later,
another pilot reported: "I don't think this has too much longer to go. I would
evacuate all people within the area of that second building." Those clear warnings,
captured on police radio tapes, were transmitted 21 minutes before the building
fell, and officials say they were relayed to police officers, most of whom managed
to escape. Yet most firefighters never heard those warnings, or earlier orders to get
out…And the police and fire commanders guiding the rescue efforts did not talk to
one another during the crisis…..From the first moments to the last, their efforts
were plagued by failures of communication, command and control.” – The New
York Times, “9/11 Exposed Deadly Flaws in Rescue Plan”, July 7, 2002.
The World Trade Center tragedy of 09/11 and the subsequent Anthrax incidents in
Florida, The District of Columbia, New Jersey, and Connecticut exposed the
vulnerabilities within our cities, and in many private industries, including industrial,
transportation, and healthcare markets. Clearly as a nation we now realize that we are at
constant risk for mass casualty situations, either resulting from natural or man-made
events.
Our communities have always been susceptible to the threats provided by natural hazards
such as Hurricanes, Tornadoes, and Floods. Up to now, the Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA) has served as primary after-the-fact funding source for
recovery from such events. However, after 09/11 there has been a shift in priority from
recovery to preparedness, with a focus on the need to protect, in advance of an event, the
safety and security of our nation's citizens and our critical infrastructure resources.
The result of this paradigm shift is the largest allocation of Federal funds since World
War II. These funds exist to facilitate a coordinated local response to emergency
incidents, to bolster the security of our Homeland, and to better prepare First Responder's
(Fire, Police, EMS ) to take action in the event of an emergency. The first set of funding
allotted has been provided to local communities to facilitate Bioterrorism planning and
response efforts (to include incident response for Biological, Chemical, and Radiological
Emergencies resulting from terrorist acts).
For example, on February 15, 2002, The President's Budget for Fiscal Year 2002 was
amended to provide approximately $918 million, directed by the Centers for Disease
Control (CDC), to benefit both state and local preparedness and response efforts to
potential bioterrorist events, outbreaks of infectious disease, and other public
emergencies and health threats of a natural or man-made origin (source: www.cdc.gov ,
specifically the “Notice of Cooperative Agreement Award, Guidance for Fiscal Year
2002 Supplemental Funds for Public Health Preparedness and Response for Bioterrorism,
Announcement Number 99051 – Emergency Supplemental, February 15, 2002”).
Unfortunately, even with this new focus on preparedness (and with the associated federal
funding becoming available) most private sector organizations, and many communities
across the nation, are not adequately prepared for even common emergency situations.
Most organizations are not aware of their vulnerabilities or their capacity to respond to
emergency situations. Most do not have an accurate or complete set of emergency
response plans for the hazards their face. Most have not established polices and
procedures for coordination with other agencies in response to an emergency event. And
finally, most are not aware of the latest tools and techniques available to disseminate realtime alerts and to facilitate bi-directional communication and messaging between
emergency response participants, which would improve preparedness and collaboration.
“In virtually every major city and county in the United States, no interoperable
communications system exists to support police, fire departments, and county,
state, regional, and federal response personnel during a major emergency…Most
U.S. cities have separate command-and-control functions for their police and fire
departments, and little to no coordination exists between the two organizations.” -America Still Unprepared - America Still in Danger , a Hart-Rudman report sponsored by the
Council on Foreign Relations, October 24, 2002
The lack of coordination among agencies is even more evident with respect to
Bioterrorism, an event that would involve local and state public health departments.
Local Public Health Agencies (LPHAs) have not always been identified locally or
nationally as first responders in disasters. Although a public health official is often
present at an Emergency Operations Center during a natural hazard response, or a
community drill, these agencies are often left out of pre-disaster planning activities. As
such, the vast majority of LPHAs lack the expertise and human/physical resources to
appropriately assess a community's vulnerability, capacity, and readiness for a chemical
or biological incident, or the ability to develop a response plan, and to simulate/drill
against this plan to improve the preparedness of the community.
Even so, the guidance associated with the CDC funding mentioned above places the
LPHA in the role of “Incident Command” for Bioterrorism response. Putting public
health in charge of the response to a Bioterrorism event, however, is intentional. The
CDC and HHS recognize that LPHAs are uniquely positioned to compile, analyze and
disseminate information critical to the public's health, and to a coordinated response to a
chemical or biological incident. Most hospitals, for example, are only aware of cases of
communicable disease among their own population of patients, and few have direct
experience with chemical exposures. Many other agencies (with the possible exception of
fire, police, and EMS) are not often aware of the appropriate protocols for treating
victims of a chemical incident, and Public Health is likely to be the community's only
center of expertise for the clusters, trends, and recognizable patterns inherent to
significant disease outbreaks .
Information sharing and inter-agency coordination is clearly needed to facilitate a
successful emergency incident response. Yet many public and private organizations lack
the comprehensive emergency response plans that define the roles and responsibilities of
trained personnel responding to an unexpected incident, and describe how to work “sideby-side” with responders from other agencies. Training itself is an issue, as many
organizations do not know where to turn for assistance regarding emergency
preparedness, nor do they have the time to stop the daily task of operating a business or
service to educate personnel on how to respond to disasters, or to implement the
emergency preparedness and response requirements now mandated by the federal
government. In the local communities, where such training is mandated, agencies
participating in an emergency response are typically not coordinated in their efforts, and
to make matters worse, severe shortages exist in the area of emergency management
personnel. The preparedness and response expertise reflected in this type of human
capital is in great demand post-09/11, but very hard to find.
Clearly the response to a Bioterrorism incident would be improved with better
collaboration and coordination among the agencies and private companies participating in
this response effort. How is this accomplished? With training on the principles of
Emergency Management and the Incident Command System (ICS) established by FEMA
for use in response to any type of hazard (an all-hazard approach), and the
implementation of “inherently safer technologies for improved incident response”,
advocated by the Department of Homeland Security in recent legislation (source:
www.dhs.gov ).
The all-hazard approach has been a cornerstone of FEMA's response program since the
agency was first established. It integrates the various emergency plans and activities into
a "life cycle" of Mitigation, Preparedness, Response, and Recovery (the principles of
Emergency Management) and, when combined with the Incident Command System,
provides a template for inter-agency coordination that is directly applicable to events
stemming from chemical and biological hazards, and all other man-made or natural
events.
Each and every community with an Emergency Operations Center has “in-house”
expertise on the all-hazard approach which should be utilized to assist other agencies
(such as public health) in their assessment, planning, and simulation of a communitybased response to emergency situations. Each and every year, 103 cities across the nation
demonstrate that collaboration between agencies, coordinated by emergency managers
and using the all-hazard approach fully prepares the community for a coordinated
incident response. This example refers to communities that are within a ten (10) mile
radius of a nuclear power facility, where Radiological Emergency Preparedness (REP)
exercises are performed.
Horizontal communication and rapid exchange of information among agencies is a basic
requirement during any emergency, and the all-hazard approach has proven to be a
successful response system for both natural and man-made events. Each community
should leverage their experience and knowledge of the all-hazard response system, and
ensure that all agencies participating in an emergency incident response are cross-trained
in this approach.
So what else would help our nation's communities and private sector organizations to
better prepare for the threats that we face on a daily basis? The Department of Homeland
Security was mentioned above as having legislated the use of “inherently safer
technologies” in response to emergency situations. It is, indeed, true that technologies
exist that, had they been utilized, would have made a dramatic and positive difference in
the overall preparation for, and response to, 09/11 and the subsequent Anthrax incidents.
What technologies would qualify for funding by Homeland Security awards and make an
immediate difference in a community-wide response to a natural or man-made
emergency? Clearly there are a lot of vendors making announcements in today's
marketplace on technologies related to Homeland Security, from Chem/Bio decision aids
for First Responders to Syndromic Surveillance and Health Alert tools, to mobile
command centers filled with sophisticated communications equipment. There is no
question that these products add value and individually can improve a part of the overall
incident response.
However, it is in the area called “Consequence Management” where new technologies
can really make a difference in the way a community responds to an emergency situation:
The events of September 11, 2001, launched this country on a rigorous and resolute
examination of its ability to protect its citizens and better prepare its emergency
responders for any kind of emergency or disaster, including acts of terrorism. As we learn
from the lessons of that fateful day and work to become better prepared, we must
continue to enhance the response systems and processes that have worked effectively in
hundreds of emergency situations and disaster operations over the years. Our approach is
all-hazards and our priorities are establishing a nationwide mutual aid capability, a
common command and control system, baseline capability assessments and national
standards, support of state and local emergency management and responders, citizen
preparedness, and coordination of federal preparedness programs…Meanwhile, we will
continue to look to our federal, state, and local partners nationwide to help us build
systems to respond effectively to all hazards. - Bruce Baughman, Director, Office of National
Preparedness, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), January 15, 2003
The solution to our Nation's lack of preparedness is described above by Bruce Baughman
of FEMA, and is commonly referred to as “Consequence Management”. This is an
emergency management function that includes measures to protect public health and
safety, restore essential services, and provide emergency relief to governments,
businesses, and individuals affected by the consequences of a natural or man-made
hazard. Consequence Management is based upon the Emergency Management principles
of Mitigation, Preparedness, Response, and Recovery defined by FEMA back in the
1970s with the creation of the Federal Disaster Response Plan (source: www.fema.gov ).
True Consequence Management provides not only heightened preparedness for potential
disasters but also focuses on improved emergency response and constant, consistent
actions that mitigate the risk of emergency incidents.
FEMA further defines the components of a Consequence Management solution as the
following:
Assessment Tools
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Hazard Vulnerability and Emergency Readiness Assessments
Human and Physical Resource Catalogue (Response Participants)
Planning Tools
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Customized, Hazard-specific Contingency Plans for Emergency Response
Pre-built Standard Operating Procedure Templates / Checklists
Communication & Alert Tools
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Risk Surveillance and Event Prediction
Real-time Alert Dissemination with Chain of Command Notification
Medical Response Tools
•
Syndromic Surveillance tied to Point of Care/Incident Clinical documentation
C4I Tools
•
Command, Control, Communication, Coordination & Information
The above components combine to form a solution that provides Hazard Vulnerability
and Emergency Readiness Assessments for any type of emergency (an All-Hazard
approach) followed by Response Plans jointly developed by government and industry
(Mutual Aid), improved Alert Dissemination and Communication leading to coordinated
medical response and overall incident command and control, with a focus on improving
the preparedness and response efforts of First Responders (firefighters, policemen, and
emergency medical technicians) and local Emergency Managers (trained incident
commanders who typically manage the Emergency Operations Center that resides in each
community).
The need for a complete consequence management solution to better prepare for, and
respond to, natural and man-made emergencies is clear. There are numerous and
meaningful, measurable benefits to improving command, control, communication, and
coordination within each community for all-hazard emergency situations, the number one
benefit being the saving of lives.
Several different software automation tools are now emerging on the market to support
the planning, coordination, and response of local governments and private sector
organizations to potential emergencies. These solutions include the latest in event
prediction, community-wide physical and human resource identification, automation of
contingency plans, real-time inter-agency communication, and overall incident response
task workflow and management. Consequence Management technologies serve to help
our communities establish control over their resources, effectively plan for emergency
situations, and improve the appropriate response to an event, thereby mitigating risk and
saving lives.
So what overall functionality should a true Consequence Management solution provide?
1. Event Prediction and Alerts (real-time polling of resource status, availability and
location, and rapid risk communication/alert dissemination to key personnel as part of a
Simulation/Drill exercise, or prior to an actual event)
• Monitoring of multiple information sources for possible alerts to response
participants (via existing external system interfaces)
• Rapid risk communication and alerts regarding an identified threat (reaching
response participants via email, fax, phone, Internet, cellular, wireless, and
handheld connectivity and connecting with existing information sources,
including EOCs, Fire, Police, EMS, e911, Hospitals, Public Works, and even
Federal/State agencies)
• Pre-event polling of physical and human resources (status, availability, and
location)
2. Contingency Planning (identification of physical and human resources by type and
workflow, threat response planning, graphical design of response plans, and automation
of resource and response plan templates/checklists),
• Human and Physical Resource Inventory Automation and Cataloguing
• Pre-built Response Templates / Checklists (Natural and Man-made Hazards)
• Response Template / Checklist Design Tool (to create custom templates)
• Public / Private Sector response communication and coordination
3. Consequence Coordination and Response (actual deployment/coordination of
resources during an event, rapid risk communication/alert dissemination to response
participants, activation of response plans, prompts to users for specific actions, embedded
escalation of alerts and prompts, and full audit/documentation of actions taken by
participants during the event)
•
Real-time polling of physical or human resource status, location, and
availability
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Real-time Alert Facility to human participants with embedded workflow,
timers, and escalation options
Resource Deployment and Optimization (automated prompts for users to take
appropriate actions, and for specific allocation/coordination of resources)
Rapid Risk Communication / Alert information dissemination (to the media
and the public)
Command Center and Control via a graphical user interface (top-level view of
the incident with drill-down to specific components of the response – also
allows user input regarding response components that may change a
component's action within the response, or the overall response template)
Real-time suggested actions for all response participants
Full audit trail of actual actions performed by response participants
All functionality available in a “live” incident response is available in a full
response simulation
Real-time Event Audit / and “live” Documentation of the entire incident
response scenario during the Simulation
4. Post-event Audit / Documentation (including resource optimization,
recommendations for future events, actual v. plan reports, and non-emergency
coordination such as logistics)
•
Graphical reports (standard line/pie/bar graphing tool) of actual v. plan
variances
•
ESRI mapping (GIS mapping and trend analysis)
•
Customized regulatory reports (NRC, EPA, CDC, DOT, etc.)
•
Post-event resource deployment and coordination
5. Simulation and Drill Development (automated, real-time coordination of the critical
exercises that can expose gaps in response plans, improve response time, and mitigate
risk to actual events)
•
A Library of simulations (templates)
•
A simulation development wizard (creating custom drills for multiple threats)
•
Simulation execution and management (real-time, automated drills with full
audit functions by human and physical resource)
•
Post-drill reports
Adopting technologies that improve command, control, and response to emergencies,
detect and communicate potential threats, and save lives when a disaster occurs will not
only provide day-to-day value in the fight against the emergencies faced by local
communities, but they will be also be viewed as an appropriate action to mitigate the
risks of the Terrorism threat that all major municipalities currently face.
Let's take a closer look at one of the above functional areas: Event Prediction and Alerts.
Alert Dissemination is a critical part of an organization's preparedness for an emergency
incident, as well as their capacity and readiness to respond. An alert/notification system
should include the following features:
• Event Prediction: Monitoring of multiple local, state, and national information
sources and user-defined risk analysis for possible alerts to response participants
• Real-time Alert Dissemination regarding an identified threat or emergency
event (including libraried and custom alert messages and message attachments:
files, documents, images, etc.)
• An Emergency Response Participant Directory (defines how to reach each
individual by time of day) based on hazard-specific Contingency/Response Plans
or Checklists
• A Workflow-based Alert Facility with embedded timers and escalation
options to reach response participants via email, fax, phone, Internet, cellular,
wireless, and handheld connectivity, and also to connect with existing computer
systems, including EOCs, Fire, Police, EMS, e911, Hospitals, Public Works, and
even Federal/State agencies
• Bi-Directional Communication between response participants (including
email, file transfer, instant messaging, communication lists, group messaging, and
collaboration/work space options)
• A Graphical Message Center offering daily value in the organization and
display of emergency and non-related emergency information
• A Communications Infrastructure to utilize in the automation of emergency
Simulation/Drill exercises
• Integrated Voice and Web-based Collaboration/Conferencing tools to
facilitate improved post-alert preparedness and response initiatives
Event Prediction and Alert Dissemination is a key functional area within the larger
concept that FEMA calls “Consequence Management”, and can mitigate the risks
associated with emergency situations, better prepare community and private sector
organizations for these events, and improve the response to natural and man-made
incidents before, during, and after the event. The goal is to minimize the effects of
potential disasters, both on an economic and human scale, and as part of a complete
Consequence Management solution, Alert Dissemination technologies do exactly that.
There are numerous benefits for Local Communities in identifying and implementing a
complete Consequence Management solution. Among these are:
• Day-to-day value in improved communication between Community agencies
• Faster, accurate, more precise Alerts to Key Personnel regarding potential
emergencies
• Improved preparedness in advance of potential disasters
• Better coordination among agencies during the response to an incident
• Real-time, accurate information regarding status of human and physical
resources responding to an emergency
• Optimized deployment, control, and coordination of resources in the field
• Full, real-time audit and documentation of actions taken by incident responders
• Full documentation of Mutual Aid requests, and the Community response to
these requests
• Faster recovery from the event
• Complete control and coordination of Simulation/Drill exercises to identify
weaknesses in emergency response plans by hazard type and to insure full
education/preparedness of response participants
• Ability to document improvements in incident response over time
• A clear indication of positive actions taken to respond to the threat of Terrorism,
and to protect the safety of citizens within the community.
• Proof of steps taken to improve preparedness for, and response to, virtually any
kind of emergency situation
• Lives saved as a result of a faster, coordinated disaster response
The greatest benefit to local communities will be in the adoption of solutions that can
facilitate the overall incident response to any natural or man-made hazard. These
Consequence Management solutions will provide numerous, quantifiable benefits for
U.S. communities and their Corporate Citizens by mitigating the risks associated with
emergency situations, better preparing the community and private sector organizations
for these events, vastly improving the response to natural and man-made incidents, and
facilitating a smooth recovery from the event.
The need for leadership, expertise, and resources in identifying and responding to both
natural and man-made threats has become more clearly understood in the aftermath of
09/11 and the Anthrax incidents. The next task for every community, nation-wide, is to
define the distinct roles of first responders, the medical community, public health
professionals, and all other participants in a community-based response system, to focus
on inter-agency collaboration, to cross-train them on Emergency Management principles
and the Incident Command System, and to define emergency response plans based on an
all-hazard approach. And to do so before the next event occurs.
Terrorism does not respect geographic boundaries, and we now know that each and every
community in this nation is vulnerable to a terrorist act. We may not be able to prevent
these incidents, but we can minimize the effects of these emergencies, as well as natural
disasters, both on an economic and human scale with the adoption of technologies that
provide Consequence Management solutions, and with a focus on inter-agency
collaboration.