Drill:

similar to exercises, but more narrowly focused activities used for training, testing, and refining capacities, and frequently involving a specific area of preparedness within only one agency rather than more complex processes and relationships at an interagency level.

Emergency manager:

a title used for increasingly professionalized personnel in local or state government who are charged with coordinating or overseeing the jurisdiction’s multi-agency response to an emergency or disaster.

Emergency responder/first responder/traditional emergency responder:

term refers a set of disciplines and responsibilities, including, but not limited to Emergency Medical Services [EMS], fire, law enforcement, hazardous materials specialists, etc. Personnel in such agencies and the practitioners of such disciplines prepare for emergencies and disasters and are responsible for carrying out response when emergencies and disasters occur.

Emergency response:

refers to an array of activities conducted by multiple jurisdictions, agencies, and authorities in response to emergencies and disasters. For the sake of simplicity, this report uses the terms “emergency and disaster management” or “emergency and disaster preparedness and response” interchangeably to describe the field of traditional first responders.

Exercise:

describes a range of activities that involve enacting a response to a mock emergency or disaster.