NCJ Number
189719
Date Published
2001
Length
6 pages
Annotation
The document provides guidance on how local emergency planning committees can update their emergency response plans to combat terrorist incidents.
Abstract
Local emergency planning committees (LEPCs) should review their emergency response plans annually. Risk Management Plans should identify specific hazards. In responding to terrorist activities, Federal agencies will be on the scene. Their priorities may create emergency response challenges that the LEPC should address. The plan should include all emergency contact information, such as cell phone numbers, pager numbers, and contact information for individuals who have counterterrorism functions. The plan should address direction and control of responders. The Incident Command System that is initially established will likely transition into a Unified Command that will expand as mutual-aid partners and State and Federal partners arrive to assist. Strengthening communications among emergency responders, law enforcement officials and public health workers is extremely important. The plan should include procedures to identify and treat victims, store and distribute antidotes, and handle fatalities. It should also consider the personal safety of the responders and be flexible enough to accommodate evacuation or in-place sheltering. The plan should identify potential hazards and the vulnerability to an area as a result of hazards, and assess the risk of a hazardous materials release. Public buildings are vulnerable to attack because they are accessible to everyone. Security measures with those facilities should be discussed. Officials, such as health workers and criminal investigators, should work together to mitigate residual hazards as well as identify potentially large numbers of fatalities. The plan should include standard operation procedures on when to use specialized weapons-of-mass-destruction response equipment. Legislation in 1996 authorized an initiative that trains the Nation's first responders. The Federal Emergency Management Agency offers other courses in responding to terrorist attacks. Table