BY KENNETH O. BURRIS, JR.
The Federal Emergency Man-agement Agency (FEMA) is one of the three principal federal organizations that provides weapons of mass destruction training to first responders. In fulfilling this role, FEMA relies heavily on the U.S. Fire Administration’s National Fire Academy (NFA) to enhance the ability of the fire and emergency services and allied professionals to deal effectively with such emergencies.
Nowhere is this need more critical than in the dynamic environment of counterterrorism training. No arena is more challenging and uncertain than that of training our first responders on how to prepare for, respond to, and recover from terrorist incidents involving weapons of mass destruction (WMD). The NFA with its federal partners and response shareholders has developed a series of courses for delivery to fire and rescue first responders.
The NFA’s delivery systems are diverse. This is evidenced by the fact that approximately 71,000 students participated in WMD training offerings from October 1, 1997, through September 30, 1999. Courses are delivered at the resident facility in Emmitsburg, Maryland, and throughout the nation in cooperation with state and local fire training organizations and local colleges and universities. On the Emmitsburg campus, the Academy conducts specialized training courses and advanced management programs of national impact.
NFA two-day courses are available for direct delivery in states and local communities. Beginning this fall, students will be able to attend NFA resident courses within their geographical region or through their state fire training organization. Through a cooperative working relationship with state and local fire training systems and the four branches of the armed services, the train-the-trainer programs provide expanded opportunities for fire service personnel to deliver NFA courses within their state and at the local level.
Courses presented at the NFA are equal in difficulty to those offered at the college/university level. Although the NFA itself is not an ac-credited institution, college/university credits may be earned for completed NFA courses. The American Council on Education/College Credit Recommendation Service (ACE/CCRS) annually reviews NFA courses and makes recommendations for credit equivalencies. Students should be aware, however, that not all colleges/universities accept these credits.
COUNTERTERRORISM COURSE LIST
- Emergency Response to Terrorism: Self-Study (ERT:SS). This self-paced, paper-based course provides basic awareness training to help prepare first responders for terrorism incidents. It is also available for downloading in PDF format at http:// www.usfa.fema.gov/nfa/tr_ertss.htm.
- Emergency Response to Terrorism: Basic Concepts (ERT:BC). This two-day course is designed to prepare the first responder to take the appropriate actions at a potential terrorist incident. Subjects covered include understanding terrorism, types of terrorist weapons, defensive considerations, and command and control issues. The course focuses on recognition of terrorist incidents and implementation of self-protection measures, scene security, notifications and implementation of appropriate assets, and transition from emergency to recovery and termination operations.
- Emergency Response to Terrorism: Tactical Considerations-Company Officer (ERT:TC-CO). This two-day course is designed to build on the existing skills of the initial first responding supervisor from the ERT:BC and the ERT: Self-Study courses. The student, anyone who may serve as the first on-the-scene officer, will be trained in security considerations, identifying signs of terrorism, assessing information, and anticipating unusual response circumstances.
- Emergency Response to Terrorism: Tactical Considerations-Emergency Medical Services (ERT:TC-EMS). This two-day course is designed for first-on-the-scene EMS personnel with the responsibility of rendering patient care to victims of terrorist incidents. In addition to building on the skills of the ERT:BC and ERT: Self-Study courses, the students will also apply their knowledge about responding to a terrorist event, providing patient care, identifying and preserving evidence, managing site safety, documenting the event, and debriefing personnel.
- Emergency Response to Terrorism: Tactical Considerations-Hazardous Materials (ERT:TC-HM).
- This two-day course is designed for the first-on-the-scene hazardous material technician or other person having the responsibility of developing initial hazardous materials tactical considerations. The students will also apply their knowledge about responding to a terrorist event, identifying and preserving evidence, managing site safety, documenting the event, and debriefing personnel.
- Emergency Response to Terrorism: Job Aid (ERT:JA). The NFA has developed a Job Aid. Because of the infrequency of incidents involving weapons of mass destruction and the specialized response actions that they likely will require, emergency first responders can benefit from this resource, which will help them make decisions that will not further endanger themselves or the general public. It is based on the ERT series of courses and is printed on MylarTM pages, spiral-bound in handbook format.
- Emergency Response to Terrorism: Incident Management (ERT:IM). Volunteer Incentive Program (VIP) and regional delivery. The focus of this six-day course is on fire service response to terrorism from an incident management approach. This advanced-level course presumes a working level of the incident command system and deals with issues such as recognizing a terrorist incident, preservation of evidence, planning an intelligence, federal response and unified command, hazardous materials, emergency medical service response operations, and scene control termination and recovery. It uses complex simulation exercises as well as case studies.
COURSES UNDER DEVELOPMENT
- Emergency Response to Terrorism: Strategic Considerations for Command Officers (ERT:SCCO). This two-day course focuses on the duties and responsibilities of the fire department command officer who may respond to a terrorist incident. The curricula cover strategic planning considerations; interfacing with counterparts on regional, state, and federal levels; incident termination; debriefing; and transition to normalcy.
- Advanced Tactical Management of WMD. This six-day course consists of the three two-day, stand-alone components listed below. The overall objective is to train to manage the WMD incident in the first several hours. Topics include establishing command and control; implementing unified command; coordinating tactical efforts; establishing transition activities; and coordinating other regional, state, and federal resources.
- Incident Command/Unified Command. This class identifies the need for and method of transferring command and control from first-arriving units, establishing unified command, and coordinating multidisciplinary resources for operating during the first several hours of a WMD incident. Identifying and accessing regional, state, and federal resources and making the transition to the larger incident management structure are also covered.
- Tactical Information Management. Covered are identifying sources of information, on-site capabilities, interpreting real-time information, and managing information vital to the decision-making process. Included are capabilities and limitations of meters/detection devices and computerized systems, including databases and sources of technical information. Major emphasis is on the “Plans” aspect of incident command.
- Mass Decontamination/Patient Management. Included are recognizing when decontamination is needed and methods of decontaminating large numbers of persons who have been injured by or exposed to the effects of a weapon of mass destruction. Also included are disposition of decontaminated patients; rehab or relocation; treatment and transport, if appropriate; and interfacing with the medical and public health infrastructure.
This series of courses is designed in modular building-block fashion, to prepare first responders to their level of capability and responsibility in the arena of emergency response to terrorism. Even if, as we hope, responders will never have to employ the lessons of counterterrorism response, the coursework still applies to all of the other types of emergencies that challenge the fire and rescue services.
FEMA and the USFA are very proud of the accomplishments of the NFA in this arena. The March 2000 Government Accounting Office report “Need to Eliminate Duplicate Federal Weapons of Mass Destruction Training” indicates that the NFA trains more first responders with less funding than the other federal principals. In turn, the nation’s fire service should be equally as proud. For information about these courses, contact your state fire training office or view the NFA catalog at http://www.usfa.fema.gov/nfa.
KENNETH O. BURRIS, JR., is the chief operating officer of the U.S. Fire Administration. He retired as fire chief from the City of Marietta, Georgia. He has an MPA from Kennesaw State University and a bachelor’s degree in fire protection and safety engineering technology from the University of Cincinnati. He formerly served as treasurer of the International Association of Fire Chiefs.
