HSM318 Week 4 Assignment
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Implementing the Plan, Managing the Response
Bianca Armenta
University of Arizona Global Campus
HSM318 Emergency Planning
Professor Robert Jackson
December 4, 2023
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Implementing the Plan, Managing the Response
Wildfires commonly referred as “Wildland fires are an annual and increasing hazard due to the air pollution (primarily smoke and ash that travel for miles, causing further hazards to health and mechanical or electrical equipment), risk to firefighters, environmental effects, and property destruction they cause” (Haddow, p.48, 2017). Wildfires continue to wreak havoc on cities and towns as residential areas continue to expand and lack of fire knowledge allows for “simple” campfires to start wildfires that burn thousands of acres and cause unimaginable damage. Throughout this paper I will discuss the hazard prevalent in my area along with response protocols, analyze response requirements, compare and contrast agencies responses, and explain how the response requirement to emergency situations differ if it involves terrorism. A hazard that is prevalent in my area of Winchester, Virginia is wildfires. The dryness from winter has caused there to be massive wildfire burning through the Shenandoah Valley leaving ash and destruction in its wake. Thousands of acers have been desolated, along with crumbling remnants of what used to be homes and buildings. The National Park Service announced that from the wildfire called Quaker Run Fire has “affected 3,937 acres on private, state, and federal lands” (U.S. Department of the Interior, 2023). The Quaker Run Fire had set ablaze on November 4
th
, 2023 and continued until it was able to be 100% contained by November 22
nd
, 2023. While the Quaker Run Fire continues to burn, it has been contained and will be slowly put out by the firefighters, Virginia Department of Forestry, Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources, and the National Park Service (U.S. Department of the Interior, 2023). The state of Virginia, like many states, faces a multitude of different hazards throughout the year which include high winds, flooding, and winter storms.
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The City of Winchester has many different coordinators of emergency management regarding different categories of public safety. These coordinators include the police/sheriff’s department for all law enforcement related to keeping the public safe, fire and rescue department which is responsible for keeping an up-to-date log location of all City and County Fire Stations for all oil and hazardous material (Emergency operations plan EOP, 2023), and medical, health, and rescue which for the City of Winchester the Emergency Operations Center coordinators for health can be found as the directors of the local hospital. As for the police, it was stated that “Per ESF-13 Public Safety and Security of the Emergency Operations Plans, law enforcement shall be
conducted by Winchester Police Department and Frederick County Sheriff’s Department” (Emergency operations plan EOP, 2023). As for the fire and rescue departments each local fire department within the City of Winchester and Frederick County shall respond upon any emergency dispatches that relate to fires and rescues that may be needed for the safety of the public. The final entity of medical, health, and rescue which for the City of Winchester and Frederick County will be based out of the hospital local to Winchester that has the capabilities of
providing medical care and treatment to those in need within the City of Winchester and Frederick County as the hospital is funded primarily through federal grants as well as being a college hospital thus receiving grants from the school to conduct scientific studies for the betterment of mankind; such as treatments for diseases and cancers. “The EOC is capable of accommodating a support staff capable of handling large-scale emergency responses.” Furthermore, “EOC operations procedures are in the Emergency Operations Plan for each respective jurisdiction and ESF-5 Emergency Management” (Emergency operations plan EOP, 2023).
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According to the City of Winchester, “before responding on-site, all responders will be briefed on the site safety and health plan developed by the Incident/Unified Command” (Emergency operations plan EOP, 2023) and this allows for all first responders to be made aware
of the disaster/hazard that has occurred before responding to incidents and possibly being under-
prepared. Some of the items to be discussed in the pre-entry briefing will be the chain of command, health and safety standard operating procedures, the recommended personal protective equipment that should be used, where to seek the nearest medical assistance depending on the area they are assigned too, and lastly the method of communication that should
be used so all parties are communicating effectively and quickly to be able to better assist the public and one another. The three entities identified as the police/sheriff’s department, fire and rescue departments, and the medical, health, and rescue all respond in different ways that make the key differences between their “normal” duties and emergency responses within the community. The first difference is preparation of the first responders is that “Risks associated with known or suspected hazards will be communicated to emergency responders clearly and concisely” (Emergency operations plan EOP, 2023). All first responders have been trained according to the level of their jobs, functions, and responsibilities to be able to assist, protect, and
serve the community in times of crisis and emergency. The four phases of emergency management according to Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) are mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery. These four phases are the three entities identified as the police/sheriff’s department, fire and rescue departments, and the medical, health, and rescue respond differently to emergencies within the community rather than their “normal” duties. The mitigation phase “includes actions taken to prevent or reduce the cause, impact, and consequences of disasters” (FEMA, p.3, n.d.). The
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second phase of preparedness is “planning, training, and educational activities for events that cannot be mitigated” (FEMA, p.3, n.d.). The recovery phase “occurs in the immediate aftermath of a disaster” as well as “Personal safety and well- being in an emergency and the duration of the
response phase depend on the level of preparedness” (FEMA, p.4, n.d.). With recovery being the final phase, this is the “restoration efforts occur concurrently with regular operations and activities” (FEMA, p.4, n.d.).
The three entities identified as the police/sheriff’s department, fire and rescue departments, and the medical, health, and rescue respond differently to emergencies within the community while also maintaining some similarities to one another. To begin, the police and sheriff’s department respond to hazards and emergencies within the community by maintaining radio communications to provide updates on the situation or to seek additional instructions. Law enforcement officers have the local knowledge of their communities and can have quicker response times. Secondly, fire and rescue’s response to hazards and emergencies within the community are by being alerted to incidents in which residents are seeking assistance due to structural fires by evacuating personnel from the building or home. Additionally, fire and rescue provide medical aid similarly to medical, health, and rescue. Fire and rescue interestingly enough
respond to swift water rescues, search and rescue missions, train wrecks, floods, earthquakes, and hazardous material spills. Which makes it so that fire and rescue respond to much different emergencies than the police and sheriff’s department. While law enforcement will also respond to search and rescue missions, train wrecks, floods, earthquakes, and hazardous material spills their roles will be in a different compacity than that of the fire and rescue department. Law enforcement’s role will be more of gathering evidence as necessary and controlling the public around the scene; especially that of train wrecks. Lastly, the medical, health, and rescue responds
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to hazards and emergencies within the community in much different way than law enforcement and fire and rescue does. Medical, health, and rescue responds to hazards and emergencies within the community by being readily available to provide aide and care to those needing help. They must remain open and available 24 hours a day throughout any hazard or emergency that the community faces. But most importantly, they tend to be a beacon of where to find a safe zone
if wanting to avoid the hazard and seeking information on where to go to. “Hazard mitigation planning reduces loss of life and property by minimizing the impact of disasters” (Hazard Mitigation Planning, 2023). To mitigate hazards, it must begin with “state, tribal and local governments identifying natural disaster risks and vulnerabilities that are common in their area” (Hazard Mitigation Planning, 2023). Once these vulnerabilities have been identified, state, tribal and local governments “develop long-term strategies for protecting people
and property from similar events” (Hazard Mitigation Planning, 2023). The sole purpose of mitigating hazards is to break the cycle of damage and reconstruction. The police/sheriff’s department, fire and rescue departments, and the medical, health, and rescue mitigation methodology is that of creating plans contingent of the type of disaster/hazard/emergency so that there are procedures in place. By already having in place the health and safety standard operating
procedures, first responders within the three different responding departments the staff will know
how to communicate with other departments and spread information to the public. The FBI defines domestic terrorism as “
Violent, criminal acts committed by individuals and/or groups to further ideological goals stemming from domestic influences, such as those of a political, religious, social, racial, or environmental nature” (Terrorism, 2016). Due to the FBI having jurisdiction over the United States, when the FBI conducts investigations against terrorist
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threats and attacks “the FBI collects information that not only serves as the basis for prosecution but also builds an intelligence base to help prevent terrorist acts” (Terrorism, 2016). The response requirements change ever so slightly to emergency situations if it involves terrorism due to first responders having to be constantly aware of their surroundings to potentially catch a person of interest, keep themselves and others safe, and secure the perimeter of the scene. With the threat of terrorism, there is a risk that there could be weapons of mass destruction present that
have the possibility to detonate at any moment “to cause death or serious bodily injury through the release, dissemination, or impact of toxic or poisonous chemicals; disease organisms; radiation or radioactivity; or explosion or fire” (Managing the emergency consequences of terrorist incidents, n.d.).
In summary, a hazard that the City of Winchester is facing at this time is wildfires as the dryness from the winter makes it so that fires can quickly get out of control. The latest wildfire of Quaker Run Fire burned for the whole month of November and only recently was able to be 100% contained and yet still burns. The three entities identified as the police/sheriff’s department, fire and rescue departments, and the medical, health, and rescue all respond to hazards and emergencies very similarly and yet differently so that each department can respond to their respective area of responsibility. Their key duty differences mainly rely on the procedures that occur dependent on the type of hazard or emergency that has occurred. The sole purpose of mitigating hazards is to break the cycle of damage and reconstruction. The police/sheriff’s department, fire and rescue departments, and the medical, health, and rescue mitigation methodology is that of creating plans contingent of the type of disaster/hazard/emergency so that there are procedures in place. With the threat of terrorism, there is a risk that there could be weapons of mass destruction present that have the possibility to
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detonate at any moment further the amount of destruction and recovery necessary in the aftermath of the attack.
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References
Emergency operations plan EOP - winchesterva.gov
. Winchester/Frederick SARA Title III Emergency Response Plan. (2023a, April 5). https://www.winchesterva.gov/sites/default/files/documents/emergency-management/
city_of_winchester_-_emergency_operations_plan_-_1-25-2022.pdf
FBI. (2016, May 3).
Terrorism
. FBI. https://www.fbi.gov/investigate/terrorism
FEMA Comprehensive Preparedness Guide (CPG 101). (n.d.). https://emilms.fema.gov/is0075/content/125.html
Hazard Mitigation Planning
. FEMA.gov. (2023, November 28). https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/risk-management/hazard-mitigation-planning
Haddow, G. D., Bullock, J. A., & Coppola, D. P. (2017). Introduction to Emergency
Management (6th ed.). Managing the emergency consequences of terrorist incidents - fema.gov . (n.d.-a). https://www.fema.gov/pdf/plan/managingemerconseq.pdf
Unit four emergency management in the United States - FEMA . (n.d.). https://training.fema.gov/emiweb/downloads/is111_unit%204.pdf
U.S. Department of the Interior. (2023).
Quaker Run Fire Information
. National Parks Service. https://www.nps.gov/shen/planyourvisit/quaker-run-fire-information.htm
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