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OCR for page 62
62 A Guide to Emergency Response Planning at State Transportation Agencies
· Established applicable response and management teams to manage and direct traffic on
highways at critical intersections lacking active signalization, and contraflow operations,
as needed.
· Prepared traffic management performance measures to perform traffic flow analysis in support
of emergency evacuation and response planning.
· Developed traffic management plans and protocols to be used during evacuation/shelter-
in-place/quarantine events requiring activation of the SEOC, including at least:
Traffic control points for intersections along the transportation corridor,
Alternative emergency response routes,
Emergency crossovers and turnarounds,
Protocols for communicating and coordinating with construction and maintenance crews
to support traffic control,
Equipment storage sites for pre-staging,
Anticipated equipment,
Travel-on-shoulder guidelines,
Closure and alternate route guidelines,
Special access provisions,
Rapid vehicle and debris removal guidelines,
Contraflow plans,
Traffic management centers,
Surveillance and control subsystems,
Traveler information subsystems, and
Information service providers.
· Coordinated traffic management plans with neighboring jurisdictions that may be affected by
evacuation and response operations.
· Established provisions for using transit and school system assets to support evacuations/
shelter-in-place/quarantine and emergency response and recovery efforts.
· Coordinated the agency EOP and emergency transportation plan with state, regional, and
local transportation agencies and organizations.
· Coordinated the agency EOP and emergency transportation plan with emergency responders,
and ensured it is part of the overall region emergency response plan.
· Ensured the state Emergency Evacuation Plan (and shelter-in-place/quarantine plans) includes
redundancy of routes and systems.
· Prepare signal-timing plans for evacuation/shelter-in-place/quarantine and response scenarios.
· Established procedures and policies to share camera control, signal control, use of officers/
troopers at intersections, websites, and DMS control.
Step 4--Develop Mobilization Plans for State Transportation Agency
Personnel and Resources
Impending emergency events such as hurricanes and wildfires provide some advance notice
to emergency responders. This advance notice provides additional time to stage personnel and
equipment and fully mobilize response teams prior to the storm's or fire's impact. Unfortu-
nately, many emergency events, such as a large-scale terrorist attack, earthquake, or hazardous
materials release, occur without notice, and require emergency responders to react quickly and
efficiently with minimal information to mobilize and deploy personnel and resources to the
affected areas. In doing so, emergency responders must not only work to fulfill their response
duties, but they must also strive to do so while keeping themselves and others safe. To ensure
that emergency responders are capable of meeting these demands, it is critical that Mobilization
Plans be developed and exercised for both notice and no-notice emergency events. Develop-
ing Mobilization Plans for state transportation agency personnel and resources requires the
completion of two phases.
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Develop an Emergency Preparedness Program 63
PREPARE Phase 11: Prepare to Mobilize Response Teams, Equipment,
and Resources
Purpose. Ensure readiness to mobilize transportation agency response teams, including acti-
vation of all necessary personnel, testing of all communications equipment, fueling of all vehicles,
pre-staging of supporting equipment (cones, barriers, signs, etc.), and implementing established
field capabilities to coordinate with local, regional, state, and federal agencies through the NIMS/
Incident Command System.
Actions. Test all primary and backup wire communications and radio frequencies expected
to be used during the event, including remote communications, and evaluate contingencies.
Ensure response vehicles are fueled and in proper working order. Supporting actions could
include the following steps:
· Place equipment and resources at predetermined locations, including portable changeable
message signs, food and water, gasoline tankers, mechanics crews, port-a-potties, and other
items that may be staged along the predesignated routes.
· Bring all EOCs to fully functional status.
· Activate mobilization plans for emergency personnel.
· Activate reception plans, sites, and support capabilities with public and/or volunteer
organizations.
· Establish field capabilities through the ICS.
· Use inter-jurisdictional and interagency information flow and coordination.
· Notify all response personnel of evacuation/shelter-in-place/quarantine orders according to
established calling trees and communication protocols. Response personnel should report to
staging areas and await order to begin response and evacuation efforts.
· Ensure all responsible agencies understand joint priorities and restrictions.
· Prior to activation, afford staff an opportunity to ensure the safety of their loved ones and per-
sonal property.
· Manage timely communication of instructions to prepare people in advance of the order to
evacuate, shelter-in-place, or quarantine.
· Ensure sufficient resources are available to protect responders and those evacuated/sheltered-
in-place/quarantined. Assemble, transport, and install cones, barriers, barricades, etc.
Supporting Resources.
· Using Highways During Evacuation Operations for Events with Advance Notice Routes: Effective
Evacuation Planning Primer Series, http://www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/evac_primer/
00_evac_primer.htm
· I-95 Corridor Coalition, Projects & Reports: Coalition Publications, http://www.i95coalition.
org/i95/Library/tabid/84/Default.aspx
· Work Zone Safety and Mobility Rule, http://www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/wz/resources/final_
rule.htm
· Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA) Emergency Management Sys-
tems, http://www.its.dot.gov/evaluation/docs_ems.htm
· NCHRP Report 525: Surface Transportation Security, Volume 9: Guidelines for Transportation
Emergency Training Exercises, search for title at www.TRB.org/SecurityPubs
· Simplified Guide to the Incident Command System for Transportation Professionals, http://
www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/ics_guide/index.htm
· Using Highways for No-Notice Evacuations: Routes to Effective Evacuation Planning Primer
Series, http://www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/evac_primer_nn/index.htm
PREPARE Phase 12: Administer Training Programs
Purpose. Establish employee and contractor training and exercise programs, participate in
joint multi-agency training and exercises, and identify and provide additional training or sup-
port response and evacuation activities.
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64 A Guide to Emergency Response Planning at State Transportation Agencies
Actions. Develop interagency training programs to provide a common understanding of the
transportation ICS and program guidelines. Establish professional qualifications, certifications,
and/or performance standards for individuals and teams, whether paid or volunteer. Ensure that
content and methods of training comply with applicable standards and produce required skills
and measurable proficiency. Supporting actions may include the following:
· Incorporate NIMS/ICS into all state/territorial and regional training and exercises.
· Establish employee and contractor training and exercise programs.
· Participate in joint multi-agency training and exercises; this should include an all-hazards
exercise program based on NIMS that involves responders from multiple disciplines and mul-
tiple jurisdictions.
· Identify what additional training resources may be needed in the community to support
response and evacuation/shelter-in-place/quarantine activities.
· Identify through exercises and simulations the estimated time needed to complete an evacu-
ation/shelter-in-place/quarantine for each of the catastrophic hazards identified and provide
this information to highway, public safety, and transit agencies for coordination purposes.
· Identify through training exercises the time it takes to have field personnel and equipment in
place to support the evacuation/shelter-in-place/quarantine.
· Conduct post-exercise debriefings to determine lessons learned during the exercise.
· Incorporate results of training exercises, including corrective actions, into preparedness
response plans and procedures.
· Leverage training facilities to coordinate and deliver NIMS training requirements in confor-
mance with the NIMS National Standard Curriculum.
· Ensure that all personnel with a direct role in emergency preparedness and incident manage-
ment or response complete the designated FEMA training.
Focus. Improve response capabilities and coordination between emergency responders.
National Incident Management System Compliance Issues. To achieve NIMS compliance,
· Use existing resources such as programs and training facilities to coordinate and deliver NIMS
training requirements to personnel (as appropriate to equivalent training courses).
· Complete ICS-400 Advanced ICS training or equivalent.21
· Complete IS-700 NIMS: An Introduction or equivalent.
· Complete IS-800 NRF: An Introduction or equivalent.
· Complete ICS-100 Introduction to ICS training or equivalent.
· Complete ICS-200 ICS for Single Resources and Initial Action Incidents training or equivalent.
· Complete ICS-300 Intermediate ICS training or equivalent.
· Complete Emergency Management Framework Course--Awareness Training.22
· Incorporate NIMS concepts and principles into all appropriate state, territorial, and tribal
training and exercises.
· Initiate development of a state-/territory-wide system to credential emergency management/
response personnel to ensure proper authorization and access to an incident, including those
involving mutual-aid agreements and/or assistance agreements.
Supporting Resources.
· Emergency Management Institute (EMI) Courses & Schedules, http://training.fema.gov/
EMICourses/
· NCHRP Report 525: Surface Transportation Security, Volume 9: Guidelines for Transportation
Emergency Training Exercises, search for title at www.TRB.org/SecurityPubs
21
All referenced ICS/IS training refers to the Five-Year NIMS Training Plan, February 2008, available at
http://www.fema.gov/emergency/nims/nims_training.shtm#1.
22
Ibid.
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Develop an Emergency Preparedness Program 65
· NCHRP Report 525: Surface Transportation Security, Volume 7: System Security Awareness for
Transportation Employees, search for title at www.TRB.org/SecurityPubs
· National Transit Institute (NTI) Courses, Workplace Safety and Security, http://www.ntionline.
com/topic.asp?TopicArea=5
Step Observations
Resource management is a key component of any Mobilization Plan. Successful resource
management coordinates and manages the deployment of emergency response tools, equipment,
personnel, supplies, and facilities in a manner that optimizes their use. This means supplying
incident managers and emergency responders with the resources they need, when and where they
are needed, without delay. The first step in this process is to define the specific resources needed
to respond appropriately to the event. The state transportation agency's Mobilization Plan
should recognize that each emergency is different and therefore will likely require different
resources to control. For example, supporting the evacuation or shelter-in-place of a region as a
result of an approaching hurricane will require different resources than responding to a large-
scale hazardous chemical release. In this example, the former may require mass evacuations of
the region, while the latter may require citizens to shelter-in-place or quarantine.
As described in FHWA's Simplified Guide to the Incident Command System for Transportation
Professionals, optimal resource management requires "systems for describing, inventorying,
requesting, and tracking resources over the life cycle of an incident" (FHWA, 2006a). Because of
the recognized differences between emergencies, the state transportation agency--using the all-
hazards approach--should therefore identify, to the extent possible, the resources that are
needed to respond to each type of emergency identified during the planning process. The
agency's Mobilization Plan should clearly state the location of these resources and how they can
be obtained and/or transported to appropriate staging areas.
The state transportation agency should also develop a resource inventory management system
to be used for deploying and tracking resources during emergency response efforts. These processes
help incident managers and personnel protect the safety of staff and the security of supplies and
equipment, while enabling them to better direct the movement of personnel, equipment, and sup-
plies to the areas of most need.
Next, the state transportation agency's Mobilization Plan should identify the staging areas and
rallying points for agency response teams, personnel, and resources. Identify both primary and
alternate locations, and the Mobilization Plan should clearly define how changes to these loca-
tions will be communicated to transportation agency personnel and other emergency respon-
ders during emergency response efforts. It is important to note that during no-notice events, the
agency may need to issue real-time instructions to its personnel stating the location of rallying
points and when personnel should arrive.
Once all personnel arrive at the staging area, brief them on their assignments and the expected
duration for which they will be needed. Mobilization Plans should also identify how transporta-
tion agency personnel and resources will be transported (if necessary) from the staging areas and
rallying points to the emergency scene. As emergency response efforts progress, the agency will
need to communicate the estimated arrival times of its personnel and resources to the Incident
Commander.
Mobilization also requires that the state transportation agency ensures all personnel and
resources are fully prepared and capable of meeting the response needs. This means verifying
that all equipment and vehicles are fully fueled and operable, confirming emergency equipment
is fully operational, and establishing processes and testing communication systems to ensure
information can be shared with and received from the TMC, Incident Command, and other
emergency responders. It also means verifying personnel have the appropriate training and qual-
