7.1 Emergency Management Mission

WHO? The Department of Homeland Security.

WHAT? Is responsible for coordinating Federal response to domestic disasters.

WHEN? When requested by State Governors according to the 1988 Robert T. Stafford Act.

WHERE? The NRF facilitates delivery of Emergency Support Functions to State and Local officials.

WHY? To quickly and effectively mitigate the effects of domestic catastrophic destruction.

9/11 thrust the Federal government into a leadership role it had not previously assumed in emergency management. Most European countries have a Ministry of Interior to organize, train, and equip their First Responders. The US Department of Interior is dedicated national parks, nothing for First Responders. The different responses to the 9/11 attacks on the Pentagon and World Trade Center demonstrated the need to better organize, train, and equip US First Responders nationally. By comparison, the Pentagon emergency response was more orderly, and exhibited greater control that is credited with saving First Responder lives due to application of the Incident Command System. With Pandora’s box now open, and the prospect of more catastrophic attacks, DHS undertook to enhance the ability of First Responders to work together and meet new challenges. There’s one catch. First Responders don’t work for the Federal government. They are supported by local taxes and report to State and Local representatives. The nation’s First Responders are roughly comprised of 1,134,400 firefighters, 422,869 police officers, and 210,700 emergency medical technicians and paramedics. To help institute national standards, FEMA was given the Homeland Security Grant Program. FEMA cannot impose change on the nation’s First Responders, but it can induce it through HSGP funding. The way it works is if State and Local First Responders want to receive HSGP funding, they have to meet FEMA requirements. One of the first requirements was NIMS compliance. In 2004, FEMA sponsored the National Incident Management System. It provided an organizational construct for First Responders from different agencies to work together towards common goals. NIMS is predicated on the Incident Command System employed at the Pentagon on 9/11. All direction flows from the local Incident Commander in the form of an Incident Action Plan. ICS facilitates effective command and control across agencies responding to an emergency incident. Today, most all First Responders know ICS, and can work better together because of it. This means the nation is better prepared to respond to a domestic catastrophic incident, natural or manmade. While NIMS provides the blueprint for organizing different agencies, Mutual Aid Agreements provide the means for calling on nearby agencies for their support. Mutual Aid Agreements set reimbursement rates for borrowing other agencies’ assets. It is a practical means for making communities responsible for their own safety, and preventing one community from freeloading on the taxes paid by another. In the same way, the 1988 Robert T. Stafford Act sets the terms and conditions for borrowing Federal assets. Communities must reimburse at least 25% of the costs for Federal emergency assets. In 2004, DHS created the National Response Plan streamlining the process for requesting Federal emergency assets. But most people were unfamiliar with the NRP when Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005. DHS simplified the NRP and renamed it the NRF in 2008. Today’s National Response Framework specifies the process for State and Local officials to request Federal emergency support. The NRF groups Federal assets into 15 Emergency Support Functions. State and Local officials request ESFs as needed. For example, ESF#6 may be requested for mass care to displaced populations. The Stafford Act requires the Governor to ask the President for support before the NRF is activated. Before they call the President, Governors may call on their National Guard for emergency support. Each of the 54 States and Territories has its own National Guard. The 450,100 members of the Army and Air National Guard have considerable emergency response capability. And if needed, the Emergency Management Assistance Compact provides the means for a Governor to request National Guard support from another State. Under the provisions of the EMA, over 50,000 National Guard deployed to the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina. It was the largest deployment of troops in the US since the Civil War.