Fusion During Crisis: Aftermath of a Perfect Storm - Domestic

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US Annual $100 Volume 9 Issue 5, May 2013
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Protecting Schools -
Tornadoes & Other Natural Disasters
By Kay C. Goss, Emergency Management
Incident Command for Natural Disasters
By Stephen Grainer, Fire/HazMat
Tornado Preparedness Planning: An Updated Primer
By Scott Fitzsimmons, Emergency Management
Reauthorizing the Nation’s Preparedness
By Raphael M. Barishansky, Standards
Fusion During Crisis: Aftermath of a Perfect Storm
By Christian Schulz & Raymond Guidetti, State Homeland News
Fortifying the Financial Infrastructure
By James Lee Witt & James Loy, Funding Strategies
National Preparedness:
Cha l l e nges, Definitions & Jurisdictions
By Jordan Nelms & Amanda Faul, Standards

Lessons Learned From Katrina
Pay Off in Response to Sandy
By Jamie Stowe, DoD
Specialized Teams Meet Unique Challenges
By Joseph Cahill, EMS
Local Heroes Helping
Their Fellow Citizens With Disabilities
By Stephen M. Thal & William H. Austin, Emergency Management
Since 1998, Integrating Professional Communities of Homeland Security, Preparedness, Response & Recovery

Editor’s Notes
Business Office
517 Benfield Road, Suite 303
Severna Park, MD 21146 USA By James D. Hessman
www.DomesticPreparedness.com
[phone] As the Eastern United States prepares for the official start of the 2013
hurricane season, wildfires break out in California, heavy snow falls in
Staff
upstate New York, a killer tornado rips through Oklahoma, and floods rise
Martin Masiuk
in Iowa. Fortunately, the nation is much better prepared than it was when
Founder & Publisher
[email protected] Katrina hit in 2005, and somewhat better prepared than last year when
Sandy smashed into New Jersey and New York. “Better prepared” is
James D. Hessman comforting, of course, but well short of fully prepared. Fortunately, recent legislation
Editor in Chief
has eliminated some previous bottlenecks – several of them of a strictly political nature.
[email protected]
As the fourteen authors/coauthors in this monthly wrap-up issue point out, though,
Catherine Feinman there are still many difficulties blocking further progress and even greater effort still
Editor is needed.
[email protected]
Susan Collins Kay C. Goss leads the issue with an authoritative report on the tornado that turned Moore,
Director, Production & Strategic Execution Oklahoma, upside down last week, totally destroying several schools in the process,
[email protected]
and killing some of the children. She then adds a comprehensive summary of other
incidents – school fires, in particular – that have taken the lives of many other children.
Derek Sharp
Manager of Business Development
[email protected]
Scott Fitzsimmons adds a quick and helpful primer on tornado preparedness in general.
And Stephen Grainer discusses several ways in which the federal Incident Command
Carole Parker
Database Manager System might and should serve as the foundation of future pre-disaster plans at all levels
[email protected] of government.
John Morton
Strategic Advisor James Lee Witt and James Loy (a former Coast Guard commandant who played a key
[email protected] role in the post-9/11 response effort), team up in a well-articulated report on a bill that is

still languishing in Congress. If passed, that bill would help build an IRA type of national
fund, paid in advance, to assist taxpayers in the recovery phase of the responses to future
Advertisers in This Issue:
weather disasters.
American Military University (AMU)
AVON Protection
Raphael M. Barishansky continues the march with a detailed report on the reauthorization
BioFire Diagnostics Inc.
of the National Recovery Act, which provides additional and much-needed grant
(Formerly Idaho Technology)
funding and clarifies some ambiguities in the original legislation. Jordan Nelms
Emergent BioSolutions Inc.
and Amanda Faul follow up with a candid discussion of the numerous “Challenges,
National Sports Safety and Security
Definitions & Jurisdictions” that also must be addressed before additional progress can
PROENGIN Inc. be made in this unending war between people and the world in which they live.
Remploy Frontline
Salamander Technologies Jamie Stowe focuses special attention on Hurricane Katrina, the political problems that
impeded a full and rapid recovery, and the improvements made when responding to
© Copyright 2013, by IMR Group Inc.; reproduction Hurricane Sandy in 2012. Christian Schulz and Raymond Guidetti report on several
of any part of this publication without express written
ways that state fusion centers can be effectively used to respond to natural disasters.
permission is strictly prohibited.
DomPrep Journal is electronically delivered by
the IMR Group Inc., 517 Benfield Road, Suite Rounding out the issue are two articles. Joseph Cahill discusses the unique chal-
303, Severna Park, MD 21146, USA; phone: 410-
518-6900; email: [email protected]; also lenges that communities can face by combining their response resources. And
available at www.DomPrep.com Stephen M. Thal and William H. Austin focus on citizens with functional needs.
Articles are written by professional practitioners During Katrina, the authors point out, the nation breathed a collective sigh of relief
in homeland security, domestic preparedness, when a large number of mobility-impaired victims were airlifted to safer surroundings
and related fields. Manuscripts are original work,
previously unpublished and not simultaneously an hour or two away – only to discover that their wheelchairs had been left behind.
submitted to another publisher. Text is the opinion
of the author; publisher holds no liability for its use
or interpretation. About the Cover: Hurricanes, tornadoes, and other natural disasters are unpredictable, costly, and
often deadly. This issue of DPJ is respectfully dedicated to the nation’s first responders, who put their
own lives on the line to save their fellow citizens. (Cover photos provided by the Federal Emergency
Management Agency)
Copyright © 2013, DomesticPreparedness.com, DPJ Weekly Brief, and DomPrep Journal are publications of the IMR Group, Inc. Page 3

Protecting Schools –
DomPrep Writers
Tornadoes & Other Natural Disasters
Raphael M. Barishansky
Public Health By Kay C. Goss, Emergency Management
Joseph Cahill On 20 May 2013, a deadly EF5 tornado ripped through parts of
EMS Oklahoma. Two miles wide at one point, with winds reaching 200
mph, the tornado cut a 22-mile path similar to the one caused by
Craig DeAtley
another massive tornado that struck the state, in the same general
Public Health
area, in 1999. The death toll from the latest EF5 tornado stands at
Kay C. Goss 24, with more than 100 other people injured.
Emergency Management
Stephen Grainer Seven of those killed were students at Plaza Towers Elementary School, one of
Fire/HazMat two schools in the tornado’s path. Local residents helped pull the students from
the rubble after the school’s roof had been torn off and its cinder-block walls
Rodrigo (Roddy) Moscoso
knocked down. Briarwood Elementary School also took a direct hit. Several
Law Enforcement
children were initially trapped inside the building, but all were eventually
Corey Ranslem rescued and reunited with their families.
Coast Guard
Teachers from both schools followed procedure by moving students to the
Glen Rudner
Fire/HazMat innermost areas of the respective schools. Covering their heads with their
hands and backpacks, the children were instructed to get down on their hands
Richard Schoeberl
and knees. Both schools were totally demolished, and it seemed significant in
Law Enforcement
the aftermath that neither had received the funding needed to build safe rooms.
Dennis R. Schrader Because the severe weather was predicted, with a 15-minute plus warning,
CIP-R
neither school released its students at the regularly scheduled time but opted
instead to shelter in place.
Joseph Trindal
Law Enforcement
When schools and disasters are mentioned in the same sentence, many people
often think of tragic school shootings – such as that at Sandy Hook Elementary
in Newtown, Connecticut, on 14 December 2012. However, as several recent
storms and tornadoes demonstrate, many other types of disasters can and do
affect schools in every country.
In 2012 alone, an estimated 32 million people around the world were displaced
by various types of disasters, and many schools were destroyed or significantly
damaged. A 2008 risk assessment of schools in Northern California revealed
16 discrete types of disasters that already had occurred or could occur. Each
type – including active shooters, drought, sink holes, and others – is currently
being addressed, but all still require additional mitigation measures. The U.S.
Department of Education Safe and Drug-Free Schools Program, which funded
the 2008 assessment and other projects for elementary and secondary schools
as well as higher educational institutions, was abolished in 2010.
School Tragedies – Deliberate, Natural & Accidental
Almost unimaginable today is the fact that the largest number of deliberate
deaths in the United States – school children and staff combined –
occurred in Bath, Michigan, on 18 May 1927, when a member of the
Copyright © 2013, DomesticPreparedness.com, DPJ Weekly Brief, and DomPrep Journal are publications of the IMR Group, Inc. Page 5
Student Predilections &
The Joplin Model of Courage
Ongoing research shows that long-term difficulties
following a school disaster are most likely to be seen
among children encountering and/or already suffering
from the following during or shortly after the incident:
threats to their physical safety; a fear of death; severe
emotional distress; lost personal belongings or
residence; relocation; or enrollment in schools with
numerous schedule changes, double sessions, and/or
other significant disruptions.
There is another and much brighter side of the picture,
though. On Sunday, 11 May 2011, a devastating tornado
tore through Joplin, Missouri, shortly after 5:00 p.m.,
local school board, apparently upset because of an destroying and damaging classrooms extensively
increase in taxes to support the school, planted homemade across the city. Six schools were totally destroyed:
dynamite bombs in the school’s basement. Only half of Joplin High School, East Middle School, the Franklin
the bombs worked as intended, but they still killed 45 Technology Center, Irving Elementary School, Emerson
students and school employees. The school board member Elementary School, and the Old South Middle School
later killed himself in front of the school by blowing up (a transitional facility that was vacant at the time
his car, which was packed with additional explosives. the tornado hit). Several other schools – Cecil Floyd
Elementary, Duquesne Elementary, Kelsey Norman
Not quite three decades later – at Our Lady of The Angels Elementary, and Roi S. Wood Administration Building –
School in Chicago, Illinois, on 1 December 1958 – a suffered major damages or partial losses.
devastating fire cost the lives of 92 children and three
nuns, the most deaths caused by a school fire in the Realizing the enormous devastation actually caused,
nation’s history. When the fire started, super-heated gases and recognizing the deadly potential if the tornado had
killed many children who were still sitting at their desks, hit during the regular school day, it was surprising that
pencils in hand. Their deaths occurred rapidly, and they only seven students and one school employee were
had no chance to react. killed. Even more encouraging, though, is the fact
that the citizens of Joplin and the surrounding areas
From a strictly U.S. historical perspective, the most school exhibited the community’s strong resilience, built
deaths occurred on 18 March 1937 in New London, Texas, upon years of extensive planning, intensive training,
where students were preparing for an interscholastic regular drills and exercises, and updated technologies
meet in nearby Henderson. At 3:17 p.m., a shop class in- and interoperability to rescue and recover those in
structor simply turned on a sanding machine – and by harm’s way.
doing so triggered a massive explosion when a random
spark ignited natural gas that had leaked and accumulated The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
in a crawl space beneath the school. In an instant, a large and the Missouri State Emergency Management Agency
section of the school building disintegrated, and almost provided a rapid and powerful support network for the
300 students and teachers died. The blast caused by the city. However, FEMA Search and Rescue Teams did
explosion was heard many miles away. Today, more than not really need to be deployed, thanks primarily to the
76 years later, the New London Museum, which stands preparedness efforts of Missouri’s own state and local
across the highway from the site where the original school partners. In addition, the Boone County, Missouri Task
was destroyed, keeps alive the memory of the local gen- Force 1 Search and Rescue in Columbia, a long-time
eration of children who died on that terrible day. (and highly professional) FEMA team, was nearby and a
ready responder.
Page 6 Copyright © 2013, DomesticPreparedness.com, DPJ Weekly Brief, and DomPrep Journal are publications of the IMR Group, Inc.
Those groups, teams, and individual citizens • Describe each and all components of the traditional EOP;
immediately began an inspiring recovery by making
the rebuilding of the school – in time for the regularly • Identify the various steps required to approve and
scheduled fall session, less than four months later – an disseminate the school EOP;
immediate top priority. The 2011 celebrations devoted
to and centered on the opening of schools, as planned • Describe the Incident Command System (ICS)
and on schedule, will serve for many years to come principles and organization;
as a proud symbol of the city’s model comeback and
united community spirit. • Identify the ICS roles included in the individual
school EOPs;
FEMA’s Helpful Planning Guidelines
The FEMA Emergency Management Institute has • Explain the benefits provided by training and exercising
developed a significant number of independent study the school EOP;
courses to help school officials prepare for a broad
spectrum of such events in the near and distant future. • Identify the types of exercises available to exercise the
One course that focuses on Multi-Hazards Emergency school’s plan;
Planning for Schools is available for independent study
and for in-classroom, on-campus learning. This course • Describe the steps available for developing and carrying
provides school officials with specific information on: out effective training drills and exercises; and
“understanding incident management; forming the
planning team; understanding the situation; developing
• Describe how exercise results should be used to improve
a school emergency operations plan; incorporating the
school preparedness efforts.
Incident Command System principles and roles in the
school emergency operations plan; and training, exercising,
To briefly summarize, the 21st century is both immensely
and maintaining the school emergency operations plan.”
hopeful, but also fraught with danger. Material abundance
According to FEMA’s website, and the course objectives
and advanced technology contend with international
postulated, participants who successfully complete the
strife and sudden natural and manmade disasters, the
courses will be able to:
most difficult of which are those affecting the lives of
young children. Significant progress has been made in
• Describe the activities related to the key areas of mitigating at least some of these disasters, but by no
incident management; means all of them. Much more remains to be done – and
will be, if enough citizens and their elected and appointed
• Describe how the school emergency operations plan leaders provide the resources needed to build a better
(EOP) fits into district, community, and family/personal world for tomorrow.
emergency plans;
Kay C. Goss, CEM, is the founding President and CEO for World
Disaster Management, President of the Foundation for Higher Education
• Identify the school staff members who should be
Accreditation in Emergency Management, First Vice President of the
appointed to participate on the school planning team; International Network of Women in Emergency Management, and Vice
President of the Every Child Is Ours Foundation; she also founded
the FEMA Higher Education Program and serves as adjunct faculty at
• Similarly, identify members of the local community who
Istanbul Technical University in Turkey and at the University of Nevada,
also should be on the school planning team; Las Vegas. She previously served as Associate FEMA Director in charge
of National Preparedness, Training, and Exercises for President William
J. Clinton and for 10 years was his Senior Assistant, in the Arkansas
• Identify the most likely natural, technological, and
Governor’s Office, for Intergovernmental Relations. She also served
human-caused hazards that might be encountered; as a member of the Virginia Commonwealth Preparedness Panel under
Governors Mark Warner and Tim Kaine; and as Chair of the International
Association of Emergency Managers Committee on Training and Education.
• Identify and assess the hazards most likely to impact a
She is the author of five books and several hundred articles, and a highly
specific school;
respected public speaker.
Copyright © 2013, DomesticPreparedness.com, DPJ Weekly Brief, and DomPrep Journal are publications of the IMR Group, Inc. Page 7
Incident Command for Natural Disasters
By Stephen Grainer, Fire/HazMat
In February 2003, President George W. standard functional responsibilities, which are often
Bush signed Homeland Security Presidential identified by specific positions in the ICS command
Directive Number 5 (HSPD-5), which directed structure, the system provides what might be considered
the establishment of a National Incident a “fill in the blanks” management organization chart.
Management System (NIMS). That directive This deliberately generic approach enables response
mandated, among other things, the adaptation and personnel to identify what functions should be staffed
adoption of an Incident Command System (ICS) to execute the tasks and duties needed to manage the
as a core component of the NIMS. As many resources available to confront almost any type of
emergency response personnel already know, situation. In essence, the standard ICS organization
the ICS itself was originally developed for chart addresses the fundamental management
wildland firefighting. components – either through position
staffing or by providing a list of the
elements or activities necessary to
Also, as has been well documented in
From wildfires to
affect sound management of the
recent years, some decision makers
response efforts – in much the same
and responders in the emergency terrorist incidents,
way as managing any other type
management community have resisted
the national of situation.
the mandate to use a system, originally
developed to fight wildland fires, to Incident Command
manage supposedly higher-level events The ICS intentionally does not
System provides
such as actual or potential terrorist mandate specific strategies, tactics,
incidents. This opposition apparently or incident objectives. It is, however,
effective concepts
was based on the unproven premise based on three consistent and mutually
that the differences in incident and processes for reinforcing priorities: (a) life safety; (b)
circumstances necessitated different incident stabilization; and (c) property
managing all-hazard
management systems. preservation. These priorities provide
events that affect the starting point for all decision-
making relative to any type of situation
Although these and other arguments other jurisdictions
imaginable – specifically including planned
have subsided to some extent, there
at all levels of or non-emergency events.
is still a continued reluctance to
accept ICS as an appropriate and
government.
effective tool for managing all types As management and operational
of emergencies, including natural personnel are taught in basic ICS
disasters. This skepticism is unfortunate training, decisions and subsequent
because the most significant aspect of the NIMS-ICS actions for any situation can be derived by
approach is the all-hazards applicability of the concepts remembering, and using, a simple acronym – POST
and processes that comprise the core of the system. (Priorities-Objectives-Strategies-Tactics/Tasks) – that
captures the fundamental process flow by which
“Managing” a Disaster the actions (tactics) needed for any given situation
Typically, the critics of ICS confuse strategic and are ultimately determined. By following this
tactical decision-making for different types of incidents systematic approach, incident managers can develop
(or hazards) with the fundamental purpose of ICS. the overall approach needed to determine the actions
But the ICS, by its very nature, is intended to provide necessary for each and every situation likely to be
a management template for any type of situation. encountered. In addition, those actions (tactics or tasks)
Through the identification and establishment of will help identify the necessary resources. Conversely,
Page 8 Copyright © 2013, DomesticPreparedness.com, DPJ Weekly Brief, and DomPrep Journal are publications of the IMR Group, Inc.
the lack of resources might dictate changes to Command – often titled “management” in nonemergency
objectives, strategies, or tactics because the resources situations – is the element or function ultimately
currently available are either insufficient in size or responsible for reviewing and approving
simply not adequate to carry out the actions needed. recommendations and actions proposed or planned.
Command typically establishes the objectives for
the incident response. Requests for resources and
It is important to note that, in many situations,
authorization for expenditures are among the primary
particularly naturally occurring disasters, response
responsibilities of the command, or management,
resources cannot “manage” what is occurring. This is
function. In a limited or discipline-based incident such
especially true during the onset and impact phases of
as a fire, or even for organizational activities in normal
a natural disaster. The old adage that “You can’t fool with
Mother Nature” merits thoughtful consideration. For
example, there is no way to reverse or divert the
course of a hurricane or to redirect a tornado.
However, recognizing that humans cannot alter
the direction or impact areas of most natural
disasters, it is critical that response resources
soundly and effectively minimize casualties
among responders and civilians, and also
contain or control damage – to whatever extent
is possible. In fact, the ICS is a logical and well-
planned system for managing the broad
spectrum of human and material resources
that, in turn, manage the effects of the incident.
More important, though, is the simple fact that
the ICS provides a systematic approach for
managing the resources needed to undertake
the timely and effective recovery and
restoration operations required in the wake
of almost any major incident.
Minimizing Casualties &
Other Damage
As is also taught in fundamental ICS training,
there are five constant elements in ICS
that constitute the management structure:
command; planning; logistics; finance and
administration; and operations. These same
elements are often found in the management
of any organization – government agencies,
private companies, and even social clubs.
Therefore, a persuasive case can be made
that ICS is, indeed, applicable for any type
of situation. Following is a brief summary of
the various functions and responsibilities
usually “assigned” to each of the five elements
mentioned above.
Copyright © 2013, DomesticPreparedness.com, DPJ Weekly Brief, and DomPrep Journal are publications of the IMR Group, Inc. Page 9
operations, command is commonly executed by a single manageable span of control must be established. In
person. In more complex and widespread incidents, a simple terms, the more working resources there are
“unified command” may be established to ensure that that engage in activities, the greater the number of
the responsibilities, authorities, and resources of many supervisors that will be needed. Consequently, the
different agencies and organizations are effectively operations function will frequently entail the largest
represented in the decision-making process. quantity of resources as well as the greatest number
of supervisors.
Planning is the element or function responsible for
monitoring and assessing the situation, identifying Supporting Disaster Operations
strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and even potential Three other functions or positions may be necessary
threats to effective incident activities, as well as as extensions of the command function during long-
preparing alternative recommendations for action. The term or complex activities: safety, public information,
planning function is also responsible for documenting and liaison. When staffed, these positions directly
all significant actions taken (and likely to be repeated support major responsibilities of the incident
or avoided in the future).
commander by relieving him or her of direct personal
oversight of each to ensure safe operations, provide
Logistics is the function most essential to resource essential public information, and maintain coordination
management. In addition to the responsibility for with supporting resources not directly involved in
making sure that adequate resources (as determined operational assignments. Here it should be noted,
by command and operations) are acquired in a timely though, that these command functions – although
manner, the logistics function is also responsible for, carried out by other individuals in larger and more
among other things: ensuring that those resources go complex incidents – remain the responsibility of the
where they are needed; providing appropriate medical incident commander.
support (for the human resources) and accommodations
when applicable; and feeding those resources. The
In summary, the ICS as stipulated in HSPD-5 is
logistics function is also usually responsible for
an organizational management tool that provides a
establishing the protocols and methodology needed
standardized template for managing virtually any type
for maintaining communications.
of incident or event. Almost every organization uses a
similar template for routine activities. In fact, some
Cost: As any modern organization can attest, “everything realistic corollaries have been drawn between ICS and
comes with a cost.” The finance and administration how the typical household is “managed.” Hence, a valid
function is responsible for overseeing the proper (and argument can be made that ICS is a logical extension
legally appropriate) expenditure of the organization’s of routine management that is readily applicable to
funds. This function tracks costs, identifies potential cope with natural disaster emergencies as well.
savings, administers salary payments for workers –
as well as rental or service charges for equipment
resources – and administers compensation for claims Stephen Grainer is the chief of IMS programs for the Virginia
Department of Fire Programs (VDFP). He has served in Virginia fire and
that may arise from actions taken during operations.
emergency services and emergency management coordination programs
since 1972 – in assignments ranging from firefighter to chief officer.
Operations, which is typically the most visible He also has been a curriculum developer, content evaluator, and instructor,
and currently is developing and managing the VDFP programs needed
aspect of incident management, is the function
to enable emergency responders and others to meet the NIMS-
that is directly responsible for the supervision of
compliance requirements established by the federal government for
all resources directly involved in the execution of incident management. From 2010 to 2012, he served as president of the
activities relative to the situation, including actual All-Hazards Incident Management Teams Association.
response, recovery, and restoration. Because effective
supervision is critical to ensuring safe operations, a
Page 10 Copyright © 2013, DomesticPreparedness.com, DPJ Weekly Brief, and DomPrep Journal are publications of the IMR Group, Inc.