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interview survivors. Their priorities may create emergency response
coordination challenges that the LEPC should address in its
plan.
This portion of the fact sheet suggests changed you can make
to specific portions of your emergency plan.
Emergency
Contact Information. In the event of a terrorist incident,
rapid and secure communications will be crucial to ensure a
prompt and coordinated response. Your plan should include current
contact information for fire, emergency medical services (EMS),
law enforcement, medical, and other local de-partments and supporting
organizations. Contact information for state officials, including
those at public health agencies, the State Emergency Response
Commission (SERC), state police, and emergency management agencies
should also be included.
The emergency assistance telephone roster in your emergency
response plan should include regular phone numbers, cell phone
numbers, pager numbers, and response actions. The NRC also provides
reports and notifications to other Federal agencies as necessary.
All local plans should also include contact infor-mation for
the local FBI field office.
Response
Functions Incident Command/Unified Command. Your emergency
plan should address direction and control of responders in the
event of a terrorist attack. Local responders respond to an
incident scene and should notify local, state, and Federal authorities
if terrorism appears to be involved. Local response authorities
(such as a senior fire or law enforcement official) should establish
control of the incident scene. The in-cident command system
(ICS) that is initially established will likely transition into
a unified command (UC). The UC structure used at the scene
will expand as mutualaid partners and state and Federal responders
arrive to assist with response operations.
The FBI is the overall lead Federal agency for a domestic terrorist
incident involving WMD and will lead the crisis management
activities (including law enforcement activities) of the response.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is the lead agency
for coordination of Federal support to state and local responders
during consequence management activities of the response. Although
the FBI is always involved in response to a credible terrorist
threat or attack, FEMA support is provided only after presidential
declaration, typically after state and local agencies request
their assistance.
Consequence management includes measures to protect public
health and safety after an explosion or release; restore essential
government services; and provide emergency relief to government,
business, and individuals. When crisis management activities
have been completed, the U. S. Attorney General may transfer
the overall lead Federal role to FEMA, EPA, the Department
of Health and Human Services (DHHS), and DOD, which also have
specific CT-related functions. EPA’s role in CT activities
is described in a fact sheet by that name, available at www.epa.gov/ceppo/ct-publ.htm#factsheet.
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EPA’s
Role in the Federal Response Plan. The multi-agency response
plrogram that helps states during and after a disaster is the
Federal Response Plan (FRP), which groups Federal assistance
into 12 functional areas called emergency support functions
(ESFs). EPA is the primary agency for ESF-10, Hazardous Materials,
which provides for a coordinated response to large-scale releases
of hazardous materials by incorporating the response mechanisms
of the National Contingency Plan (NCP), EPA assists in determining
what sort of hazardous substance may be or has been released
in a terrorist incident, assistant with environmental monitoring,
decontamination, and long-term site cleanup.
Public
Information. Rapid and secure communications help to
ensure a prompt and coordinated response to terrorist activities.
Therefore, strengthening communications among emergency responders,
law enforcement officials, clinicians, emergency rooms, hospitals,
and mass care providers is extremely important. Your emergency
plan should include the use of accurate and timely public notification
measures and warning systems in the event of a terrorist attack.
Work in advance with local news media representatives to ensure
their cooperation at the time of an incident. Ongoing communication
of accurate and up-to-date information will help calm ears and
limit the effects of the attack. The FBI will establish a joint
information center (JIC) to coordinate the collection and dissemination
of public information. Activities of human services organizations,
such as the Red Cross, should be in-cluded in the emergency
plan. Among other activities, these organizations may use public
information systems to provide human services information the
community, perform crisis counseling, provide insurance information
and assistance, and provide translation services.
Public
and First Responder Health and Safety. Your emergency
plan should address public health and medical issues as they
relate to terrorist events. The plan should include procedures
to identify and treat victims, store and distribute antidotes,
and handle fatalities. Mass care issues that may be different
during a terrorist WMD event include decontamination, multi-hazard/multiagent
triage, mortuary services, and notifying and working with families
of any fatalities.
The emergency plan should also consider the personal safety
of emergency responders in the event of a terrorist attack.
A terrorist chemical, biological, or radiological release may
not be immediately known or apparent. Caregivers, emergency
response and law enforcement personnel, and other first responders
are in danger of becoming casualties before anyone realizes
that a crime has occurred. Incidents could escalate quickly
from one scene to multiple locations and jurisdictions. The
emergency plan should be flexible enough to accommodate evacuation
or in-place sheltering. Evacuation may be required outside the
perimeter of the scene to guard against further casualties from
contamination by a released agent or from the possibility |
