First Responders In Countering

The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) recognizes active shooters as a threat to healthcare facilities and encourages them to incorporate planning and preparedness into their emergency operation plans. A guide was developed, and backed by the DHS, FBI, US Department of Justice, and Federal Emergency Management Agency, focused on prevention, protection, mitigation, response, and recovery, as well as stressing the importance of plans

1. Define and give examples of what terrorism is and the associated risks involved for emergency responders.

I certify that I have read the project of Hugh H. Scully II entitled instructions for the preparation of the Senior Research Project and that, in my opinion; it is satisfactory in scope and quality for the degree of Bachelor of Science in Homeland Security and Emergency Management at National University.

Local protective measure planning equips first responders with the knowledge needed to organize efficient response results in the event of an emergency. Structured open dialogue between local emergency jurisdictions enables responders to delegate the appropriate individuals and equipment resources to the impacted local areas requiring the most aid following a terror event. By establishing a streamlined communication framework, local emergency responders can collaborate their efforts and resources to promote collective well-being. When a local emergency plan specifies what responders and resources belong where and at what time, response overlap and shortages can be avoided. Unionized response action established prior to a terrorist incident, serves to mitigate the risks, hazards and threat of injury or harm the people and property of the US face when a terrorism event occurs. Furthermore, a structured local emergency operations plan for a hazardous materials incident involving a terrorist is imperative to public health and safety, as the blueprint outlines protective measures the public can follow to minimize their exposure to dangerous substances. The people of a community affected by a terror event can be warned and notified of the event’s associated dangerous materials, which threaten their well-being, through a variety of methods such as warning sirens or horns, emergency alert systems, automated

How do you truly choose between two things that are critical in being prepared for a terrorist attack? As you point out there might be a time because of funding where tough choices will need to be made. As the United States move further away from 9/11, the government and the tax-payer may feel that to much money is being spend on a terrorist attack responses when we have not seen a large scale attack like 9/11 in 15 years. The only other attack that should come to mind is the Boston Marathon bombing, where first responders were critical in responding to several hundred injuries. Funding is under a microscope as the federal debt increases and federal spending increases.

It is important to understand the steps to prepare and counter terrorist tactics because the threat of terrorist attacks are a real possibility. “Despite our security consciousness, if terrorists intend to wreak havoc it will be difficult to stop them.” (FEMA, 1999, P. 7) By identifying and raising awareness of things that may seem out of place, such as unattended packages, bags, or suspicious individuals we will be able to mitigate terrorist threats. Although this is a small step for non-first responders to take, it could make the difference in one life lost, or several lives lost. In Emergency Response to Terrorism: A Self-Study, the FBI reports, “When public safety agencies know of the presence of a device, they have only a 20 percent chance of finding it.” However, if as an aware citizen you see something suspicious you can call first responders and provide details about the device or suspicious behavior.

                Welcome to week 3! This week we are discussing whether we feel that the United States is properly prepared for terror attacks. I wish with all my heart that I could say yes. However, I can’t bring myself to say it with confidence. I will say that there are places in the United States that are more prepared than others. This could be for several reasons. One of the most significant reasons is that some areas of the country have already had firsthand experience with terror attacks. As horrible as it may be, they have had the opportunity to see where their weaknesses may have been during the response and can adjust their policies accordingly. This is common with Emergency Management. Areas that are regularly struck

The response to a terrorist attack is very different from that of a typical natural disaster. Unlike a natural disaster that just happens, a terrorist attack is caused by a person or particular group; therefore, the scene is viewed as a crime scene and treated as such. Medical responders must answer to police authorities and follow their protocols in assisting victims

There are several recognizable and common types of technological hazards that first responders have to respond to on a daily basis. They are structural fires, transportation accidents, infrastructure failures, dam failures, hazardous material incidents, and nuclear accidents [7]. Each of these follows the common theme of being a product of the environment that was created by man and considered accidents. Terrorism hazards are sometimes referred to as intentional hazards. They are planned and orchestrated to created destruction. As previously discussed CNRBE covers this area. Other more specific hazards in this category are conventional explosives and secondary devise and chemical agents. These have had the largest link to terrorism hazards so far. The difficulty on predicting what chemical agents will be used decreases the success of trained first responders because the number of potential combination of

Since the terror attacks of September eleventh, the United States has completely changed the way they handle counterterrorism. Responses by the first responders made it known that police departments were not prepared for such a catastrophic attack, which led to a complete revisal on police preparedness and training. Why is there a need for police agencies to be prepared? What types of training are officers going through to be prepared for possible terrorist attacks? How is the public responding to officers? This paper will explore answers to those questions through academic sources. However, this paper will not provide an opinion on how prepared law enforcement agencies are in the event of a terrorist attack. This paper will not mention any

The National Response Framework is a guide designed to assist local, State, and Federal governments in developing functional capabilities and identifying resources based on hazard identification and risk assessment. It outlines the operating structure and identifies key roles and responsibilities. It established a framework to identify capabilities based on resources and the current situation no matter the size or scale. It integrates organizational structures and standardizes how the Nation at all levels plans to react to incidents. The suspected terrorist attack will have health, economic, social, environment and political long-term effects for my community. This is why it is essential that local government’s

Throughout history different terrorist groups have used a variety of methods to attack innocent civilians and infrastructures. Groups such as Aum Shinirikyo, Al Qaeda, ISIS, and other domestic terrorists have been known to attack innocent communities by using IEDs, chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear weapons. Attacks, such as the Sarin Attack in Tokyo in 1995, is a prime example in which a terrorist group, Aum Shinirikyo, used a chemical nerve agent to attack citizens in Japanese subway. These chemical attacks as well as other WMDs pose unique threats for first responders. It is important to consider these threats as well as the time, location, number of anticipated causalities, and the type of chemical agent used when responding to a chemical attack. It is the responsibility of officials on a local, state, and federal level to facilitate not only the initial response in a chemical attack but also the recovery and cleanup efforts weeks after.

Britton also argues that we have six major issues as a field to resolve. We are still highly response oriented. Although the thrill of the fight is in response, lives may be saved simply by preventing them from being at risk in the first place. The recruitment of emergency managers tends to focus on those with response oriented goals. Although I personally have a good skill set when it comes to prevention, on paper I am very response oriented. Being response oriented is not necessarily a bad thing, however, emergency managers must learn the skills involved in mitigation. As the counter-terrorism field is drawn

I agree with your assessment of the risk to first responders. The imagination of terrorists planning an attack is left to security experts’ best guesses and imagination. There is an unprecedented risk consider the use of weapons of mass destruction (WMD). As you have stated in your discussion, this “increases risk for first responders” highlights the necessity to accurately identity the risk prior to mitigating the hazard in order to ensure the first responders are adequately protected. As you discussed

Linstrom’s arguments support his main point stressing firefighters must change their normal routine and think like terrorists to be in the right state of mind to combat potential attacks. One of the biggest threats that first responders face during an incident is potential collapses or the threat of secondary improvised explosive devices (Linstrom, 2004). In the event of an attack by WMD’s, firefighters and law enforcement will find themselves working side-by-side in the “hot zone”, which is the contaminated area, conducting rescues, triage, and decontamination of victims. To assist firefighters with remembering the contributing agents that are associated in a WMD event, the acronym B-NICE has been established. B-NICE stands for: biological, nuclear, incendiary, chemical, and explosives (Linstrom, 2004). As a result of their training, firefighters are already reasonably versed when it comes to dealing with explosives and incendiary devices, but lack the training and knowledge of dealing with WMD’s. Mr. Linstrom supports his main point with the evidence highlighting the fact that government buildings, historic monuments, churches, sporting events, transit stations, and malls are elevated targets of terrorist attacks due to their symbolism or the fact that they draw large crowds of people (Linstrom,