9/11 Emergency Response Agencies

A total of 19 men, split up in three groups of five and one group of four, passed all airport security checkpoints and boarded four airplanes. They all had knifes of some kind, attacked the cockpit about 30-45 min into the flight, threatened the passengers with fake bombs, and hijacked the plane with the intent on ramming them into important American locations. One hit the North Twin Tower of the World Trade Center, one hit the South Twin Tower of the World Trade Center, another hit the Pentagon, while the last never made it to its destination in Washington D.C., it crashed into a field 20 min from there. The response to the hit of the towers was immediate. Every kind emergency agency rushed to help. However, since they didn’t have standardized procedures on how to deal with something like this and there was no universal or shared radio system, it was utter chaos. Departments struggled to communicate with each other which complicated the task of relaying important information. The New York Times tells us, “Numerous firefighters, police officers and other rescue workers who responded to the initial disaster in Lower Manhattan were killed or injured when the buildings collapsed. Hundreds were treated for cuts, broken bones, burns and smoke inhalation.” (Schmemann,

The various local, state, and federal emergency management systems of the United States suffered a crude awakening in the decade of the 2000s. Systems expected to hold up were put to the test and failed to prepare for disaster, mitigate the damage, and, in some instances, actually hampered responses in life-or-death situations. Worse, all failings were highlighted in an age of global communication and mass media, on display first whether a man-made incident like September 11th attacks or natural disaster like Hurricane Katrina. The decade found the complacent government failing to maintain modern emergency management practices, stimulating began a series of doctrinal upgrades and training improvements. Yet, no matter the bureaucracy, writings, or money thrown at a problem, the first responder to the incident has and will continue to influence the outcome. While the individual responder stands as the most important part of

Emergencies and disasters happen every single day. They all vary in location and severity, but all of them have the potential to leave devastating and long term problem in the infected area if there are not proper steps in place to react quickly. For much of the United States history, there appeared to be no major go to organization in America’s greatest time of need. This paper briefly describes the history of these organizations and how FEMA came to be the USA’s primary reliance in their time of need.

Prior to 9/11 the security of the United States was “across more than 40 federal agencies and an estimated 2,000 separate Congressional appropriations accounts”. (DHS History Office ,2017, p.4). This was a huge issue when it came to sharing intelligence. This was perhaps one of the many reasons that the terrorist of 9/11 were so successful. Shortly after 9/11, the United States found its self in need of an all-encompassing organization that shared information under one roof that enabled better protection of its infrastructure and its people at home, not just abroad. Shortly over a year later, in November 2002, Congress passed the “Homeland Security Act” (DHS.gov, 2017, para.2). With the creation of homeland security came conflict

This program is the Department of Homeland Security’s final priority to “plan, train, and equip police, fire, and paramedics to react successfully to terrorism; and promotes recovery with the assistance of disaster specialists.” (Homeland Security, 2015) One of the examples of disaster specialists that help assist in disasters like Hurricane Katrina is the Federal Emergency Management Agency also known as FEMA. FEMA helps communities with reducing their risk, helps its different agency officials prepare for all types of hazards, and also helps people in communities get back on their

September 11, 2001, marked a key date in U.S. history, the most deadly terror attack in the world. The 9/11 terror attacks presented many issues with the communication of first responders and citizens. The likelihood of surviving the World Trade Center attacks was dramatically reduced due to the lack of communication during the response. Jim Dwyer and Kevin Flynn, in their book 102 Minutes, provides evidence of how the response groups and people working in the Twin Towers had not prepared for communication problems if something tragic were to happen. Analyzing multiple sources of communication, Jim Dwyer and Kevin Flynn, Joel Roberts, and Brendan Sasso all agree that communication during emergency response and preparedness aids in a more successful

The Federal Emergency management Agency came under the helm of the Department of Homeland Security on March 1, 2013 in response to the September 11th terrorist attacks (fema.gov). FEMA’s mission as a result of the attacks changed from preparing for natural disasters and hazards to ensuring the nation’s first responders are well equipped to deal with weapons of mass destruction (fema.gov). Notably FEMA is most known for helping millions in need in times of disaster and turmoil. Unfortunately they will always be known for their lack of preparation during the Hurricane Katrina aftermath in Louisiana in 2005. The organization failed to do what it set out to do and as a result millions of people were displaced and many lost their lives.

When the airplanes flew into the Twin Towers on 9/11 in New York, there was chaos and confusion throughout New York and the entire country. The events following the Boston Marathon Bombing were full of confusion and stress. However, in both events, first responders were there to aid in whatever way they were able. First responders, like those that responded to 9/11 and the Boston Marathon Bombing, rely heavily on proper communication to do their job properly. While communication has advanced in the past years, there are always more ways for communication amongst first responders to be advanced. Response efforts need to flow smoothly and efficiently, and communication aids greatly in those efforts. The events following a terrorist attack,

International terrorism has greatly impacted the role of first responders throughout the U.S., not only in terms of large scale events like the attacks on 9/11, but the role of the first responder has needed to adapt to the widely varying methods of attacks that have been employed. First responders may face threats from biological, chemical, and radiological weapons of mass destruction. First responder heroes of 9/11 are still dealing with injuries, illness, and even still dying from the effects of that terrorist attack. (ODMP, 2017). First

Perhaps the most recognized terrorist attack on the United States was the World Trade Center attacks of September 11, 2011. The horrific events that unfolded as a result of these attacks will never be forgotten as well as the lessons learned by first responders. Tens of thousands of people were involved in rescue, recovery and clean-up work following the 9/11 World Trade Center (WTC) terrorist attacks. The diverse group of people who responded to this disaster included traditional first responders such as police officers, firefighters and emergency medical technicians, along with non-traditional responders such as construction workers, operating engineers and other volunteers, most of whom had no prior training in

On September 11, 2001, planes struck and collapsed the North tower and the South tower of the World Trade Center with many people who died due to acts of terrorism. To declare that terrorism caused all the deaths is a major understatement. At least 1,500 people who survived the attacks had died due to many other factors in or of the building. One of the causes of many lives lost were communications, coordination, and command of the FDNY and the NYPD. In 9/11 the problems of radio communication between firefighters, and the police department impacted the ability for the firefighters to have enough information where the people were trapped on the floor and what floors the fire was on. This issue of communication affected the radio systems of

compared the ready availability of funds for disaster recovery to the paucity of funds for mitigating the effects of disasters before they strike (Roberts, p. 133). The review asserts, “mitigation has been called the most neglected aspects of emergency management” (Roberts, p. 133). The criticisms resulted in a professional consensus of reforming the emergency management goals—part of the consensus resulted in the creation of a mitigation directorate, and one year after the 1993 reorganization of FEMA caused by the ineffective response to Hurricane Andrew in 1992 (Roberts, p. 133). A directorate that defined mitigation as reducing the impact of natural hazards, is one of the key elements for FEMA’s reinvented organizational structure.

Hurricane Sandy pushed across New York coast and left a devastating trail behind. There devastation was so great that it caused federal, local, and regional levels to develop plans and strategies for future crisis. An emergency situation on a magnitude as Hurricane Sandy created a collaboration of many emergency services. FEMA, Red Cross, Department of Transportation, and many local agencies were involved with managing the chaos caused by the storm. Collaboration was utilized during the occurrence of the storm and after the storm. Several of the agencies and their involvement will be described.

The burden of emergency management has grown great deal in the last few decades. We have seen an increase in natural disasters, a new threat of terrorism on our front door and an increase in manmade disasters. All of these have tested emergency management in a number of cities and towns across the nation. It is not always disasters that present problems for emergency managers. We have to look beyond our traditional view of emergency management of helping us during times of disasters and view what issues they consider may affect their emergency response. Issues that emergency management see that are moving into the critical area are issues of urbanization and hazard exposure, the rising costs of disaster recovery, and low priority of emergency management.

Our communities have always been susceptible to threats posed by natural disasters i.e floods, hurricanes. After the 9/11 attacks the focus of the United States government shifted from recovery efforts to preparing for any and all hazards. In an emergency, state and local police organizations have vital role to play. They are often the first line of defense and the first to respond to a threat or natural disaster. These state and local organizations conduct many operations, which includes rescue operations, evacuations and maintaining safety. One of the major concerns police organizations have for managing all hazards is public safety. This puts law enforcement officers at the forefront of managing, coordinating, aiding and responding to any