by Leslie Wollack

In response to intense criticism of the federal reaction to Hurricane Katrina, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) last week convened representatives from a broad range of public, volunteer and private sector organizations to evaluate the national plan for responding to emergencies, known as the National Response Plan.

Last updated in May, the plan lays out a comprehensive approach to handling emergencies and establishes a series of protocols for working with state, local and tribal governments and the private sector.

Laurel, Md., Mayor Craig Moe, a member of NLC?s Public Safety and Crime Prevention steering committee, represented NLC at the meeting.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and DHS officials noted that the meeting, held on Wednesday, Oct. 25, represented the beginning of the revision process and they were in the listening phase. 

Noting the severe criticism that FEMA has received in the time since Hurricane Katrina hit, DHS Undersecretary George Foresman said the National Response Plan revision was to help, ?make things work better in the middle of a crisis [since there is an] expectation on the part of citizens that we have our act together.? 

The National Response Plan is a broad overarching plan, not a substitute for local plans, noted Foresman, and must represent an integrated approach that includes continuous efforts to work and train with state and local governments. 

The National Response Plan incorporates best practices and procedures from incident management disciplines ? homeland security, emergency management, law enforcement, firefighting, public works, public health, responder and recovery worker health and safety, emergency medical services, and the private sector ? and integrates them into a unified structure.

It forms the basis of how the federal government coordinates with state, local and tribal governments and the private sector during incidents. It establishes protocols to help:

? Save lives and protect the health and safety of the public, responders and recovery workers;

? Ensure security of the homeland;

? Prevent an imminent incident, including acts of terrorism, from occurring;

? Protect and restore critical infrastructure and key resources;

? Conduct law enforcement investigations to resolve the incident, apprehend the perpetrators, and collect and preserve evidence for prosecution and/or attribution;

? Protect property and mitigate damages and impacts to individuals, communities  and the environment; and

? Facilitate recovery of individuals, families, businesses, governments and the environment.

Firefighter Grants
DHS recently announced $91.8 million in direct assistance grants to 860 fire departments and first responder organizations through the department?s Fiscal Year 2006 Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) program. Additional phases will bring the total of grants to fire departments and first responders to $485 million to nearly 5,000 fire-related organizations nationwide.

Since 2001, the AFG has provided $2.4 billion in grants to fire departments and first responder organizations for response equipment, personal protective equipment, vehicles, and fire prevention activities. DHS received more than 18,000 applications for nearly $2.5 billion in grant requests in FY06.

The AFG program awards grants to firefighters, emergency response personnel and first responders throughout the nation to enhance response capabilities and to more effectively protect the health and safety of first responders and the citizens in their communities.

AFG grants provide resources for training, first responder health and safety programs, and response equipment and vehicles.