Fire Reform: U.S. Emergency Management Models

After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in 2001 , the United States comprehensively reviewed and combed the emergency management system, and initiated a series of reforms and reconstructions. Through constant development and promulgation of uniform standards and norms throughout the country, emergency management began to advance to science. The nationalization and specialization approach formed a national accident management method and national response plan that unified and covered all emergency functions and disasters, and established an emergency management mechanism from the federal to the local full coverage. The United States has the following advanced concepts and experiences in emergency plan management and emergency response and rescue systems.

(I) Consummation of regulations and policies for the preparation and management of emergency plans

In 1988 , the United States Congress passed the "Robert T. Tast Disaster Recovery and Emergency Assistance Act," which laid the foundation for all subsequent laws involving emergency management.

In 1992 , the U.S. federal government issued the Federal Response Plan ( FRP ).

In 2004, the federal government issued a "national response plan" (NationalResponse Plan, referred to as NRP).

In 2008 , the U.S. federal government issued the National Response Framework ( NRF ).

The “ Presidential Policy Decree No. 8 ” promulgated in 2011 pointed out that emergency preparedness should cover five aspects of prevention, deduction, protection, response, and recovery in an all-round manner , thus forming five frameworks and plans.

The U.S. did not establish mandatory guidelines for the preparation of plans, but the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency ( FEMA ), the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration ( OSHA ), and the U.S. National Environmental Protection Agency ( EPA ) issued guidelines for the preparation of emergency plans. Then, for all kinds of government departments and companies in the preparation of the plan reference.

For example, in 2008 , the U.S. federal government issued the “Comprehensive Preparation Guide 10l : Preparing an Emergency Response Plan” as a guidance document for preparatory plans prepared by governments and social organizations at all levels.

In 2010 , the second edition of "Comprehensive Preparation Guide 101 : Development and Maintenance Operational Plan" was released . This document is still the official guideline for the preparation of government plans.

At present, the U.S. federal emergency response agency guides enterprises to adopt the 2013 version of the “Contingency Emergency Management and Business Continuity Management” ( NFPA 1600 ) standard to prepare the plan, but in 1993 the Federal Emergency Management Agency formulated the “Enterprise Emergency Management Guide” ( FEMA 141 Document). ) In some enterprises still adopting, at the same time, some trade associations have issued preparation guides (templates) for the preparation of pre-plans to standardize the preparation work of enterprises in the industry. For example, the United States HITT project contracting company is still using 141 documents to prepare the company's plan; the American Chlorine Enterprise Association has prepared a "guide for the preparation of emergency plans for companies involved in chlor-alkali, sodium hypochlorite and hydrogen chloride." When companies prepare their plans, these guidelines are only reference and not mandatory standards that must be strictly observed.

In the preparation of emergency plans, the federal regulations of the United States have common requirements for enterprises in various industries and special requirements for various industries. The Federal Regulations ( 29 CFR 1910.38 ) formulated by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration make principled provisions for the preparation of emergency plans and emergency response.

Employees with more than 10 employees are required to make a textual plan and require it to be kept in the workplace so that each employee can learn and implement it.

Employees with less than 10 employees may not have text plans, but they must verbally inform employees of their plans.

At the same time, it is emphasized that when the plan is formulated or when the employee is assigned for the first time, when the responsibilities of the employee in the plan change, and when the plan changes, the relevant employees of the company should actively participate in the review and evaluation of the plan.

Southern California Gas follows the requirements of federal regulations for gas pipeline transportation ( 49 CFR 192.615 and 49 CFR 192.616 ) , formulates a written emergency plan , specifies employee responsibilities and operating procedures, develops a sustainable public safety education program, and fosters public safety awareness. Establish and strengthen contacts with relevant fire, police and other public officials.

(B) to vigorously carry out emergency drills and training

The Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP ) provides standardized methods and guidelines for the design, planning, implementation, evaluation, and post-event optimization planning of all government emergency drills. The exercises include:

( 1 ) Assess demand. Evaluate the top risks, issues that need to be resolved, and more.

( 2 ) Clear the scope of exercises. Location, type, etc.

( 3 ) Preparation of the target document. The statement of the exercise goal.

( 4 ) Scenario description. Provide a large event background for the drill.

( 5 ) Description of specific scenarios. Prepare specific event content.

(6) Prepare a drill script. Prepare specific actions during drills.

(7) Exercise implementation.

(8) Exercise assessment. Comprehensive analysis and assessment of drills.

Although there are no mandatory regulations on the number of drills, U.S. companies generally formulate exercise plans, identify relevant topics for exercise, and focus on assessment and summarization of drills. For example, the United States HITT project contracting company to carry out 2-3 drills each year , the company principals, project managers are involved, both desktop drills and actual drills.

The emergency response plan for the United States is more targeted. It does not require all members to carry out general training for the pre-arranged case. Instead, it conducts specific training on the specific responsibilities of the specific staff and requires them to master the duties and contents that are familiar with the original regulations and improve the emergency response capability of management personnel and employees. . The United States attaches importance to the training of emergency response personnel. Emergency commanders for accidents must be trained. Even government officials are no exceptions. Without training, there is no emergency response command qualification. The U.S. emergency training system is relatively complete. It is aimed at civil servants, professional emergency personnel, corporate employers, company employees, community residents, and volunteers. It has improved the emergency rescue capabilities of management personnel and professional teams, and raised public awareness and emergency response. ability.

(III) Some enterprises actively promote the use of emergency response cards

The emergency response card itself is not an emergency plan. It is an extension of the emergency plan and a useful supplement, and it helps to improve the emergency response capacity of the on-site staff. Some U.S. companies have introduced clear and practical on-site emergency response cards for employees to carry around. The contents of the card are simple and clear, and generally include: the alarm call after the accident, the contact information of the company's supervisor, the measures for evacuation or emergency disposal at the first time, and the key points for dealing with the media.

In daily work, regardless of the company's different levels of responsible persons and department employees, or employees of workshops and team members, they can learn and be familiar with the contents of emergency handling cards at any time during the spare time. In the event of an emergency, they can dispose of them in time, even if they forget. It can be taken out to learn and dispose, further improving the operability of emergency plans.

The contents of the emergency disposal card of the HITT project contracting company in the United States are shown in Tables 1 and 2 .

Table 1 : Front of emergency response card

US HITT engineering contracting company crisis management policies and procedures

Perform first aid and CPR as required. If you are seriously injured, call 911 .

Inform a crisis management leader:

Robert Poole Office Phone: (703)2899233 Mobile Phone: (703) 9297302

Ed Fan Haote Office Phone: (703)9425398 Mobile Phone: (703)2315206

Conduct on-site control to ensure that all employees are present.

Do not move anything that may be evidence.

The designated relevant employee must be present to assist in the accident handling.

Make sure the site of the incident is open.

Take pictures.

Eyewitnesses try to collect evidence.

Senior management at the scene of the incident is a temporary spokesperson. All employees must be informed by the spokesperson to answer outside questions.

Table 2 : Contents on the back of the emergency response card

Staff's media response

Employees cannot say: "No comment."

Can not blame some aspect.

Can not completely avoid the media.

The correct approach is to admit that something has happened and respond to media issues in a timely manner. Only the following information can be provided:

1. The accident just happened. You are not ready to answer media questions immediately.

2. It is imperative to treat the safety of injured employees as well as the public and employees. A comprehensive investigation is in progress.

3. Steve Lizberger, a spokesperson for the group company, is on the scene and will provide the media with more details. (and inform arrival time)

(D) California government departments strictly carry out enterprise plan review and filing

The review and filing of emergency plans by states in the United States are inconsistent, with California requiring stricter regulations. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration of California requires that the company's plan must go to the relevant government departments for the record, and the government fire, police, environmental protection, and industry management departments and other departments are often connected to the network, so that the pre-record information for the record is shared. The review of the plan is organized by the relevant government departments to organize experts to review and the cost is borne by the company. For example, the Southern California Gas Company emergency plan is organized by the California Public Utilities Commission to review and review. The Long Beach City Fire Department in Los Angeles County, California has a record of corporate plans for its jurisdiction.

Long Beach City government and other government functional departments can be in close contact with the company, familiar with the company's emergency plans, and to the company on-site familiar with the production environment, and the company to conduct joint drills, so as to ensure that the government's emergency plan and the enterprise emergency plan convergence, easy to accident When the incident occurs, the joint response and rapid response.

(5) Forming a Joint Command and Coordination Mechanism for Emergency Rescue

In 2004 , the United States issued the "National Incident Management System" ( NIMS ).

NIMS is a template document for an emergency management method that applies to emergency management at all levels of government across the country. NIMS is based on the complexity of the event, such as the scope and severity of the impact,

The incidents are divided into five levels. The fifth level is the slightest and the first level is the most serious. Different levels of emergencies are directed by the corresponding level of government agencies (as shown in Figure 1 ). After emergencies occur, the “ 911 ” telephone is generally used to call the police. The local government initiates the preplan and mobilizes local resources for emergency rescue. If state assistance is required, the local emergency coordination center will request the use of state emergency resources for assistance; if the disaster level is assessed, Exceed state rescue capabilities, coordinate emergency resources through regional response coordination centers until the president is requested to announce assistance from the federal government.

NIMS includes five parts: emergency preparedness, information and communication management, resource management, command management, and daily management and maintenance. The "command management" part also includes emergency command system ( ICS ), multi-sector coordination system ( MACS ) and public information system. (PIS) and other three systems .

The Incident Command System ( ICS ) is the core part of the United States' National Incident Management System ( NIMS ).

ICS is a management system that integrates facilities, equipment, personnel, procedures, and communications into a common framework for effective unified command and action management of emergencies. From the organizational structure, ICS adopted the " 1+3+4 " model.

Set up a commander ( IC ) and divide the command organization into command members and staff members. Command members are mainly used to assist commanders and mainly include three positions, namely, Public Information Officer ( PIO ), Security Officer ( SO ), and Liaison Officer ( LNO ).

The staff members responsible for the functional responsibilities involved in the emergency process are mainly composed of four departments, namely, Operations , Plans , Logistics , and Finance (as shown in Figure 2 ). ). The important mechanism of ICS is “joint command and coordination”. When incidents involve multiple departments or multiple jurisdictions, in order to better coordinate emergency resources and actions, the organizations of the command system can be composed of multiple government agencies. Department personnel conduct joint command. This method of joint command has greatly promoted the coordination of emergency command and the overall planning of resource allocation.

Figure 2 ICS Emergency Personnel Framework

The emergency management offices at all levels have 24- hour watch centers and emergency operations centers ( EOCs ) that are responsible for daily operations and emergency work. Lead the responsibility for emergency reports and scheduling of rescue forces and emergency resources. In the event of major emergencies requiring multiple departments to cope with each other, the state departments sent representatives to conduct command and dispatch of resources within the emergency command center, and SEOC personnel carried out relevant coordination.

ICS is an emergency command system that is mainly oriented to on-site emergency response. Commanders are responsible for organizing emergency activities, but they are not responsible for the formulation of policy-level and overall major strategies.

For example, at the state level, the commander has an EOC (Emergency Response Office) and a policy level (Governor and Senior Staff) at the upper level. In other words, the commander and the downward direction of the command system are partially biased towards the emergency work. They must report the situation and on-site information to the EOC behind the emergency operation center ; the emergency operation center EOC generally has the corresponding organizational structure of the ICS . The personnel form a mapping relationship with the site on the emergency organization, provide various coordination and resource support for the front, and bring important issues to policy level decision-making. Whether it is an emergency operation center or a commander must follow the principle and objectives of the policy level, and form an implementation plan and specific implementation.

(VI) Attach great importance to information release and public opinion guidance of emergencies

The United States believes that media influence public opinion is usually caused by the unfavorable situation of the enterprise, society, or crisis. Therefore, the most important thing is the public's right to know about risks.

After the incident occurred, a public information officer was set up in the emergency command system to release information. The release of information must be timely, accurate, and comprehensive in order to quell social panic and avoid the adverse impact of public opinion on the incident.

After an emergency, U.S. companies usually set up a news spokesperson to quickly disclose truthful and comprehensive information and tell the public that the situation is being controlled and do not believe unfounded information. The enterprise also educates its employees not to discuss with the media the emergencies related information that is occurring. For example, the United States HITT project contracting company attaches great importance to the media, even on the back of its emergency handling card specifically stated "employee's media response measures" (as shown in Table 2 ).

(VII) Continuous improvement of comprehensive public warning and warning systems

The U.S. Integrated Public Warning and Warning System ( IPAWS ) is a U.S. unified warning system from top to bottom. The aim is to be able to use as many channels and methods as possible in the event of war, terrorist attacks, natural disasters, and other hazards. Many Americans issued warnings and warnings.

The system is based on various types of professional early-warning systems developed in the United States. Its structure includes three levels of early warning information entry, information integration and multi-alert media release. The core task is to resolve the efficiency of early warning. Effect problem.

At present, the system has been connected with thousands of radio stations, television stations, communication companies and satellite companies in the United States, and warnings are issued through these institutions.

For example, a typhoon approaching, the government's information platform will be to the local mobile phone users and foreign personnel to the local mobile phone users to publish a message every 15 minutes to report the disaster and make recommendations; radio and television systems will also be separated Information will be released for a period of time; community service personnel will also come to inform each other. The system has achieved remarkable results in the early warning and emergency rescue of various disasters, greatly reducing the number of casualties and property losses.

Accompanied by the rapid development of modern information technology represented by the Internet, this system is shifting toward the digital emergency alarm system. In 2011 , the United States conducted tests on IPAWS across the country. The results of the tests showed that the system is basically effective, but at the same time it also exposes the problem that some devices cannot work properly. The system still needs further improvement and improvement. This also shows the importance of the drill.

(VIII) Continuously strengthening the protection of key infrastructure

Protecting critical infrastructure and key resources is important because it involves national security, economic security, and public health and safety. Damage to critical infrastructure may come from natural disasters, terrorist attacks, accidents and cyber attacks. The scope of the protection mechanism for key infrastructure includes a system covering the whole country from the city level to the federal level.

The NIPP stipulates that the key U.S. critical infrastructure and key resources to be protected include the following 17 categories:

Internet Information,

communication device,

Transportation,

Energy facilities,

Agricultural facilities and food,

Defense Industry Base,

Public health facilities,

National Monuments and Landmarks,

Banking and financial industry,

Drinking water and water treatment systems,

Chemicals,

Commercial facilities,

dam,

Emergency service facilities,

nuclear reactor,

Postal and shipping,

Other government facilities.

Of these, 85% are held by private companies, most of which are managed by state and local governments, and some are also managed by the federal government.

NIPP provides a unified framework for integrating important infrastructure and key resource protection and integrating it into the national overall plan system. The six steps to continuous improvement of national infrastructure protection are:

Set security goals;

Identify assets, systems, networks and functions;

Assess the risk level;

Determine priority protection objectives;

Implement protection programs;

Assess work effectiveness.

The NIPP specifically stipulates the organizational structure framework for the coordination of important infrastructure and key resource protection work among governments at all levels, within departments, and across departments.

The specific pre-proposals and coordination work of the infrastructure protection units are completed through the following two specially established institutions (Councils): The Sector Coordination Councils ( SCCs ) are composed of private sector representatives.

Government Coordinating Councils ( GCCs ) are composed of representatives from departmental agencies, federal government agencies, state government agencies, local government agencies, and tribal government agencies.

This article is from the Internet.