The

Highlights: Firefighters Shot, Stabbed on Routine Calls

InfoGram

Dangers of Shift Work

Volume 15 – Issue 28

Wildfire Safety Toolkits Now Available

Firefighters Shot, Stabbed on Routine Calls

Voluntary Private Sector Preparedness Program

Two more violent attacks on first responders were in the news recently: • •

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The EMR-ISAC does not endorse the organizations sponsoring linked websites, and does not endorse the views they express or the products/services they offer.

July 9, 2015

Wisconsin: a firefighter’s head was grazed by a bullet while he was treating a patient. Several rounds hit the ambulance as well. No suspects are yet in custody; California: two firefighters were stabbed multiple times by a bystander while they were helping a patient. One suffered a punctured lung. Assailant is in custody.

Maintaining situational awareness at the scene of every incident is important to safeguarding all personnel. Becoming complacent in seemingly innocent, routine situations can mean not going home at the end of a shift. Fire and EMS personnel often don’t get training on warning signs of a violent threat. Inviting the state or local police to train fire and EMS workers on behavior that might signal a potentially violent situation is a great way to provide all personnel tools in a crisis. An added benefit is it will begin a larger conversation on responding to violence. Joint exercises, learning to discreetly communicate a spotted threat, and strengthening relationships between different first responder agencies is beneficial for all departments involved. (Source: FireRescue1)

Dangers of Shift Work The U.S. Fire Administration maintains the Emergency Management and Response – Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC). For information regarding the EMR-ISAC visit www.usfa.dhs.gov/ emr-isac or contact the EMR-ISAC office at: (301) 447-1325 and/or [email protected].

Many first responders work shift work in some form. While there are many advantages to staffing departments in this way, there are many disadvantages to the people themselves. WebMD lists the health risks of shift work to include insomnia, fatigue, gastrointestinal problems, increased risk of accidents, cardiovascular disease, and even an increased risk of breast cancer. Last year, Time magazine reported nearly 40 percent of firefighters suffer from at least one sleep disorder, with more than 80 percent of them undiagnosed. These figures may very well explain some firefighter fatalities in accidents or from heart attacks. People often do not realize how fatigued they are or how it truly affects their performance. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has helpful inThe InfoGram is distributed weekly to provide members of the Emergency Services Sector with information concerning the protection of their critical infrastructures.

formation for those wanting to mitigate the effects of shift work, including a variety of publications, studies, statistics, and information from past events. NIOSH also offers “Reducing Risks Associated with Long Work Hours,” an interim NIOSH training specifically for first responders. The risks of not enough sleep are discussed, and the training also provides workers with personal strategies they can use and information managers can put into practice as well. The training is free. (Source: NIOSH)

Wildfire Safety Toolkits Now Available

Each year, wildfires damage and destroy homes in or near woodland settings – within the Wildland Urban Interface. As more people choose to buy homes in picturesque areas known to be in danger of wildland fires, it is important to continue the push for homeowners and community leaders to take responsible measures to make their properties and communities less vulnerable to the dangers wildfires present. Fair Use Notice: This InfoGram may contain copyrighted material that was not specifically authorized by the copyright owner. The EMR-ISAC believes this constitutes “fair use” of copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use copyrighted material contained within this document for your own purposes that go beyond “fair use,” you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

DHS and the FBI encourage recipients of this document to report information concerning suspicious or criminal activity to the local FBI office and also the State or Major Urban Area Fusion Center.

For information specifically affecting the private sector critical infrastructure contact the National Infrastructure Coordinating Center by phone at 202-282-9201, or by email at [email protected].

Several agencies and organizations formed the Fire Adapted Communities (FAC) coalition to address this need. FAC provides multimedia support for groups looking to put together a fire adapted communities program including networking guides, DVDs, reference guides, brochures, and a self-assessment tool. Ready.gov recently made another toolkit available through PrepareAthon’s Wildfire page to help get the wildfire safety message out. The Wildfire Safety Toolkit provides sharables that emergency managers can post to their social media accounts. It provides a list of hashtags for Twitter, graphics for Facebook cover photos, a list of links for more information, content for sharing through social media, and social media writing tips when discussing emergency preparedness. (Source: PrepareAthon)

Voluntary Private Sector Preparedness Program When small businesses are hit by a disaster, they often have much more difficulty getting back on their feet because, unlike larger businesses, they don’t have the money or resources in reserve to help them and therefore are more vulnerable to closure. Emergency management offices can help businesses of all sizes in their jurisdictions by introducing them to the Voluntary Private Sector Preparedness Program (PS-Prep). The 9/11 Commission Report “identified the private sector as having significant risk” in its ability to respond to and recover from disruption. Small businesses are especially vulnerable to things outside of their control, such as the shipping and receiving of goods being delayed due to grounding of planes for a period of time. Identifying and addressing these vulnerabilities is key to resiliency. Emergency management is a broad field addressing many different elements within a community. Sometimes a small business plays a very large role in a small town, and without it the town will suffer. The business owners may not even know there is help available until it is too late. By providing the information now, emergency management agencies can help ensure small towns remain stable. (Source: PS-Prep)

The InfoGram

Volume 15 – Issue 28

July 9, 2015