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Guidelines for Transportation Emergency Training Exercises 158 ATTACHMENT 6 TRANSPORTATION INCIDENT RESPONSE TYPOLOGY
Guidelines for Transportation Emergency Training Exercises 159 Transportation Incident Response Typology Incident Classification Examples Duration of Disruption Command and Coordination Structure Level I: Minor Incidents Minor traffic incident Traffic crash Minor load spill Vehicle fire Minor train or bus accident Minor employee accident with injuries 0-2 hours (in most cases) On-scene resources, such as the incident command system (ICS) and person-to- person communication, are typically sufficient to manage the incident. ICS single command is typically all that is required. Transportation front-line personnel and the transportation supervisor will support the emergency responder incident commander in resolving the incident. Level II: Extended Incidents Train derailment Major bus/rail transit accident Major truck accident Multivehicle crash Hazmat spills Accidents with fatalities and injuries Minor earthquakes, landslides 2-8 hours (in most cases) On-scene resources, which may be supplemented by additional resources through ICS single command, are used to resolve the incident. The main resource is person-to-person communication at the scene, but agency-to-agency communication may be necessary (i.e., transportation dispatch/management center to emergency responder dispatch center). The transportation incident management system will be activated, and a transportation incident commander will be assigned. The transportation emergency operations center may be activated. If the incident escalates, unified command may be established and the local emergency operations center may be activated. (continued)
Guidelines for Transportation Emergency Training Exercises 160 Incident Classification Examples Duration of Disruption Command and Coordination Structure Level III: Major Incidents Train crash Airplane crash Hazmat incident Multivehicle accident Tunnel fire Infrastructure collapse Accidents with multiple fatalities/injuries Accident with mass casualties Port/airport incidents Industrial accidents Critical system failure Tornados, flash floods, electrical storms, and smaller wildfires Workplace violence/strike 8-24 hours (in most cases) These incidents require activation of ICS in the field (possibly unified command) and activation of the local emergency operations center (EOC). The transportation agency will activate its transportation incident management system in the field, including designation of a transportation incident commander and transportation command post. The transportation emergency operations center will be activated. Communications will be managed through both person-to- person communication (in the field) and agency-to-agency communication (between the transportation and local emergency operations center and the transportation dispatch/management center and emergency responder dispatch centers). A transportation liaison will be assigned to the local emergency operations center. Level IV: Incidents of National Significance Terrorist attack/WMD or credible threat of such attack Natural disasters resulting in declaration of Presidential emergency Events that require involvement of more than one federal department or agency 24+ hours (in most cases) These events trigger activation of the National Response Plan. Federal resources will be integrated into the command and coordination structure established for Level III events at the regional, state, and national level. Unified area command may be established by the responders in the field to facilitate the integration of federal resources into the local/regional response activity. (Continued)
Guidelines for Transportation Emergency Training Exercises 161 Example of Level III Incident Classification for Elements of Local and Transit Agency Response
Guidelines for Transportation Emergency Training Exercises 162 State DOT/Traffic Management Center Emergency Response Activities Disaster Response Develop Mission Statement and Operational Concept Scene Protection & Traffic Control Coordinate Field Response Operational Objectives & Strategies Situation AssessmentVerification Notification/ Detection Evacuation Preparedness Public Information Campaign Monitor Alert Levels Coordinate Regional Response Plans and Evacuation Plans Prior to Event Event Occurs Support for Emergency Responders Area Traffic Control Strategies Event Stabilization Pu bl ic In fo rm at io n Critical Services Restoration Manage Area Transportation Traffic Dissipation Emergency Evacuation Evacuation Traffic Management Evacuation Resource Sharing Incident Management on Routes Monitor Evacuation Coordinate Evacuation Strategy Emergency Management Life Cycle Phases R ecovery R esponse Prevention Preparedness A w areness Evacuation Re- Entry
Guidelines for Transportation Emergency Training Exercises 163 Disaster Response Activities Function Representative Activities Performed by Transportation Management Centers and State and Local Transportation Organizations Coordinate Response Plans Support the development/revision of the following: transportation-related components of local, regional, and state emergency operations plans (EOPs) and transportation annexes; transportation-related components of local/regional hazard-specific plans; Mutual aid and other support agreements with appropriate local and state agencies to address transportation resources and concerns; and Memoranda of understanding and letters of agreement with local public safety agencies documenting transportation roles and responsibilities in the incident command system (ICS) and community emergency operations center (EOC). Monitor Alert Levels Improve access to alerting systems and information regarding terrorism threat levels. Improve access to alerting systems for natural disasters. Develop and implement protective measures in times of heightened threat or natural disaster, which include early notification of transportation decision-makers; early activation of key traffic control strategies; staging of predeployed resources throughout the area; and direct assignment of transportation managers and others with authority to make decisions at strategic locations. Support the rapid and coordinated identification of mobilization sites, staging areas, and traffic control plans, integrated with threat assessment and scene security requirements. Support the rapid and coordinated consideration of traffic routing alternatives and regionwide coordination regarding traffic management. Update contact and on-call systems, thereby ensuring 24/7 access to transportation decision-makers at both the strategic (management) and the tactical (field) levels. Detect and Verify Emergencies Use surveillance systems to detect indicators of a potential emergency, an emergency that is occurring, or an emergency that has occurred. Collaborate with and alert other agencies to recognize an emergency event in progress that may affect the regional transportation system. Establish manual or automated information sharing with local emergency communications centers (ECCs)/911 centers. Collaborate with field personnel and equipment to verify that an emergency event is occurring or has occurred, and communicate relevant information to all responding agencies. Assess Infrastructure Status Improve operational availability of critical management, information, communications, and control systems in potential disaster scenarios. Clarify access priority for engineers and other transportation field personnel who must assess infrastructure, equipment, and facilities located at or nearby the scene. Provide assistance in determining any potential hazards at the scene.
Guidelines for Transportation Emergency Training Exercises 164 Disaster Response Activities Function Representative Activities Performed by Transportation Management Centers and State and Local Transportation Organizations Coordinate Response As appropriate/requested, provide field support for emergency responders at the scene, integrated through the ICS and communicated and coordinated with the traffic management center. Address emergency responder transportation needs and scene access support and staging requirements. Identify available transportation equipment, facilities, personnel, devices, and information to support emergency response. Assign transportation agency resources to move materials, personnel, and supplies as requested by responders. Track resource status. If appropriate, support hazardous materials containment response and damage assessment, using available capabilities coordinated with on-scene field response through the ICS. Attend regular briefings at incident site on situation, incident action plan, response objectives, and strategy, with full opportunity for transportation contributions and identification of resources and capabilities to support the response effort and action plan. Perform damage assessment duties for affected transportation system elements. Make decisions regarding closures, restrictions, and priority repairs. Coordinate assessments and decisions made regarding the operational capabilities of the transportation system with affected parties (emergency responders, local government, etc.) Initiate priority clean-up, repair, and restoration activities, including the use of contractors and emergency procurement authorities. Review/terminate existing work zone closures as necessary. Obtain incident status briefings, and anticipate changing conditions (wind direction, weather, plume direction, etc.) Based on all available information, develop detours and diversions (as necessary) to direct traffic safely away from the affected area and/or damaged infrastructure. Initiate traffic management operations and control strategies. Provide public information/traveler alerts on the status of the transportation system. Assign personnel to local/regional and state emergency operations centers to collaborate with public safety agencies and other agencies involved in disaster response and recovery efforts. Support communications between transportation personnel and their families/friends. Restore Critical Services Coordinate roadway clearance activities. Remove and/or assist in debris removal and disposal, as appropriate, to provide emergency access to disaster areas or to assist in eliminating health and safety problems associated with debris. Prioritize recovery operations, and perform emergency repairs in the disaster area. Collaborate with other jurisdictions that are managing, supporting, or being impacted by the repair activities. Assist in the design and implementation of alternate transportation services, such as transit systems, to temporarily replace transport capacity that is lost because of disaster damage. Collaborate with efforts to restore utilities. Issue permits required to repair/restore utility lines or pipes. Provide needed equipment and/or technical assistance to support restoration of critical public works. Support event stabilization, traffic demand, and estimated traffic capacity at the time of stabilization. Support decontamination (short-term and mid-term), if necessary, using hazardous materials contractors and clean-up crews. Initiate commercial mode shifts and diversions (as appropriate).
Guidelines for Transportation Emergency Training Exercises 165 Disaster Response Activities Function Representative Activities Performed by Transportation Management Centers and State and Local Transportation Organizations Manage Area Transportation Monitor and control transportation systems and infrastructure, and coordinate transportation activities with other agencies (local, state, and federal). Monitor and coordinate the closure of high-risk facilities such as bridges, tunnels, or flood- and landslide-prone sections of roadway. Assist state and local government entities in determining the most viable available transportation networks to, from, and within the disaster area, and regulate the use of those networks for the movement of people, equipment, supplies, records, and so forth. Establish and manage emergency access for transport of emergency resources, including traffic control points, barricade plans, and potential one-way/reverse-lane operations. Provide any highway clearances and waivers required to expedite the transportation of high-priority materials and the evacuation of personnel during periods of declared emergencies. Manage unexpected capacity reduction on selected routes. Share disaster response and evacuation information among all allied agencies, including transportation agencies (e.g., traffic operations, maintenance, and transit) and nontransportation agencies (e.g., public safety and emergency management). Coordinate traffic control strategies supporting emergency response across jurisdictions. Coordinate transit service changes across jurisdictions. Provide Traveler Information Provide information on road closures, infrastructure damage, debris removal, and restoration activities related to highway systems and facilities. Provide real-time traffic information and traffic reports for roads within the affected area or for roads leading into the area. Provide updated transit service information for the disaster area. Assign appropriate personnel at key disaster sites to oversee operations and to provide consistent, verified public information to emergency management agencies, public information officers, and the media. Evacuation Coordination Activities Function Representative Activities Performed by Transportation Management Centers and State and Local Transportation Organizations Evacuation Planning Support Develop evacuation plans at the county, state, and multistate levels. Data must be collected and archived to develop these plans and to ensure the validation of the models used in developing the plans. The data shall include items such as traffic flow, speed, occupancy, traveler behavior, and a log of events. When possible, coordinate evacuation routes across jurisdictional boundaries. Improve management of the evacuation process through investigation of strategies that reduce transportation demand, including identifying shelters near evacuation origins, increasing the use of transit, and evacuating in shifts rather than all at once. Examine and modify evacuation route designs if necessary to accommodate evacuation management strategies. For example, reversible lane operations and the use of shoulders as an additional lane might require modifications to interchange designs. For situations where evacuation is not possible, develop plans to reconfigure the transportation system to manage the immediate transport of critical supplies to support shelter-in-place strategies. Establish policies, controls, and interfaces that support the lifting of toll and transit fees during evacuations. Develop evacuation plans that provide alternative routing for the possibility that a terrorist attack has rendered critical infrastructure or a quarantined area unavailable for evacuation. Provide evacuation planning for high-visibility events (e.g., Olympics) where there may be a great influx of visitors not normally accounted for in disaster evacuation scenarios. Provide for evacuation contingencies with respect to multiple and/or clustered disasters impacting evacuation in a relatively short timeframe. Evacuation Preparedness Reduce the time required for implementation and set-up of various evacuation strategies through predeployment of equipment and personnel. Plan for the evacuation of those with special needs. This includes elderly people and people with disabilities, as well as hospitals and other institutions with resident populations. Transit plays a critical and unique role in meeting this need. Share current and forecast evacuation information with transportation, emergency management, law enforcement, and other allied agencies at the county, multicounty, and multistate levels. Evacuation Traveler Information Provide a comprehensive public information strategy. Coordinate evacuation public information with emergency management, transportation, and other allied agencies so that consistent, accurate information is provided to evacuees. Provide real-time information to evacuees regarding The services available at the evacuation destinations and along the evacuation routes; The evacuation route conditions, such as incidents, road closures, lane closures, weather, expected travel time to destinations, route to destinations, and availability of alternative routes; Conditions in the evacueesâ home counties; Available transit services supporting evacuation; and Alternative evacuation destinations (for evacuees who request this information).
Guidelines for Transportation Emergency Training Exercises 166 Evacuation Coordination Activities Function Representative Activities Performed by Transportation Management Centers and State and Local Transportation Organizations Evacuation Traffic Management Efficiently use the available capacity to reduce the potentials for operational failures during evacuation. For example, review and terminate work zone closures where possible along the evacuation routes to maximize the capacity of these routes. Use transit services to the extent possible to optimize the use of available capacity. Operational failures can cause gridlock, long hours of delays, vehicle breakdowns, frustrated travelers, and significant risks to the evacuees. Improve management of the local streets that provide access to and from evacuation routes. The capacity of these streets should be increased and efficiently used to prevent creating bottlenecks at the access points. Improve the efficiency of detecting, responding to, and clearing incidents on evacuation routes. The drop in evacuation route capacities due to incidents could result in the failure of the evacuation process, even if the analysis performed during evacuation planning indicates that the routes can accommodate the traffic in nonincident conditions. Improve the warning and preparation information provided to evacuation destinations. Evacuee traffic information can be used by transportation management at the destination to preconfigure the systems to anticipate and better handle the increased demand. Provide shelter-in-place information, and use transportation agency resources to expedite relief to the endangered population in cases where evacuation is not possible because little or no warning is provided and/or because transportation agency resources are limited or severely impacted. Maintain emergency service access to the disaster area and to the evacuation routes themselves by providing for and managing emergency service access routes in the opposite direction and/or across the major evacuation routes where necessary. Improve management of evacuation termination under emergency circumstances. This includes decision support to determine when to terminate an evacuation, communication of salient emergency public information to motorists, and roadway management (including interchange shutdown, traffic diversion, and the opening of "refuges of last resort" or other safe havens). Ensure the efficient and safe reentry of the evacuees to their counties. This includes preventing unauthorized people from entering a disaster area, clearing dangerous debris, and restoring electricity. The reentry decisions must balance safety and security with the publicâs desire to return home. Evacuation Resource Sharing Establish an effective information-sharing service that keeps all agencies in all affected jurisdictions appraised of the evacuation plan and evacuation status. If possible, coordinate resource requests and status/tracking through the same information-sharing capability. Ensure that resource requirements are accurately forecast based on the evacuation plans and that the necessary resources are located, shared between agencies if necessary, and deployed at the right locations at the right times. Make sure to have available the current status of all resources deployed to support the evacuation.
Public Transportation Emergency Response Activities REPORT THE INCIDENT EVALUATE THE INCIDENT NOTIFY INCIDENT COMMAND NOTIFY EMERGENCY RESPONDERS NOTIFY DISPATCH RESPONDERS PROTECT PERSONNEL AND EQUIPMENT EVACUATE PEOPLE PROVIDE BRIEFINGS PROVIDE MEDICAL TREATMENT TRANSPORT VICTIMS TO MEDICAL FACILITIES MANAGE THE EMERGENCY RESTORE THE SERVICE DEBRIEF AND REPORT COMBAT FIRE HAZMAT CHEM/BIO 911 REPORTS
Guidelines for Transportation Emergency Training Exercises 168 Emergency Exercises for Assessing Transportation Activities Activity Can Best Be Assessed Using This Type of Emergency Exercise Transportation Emergency Planning and Response Activities Seminar Workshop Tabletop Game Drill Functional Exercise Full- Scale Exercise Develop Mission Statement and Operational Concept for Transportation Agency Emergency Management X X X Coordinate Local/Regional/State Response Plans and Evacuation Plans X X X Develop Public Information Dissemination Strategies for Range of Conditions/Events X X X Develop System to Monitor Threat Levels (Weather and Security) X X X X Develop Transportation Emergency Operations Plans and Procedures X X X Develop Transportation Training to Support Plans and Procedures X X X X Detect Events X X X X X Verify Events X X X X X Notify the Appropriate People/Organizations X X X X X Assess Situations X X X X X Evacuate Passengers and Facilities X X X Manage Casualties X X Protect Property/Equipment X X X Evaluate/Combat Dangers at Incident Scene X X Develop Operations Objectives and Strategies X X X X X Integrate with Local/Regional Incident Management System X X X X X Coordinate Transportation Field Response X X X X X Protect Scene and Control Traffic X X X Provide Support for Emergency Responders X X X X X X X Develop Area Traffic Control Strategies X X X X Manage Evacuation Traffic X X X X Coordinate and Monitor Evacuation X X X X Provide Incident Management of Evacuation Routes X X X X Stabilize Events X X Restore Critical Services X X Facilitate Traffic/Evacuation Re-Entry X X X X Manage Area Transportation X X X Dissipate Traffic X X X Restore Transportation Service X X X X
