At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

• Describe the ordering procedures and configuration and logistical support needs for State mobilizations and Federal resources.
• Identify issues concerning the mobilization of large quantities of resources and the prioritization systems for identifying and assigning scarce resources.
• Describe the complications with and strategies for managing donations and spontaneous volunteers.

Complex incidents are those beyond business as usual. Their characteristics may include most, if not all, of those listed below:

• Involve more than one agency (often many)
• May involve more than one political jurisdiction
• Have the most complex management and communication problems
• Require more experienced, qualified supervisory personnel
• Require the long-term commitment of large numbers of tactical and support resources
• Cause more injury, illness, and death
• Produce the most damage to property and the environment
• Have extreme elements of crisis/psychological trauma that diminish human capacity to function
• Last longer
• Are the most costly to control
• Require extensive mitigation, recovery, and rehabilitation
• Have greater media interest
• May require management of volunteers and donations, both solicited and unsolicited

The process for coordinating resources for complex incidents dovetails with that used for individual, smaller incidents. However, in complex incidents there are numerous Multiagency Coordination System elements involved in resource coordination including:

• Local, State, and Federal Emergency Operations Centers (EOCs)
• MAC Groups
• FEMA Regional Response Coordination Centers
• Joint Field Offices (JFOs)
• National Response Framework agencies
• Department of Homeland Security

It must be remembered that the authority and structure of EOCs, MAC Groups, etc., varies from agency to agency and jurisdiction to jurisdiction. However, it is important also to remember the difference between command and coordination.

Click here for a quick review of the difference between command and coordination.

Coordinating resource needs begins with a thorough assessment or "size up" of the current incident situation and future incident potential. The scope and details of this assessment depend on the jurisdictional level of the organization. For example, a County EOC must have a detailed understanding of the status of all jurisdictions and current incidents within its purview, plus a good understanding of the status of surrounding counties. The EOC should also maintain a general awareness of national conditions, especially for situations that may affect resource availability.

Click on the audio or transcript buttons to access lessons learned.

The Incident Commander develops incident objectives. For the supporting coordination entities, these objectives may translate into requests for additional resources. One of the characteristics of complex incidents is that there may be competition for limited critical resources.

In order to allocate resources appropriately, the Emergency Operations Center and the MAC Group must be able to prioritize multiple incidents happening simultaneously.

MAC Groups are primarily responsible for resource prioritization and allocation. Unlike Unified Command, they do not perform incident command functions, nor do they replace the primary functions of operations, coordination, or dispatch organizations. When competition for resources is significant, MAC Groups may relieve the coordination and dispatch organizations of some prioritization and allocation responsibilities.

Life safety is the priority when making resource allocation decisions.

Allocate scarce resources according to priority and then determine additional steps that need to be taken. These additional steps could include mission-tasking other organizations for resources, making policy decisions to assist in the response, allocating donated goods and services, etc.

For example, in the activity just completed, there may be ways to accomplish the security and traffic control needs at the assisted-living center without assigning sworn police officers. Many event management companies have employees experienced in crowd and traffic control and security.

During complex incidents, resource mobilization becomes complicated, as more agencies and levels of government become involved, more incidents require assistance, supply lines and response times get longer, and more resources mobilize. This increased workload is often underestimated.

Maintaining ordering discipline and the coordination chain will assist in avoiding duplication of effort, additional expense, and lost requests. However, it is important to remember that, in some complex incidents, State and Federal resources may take some time to arrive.

The next screen will provide an animated example of the process.

This graphic depicts the flow of assistance during large-scale incidents.

• Read an explanation of the process.

Convergence is the result of unstructured response to an incident. Convergence can come from several sources, and may severely hamper incident response activities, as well as place an enormous logistical burden on an already burdened system. It may also provide unexpected benefits, especially in the period of time between the occurrence of the incident and the arrival of State and Federal resources.

Convergence issues may include any or all of the following:

• Local resources (requested resources, and also well-intentioned freelancing and unrequested, self-dispatched emergency responders)
• State and Federal agency resources (requested resources, as well as unrequested, self-dispatched resources from field offices close to the incident)
• Donations and volunteer assistance
• VIP visits

Even under "normal" incident conditions, the incident scene can rapidly become clogged with apparatus, command staff vehicles, and bystanders. Such congestion:

• Causes unnecessary exposure to hazards (including incidents where responders may be the primary or secondary target).
• Makes access difficult for resources that are needed for the response.
• Complicates resource accountability and tracking.

During major events, this "normal" congestion can become aggravated by self-dispatched and freelancing emergency responders. Self-dispatched resources and freelancing cause serious problems.

Personnel should NOT respond to the scene unless requested and dispatched.

In addition to creating the problems noted earlier, emergency responder convergence may:

• Deplete reserve resources that are needed to provide continued services to the community.
• Compromise service provided under mutual aid and assistance agreements and disrupt orderly backup/moveup coverage.
• Make it difficult to track resources or maintain resource accountability.
• Interfere with evacuation.
• Hamper access of formally requested resources.
• Increase the complexity of actions to protect responders from additional threats.

Strategies for dealing with responder convergence include:

• Developing a local and regional capability to augment and sustain a reinforced response for at least 72 hours. This capability should be accompanied by policies governing self-dispatch and freelancing. Self-dispatch may be unavoidable—managing unrequested resources should be anticipated and planned for.
• Developing a plan for continued public safety service. This plan should include an organized policy and procedure for the orderly recall of additional personnel, as well as a policy to define the deployment of personnel to assist other agencies in times of crisis. Don't forget to include backup for EOC personnel as well as emergency responders and ICS staff.

Additional strategies include:

• Establishing and enforcing inner and outer perimeters. Exclude freelancing or self-dispatched resources as well as unauthorized civilian or volunteer access.
• Establishing and enforcing a controlled access plan for authorized personnel. This may require immediate access to large quantities of fencing materials.
• Developing, establishing, and enforcing a coordinated traffic management and evacuation plan.
• Establishing and enforcing Staging Areas.

The events of 9/11 taught the New York City Fire Department many important lessons about dealing with emergency responder convergence.

Transcript

While interstate Emergency Management Assistance Compacts (EMAC system) and the National Response Framework provide vital resources to overwhelmed jurisdictions, their arrival can cause additional convergence issues. Even resources such as Urban Search and Rescue (US&R) Task Forces, who come prepared to be self-sufficient for 72 hours, will need a secure location in which to store equipment, conduct planning, eat, and sleep. Other teams, such as a Disaster Mortuary Team (DMORT) or National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) accident investigation teams, may need specific kinds of support from local government, including special facilities and utility needs, and security assistance.

In order to be able to deploy immediately, most Federal resources arrive with a full contingent of personnel, equipment, and supplies. A review of the capabilities of the FEMA US&R Task Forces reveals how significant the amount of resources may be.

Click this link to view the Task Force capabilities.

Strategies for managing State, Territorial, and Federal deployments include:

• Making sure that statewide mutual aid agreements include instructions on staging, standards for ensuring interoperability of equipment and communication, the expected degree of self-sufficiency, and the specific support expected from the host jurisdiction.
• Reviewing and assessing the support requirements of frequently deployed Federal resources.
• Developing a plan to integrate State, Territorial, and Federal assets into local or tribal incident operations. Plan for the use of Unified Command and interdisciplinary tactical operations.
• Building relationships with State, Territorial, and Federal officials likely to respond to complex incidents by training and exercising together.
• Identifying locations suitable for remote Staging Areas, Incident Bases, Receiving and Distribution Centers, and Mobilization Centers.

It is important to pre-identify facilities necessary to support State and Federal mobilizations.

• Facilities will be required for the incident itself, including the Incident Command Post, Staging Areas (run by Operations), and Incident Bases (managed by Logistics).
• Facilities are also needed "off-incident," such as Receiving and Distribution and Mobilization/Demobilization Centers, where resources are gathered, housed, and supported while awaiting specific incident assignments, and locations for Disaster Recovery Centers (DRCs), Joint Operations Centers (JOCs), and Joint Information Centers (JICs).

In addition to the facilities themselves, resource considerations should include:

• Security
• Parking
• Access
• Utilities
• Access to commercial sources of food, sanitation, lodging
• Janitorial and garbage service

Facilities to consider for use:

• Airports and heliports
• Aircraft hangars
• Warehouses
• Large parking lots
• Campgrounds
• Hotels, motels, and dormitories
• Office spaces
• Conference spaces

It is difficult to overstate the monetary and psychological importance of donations and volunteer assistance during a major disaster. Successfully managing and tracking donations and coordinating the efforts of volunteers (solicited or unsolicited) can be a significant political, psychological, and logistical opportunity—and a problem.

Donations take the form of either funds, or donations of goods and services. The key to successful management of these assets is having a pre-incident plan for soliciting, gathering, prioritizing, and distributing appropriate donations.

The system must also be prepared to deal with inappropriate donations without bogging down the distribution of essential goods and services.

The inability to manage donations can lead to an "emergency within an emergency." It may even become necessary for the jurisdiction to protect itself from charges of mismanagement, or from being billed at a later date for goods and services presented as "donations" at the time.

Unaffiliated volunteers, also known as spontaneous volunteers, are individuals who offer to help or self-deploy to assist in emergency situations without fully coordinating their activities. These volunteers are considered “unaffiliated” in that they are not part of a disaster relief organization.

Unaffiliated volunteers can be significant resources, but because they do not have preestablished relationships with emergency response organizations, verifying their training or credentials and matching them with the appropriate service areas can be difficult.

Click on this link to access the National Response Framework Volunteer and Donations Management Support Annex (https://www.fema.gov/national-preparedness-resource-library)

The first strategy for managing volunteers is to establish working relationships with the local organizations representing these entities:

• National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (National VOAD) is the forum where organizations share knowledge and resources throughout the disaster cycle—preparation, response, and recovery—to help disaster survivors and their communities. National VOAD members are the primary coordinating nonprofit organizations for the management of unaffiliated volunteers.
• Citizen Corps helps coordinate volunteer activities that will make our communities safer, stronger, and better prepared to respond to any emergency situation. It provides opportunities for people to participate in a range of measures to make their families, their homes, and their communities safer from the threats of crime, terrorism, and disasters of all kinds.

Volunteers such as amateur radio operators, search and rescue teams, Community Emergency Response Team (CERTs), police and fire auxiliaries, and reserves are valued members of emergency management organizations in many jurisdictions.

Such resources are known quantities that train and exercise to play specific roles in an incident. These volunteers have long-standing formal relationships that are spelled out in written agreements and standard operating procedures. Individual members have credentials and identification issued by the volunteer organization itself and/or the emergency management organization with which it has the agreement.

Consider:

• Developing a CERT capability if your jurisdiction does not have one.
• Making sure agreements with volunteer organizations clearly spell out required training, experience, and equipment, as well as liability and employment relationship to the jurisdiction.
• Developing and implementing an effective management structure to receive spontaneous volunteers, catalog their skills, provide on-the-job training, deploy, and supervise activities.
• Developing public information and media releases that provide direction for those who wish to volunteer.

VIP visits cause yet another convergence issue for incidents. Depending on who the visitors are and where they want to go, these visits can disrupt incident operations, cause additional traffic congestion, and attract a larger media presence.

On the other hand, such visits are valuable in providing VIPs with a realistic view of the problems posed by the disaster, and they may result in enhanced resources and provide a morale boost to responders and survivors. Most VIPs are aware of the impact their presence may have on operations, and are willing to coordinate visits with the incident management organization.

Strategies for dealing with VIP visits include the following:

• When possible, encourage such visitors to wait until after the window for successful rescues has passed.
• If visits must be scheduled before then, attempt to schedule visits to less time-sensitive operations.
• Identify appropriate background shots, photo opportunities, etc., before the visit.
• Confirm availability of key personnel (Public Information Officers, Incident Commanders, etc.) prior to the VIP’s arrival.

Try to limit time spent on scene. Conduct business away from the scene if possible.

Self-dispatching or self-deploying resources may interfere with incident management and place an extra logistical and management burden on an already stressed Incident Command organization.

If your incident uses a self-dispatched resource, it is possible that your agency or jurisdiction may become liable for their actions, for any accidents or injuries they incur while working, and possibly expenses and reimbursements.

Although these resources may be trained and capable, the risks associated with assigning unrequested resources may outweigh the advantages.

If unrequested resources must be used, consider the following strategies:

• Unrequested resources may become freelancers if the incident organization cannot organize to use them. Instruct perimeter personnel to refer unrequested emergency resources to staging or mobilization points. Staging Area Managers and Resource Unit Check-In Recorders must be ready to inventory resources for skills and readiness, check them in, organize them into appropriate tactical configurations and assign them to the incident. If their skills are not needed, they should return to normal status to avoid unnecessary impact on overall public safety coverage.
• An unrequested resource that has been accepted and assigned to the incident must be included in the resource tracking and incident planning process.

Additional strategies for using self-dispatched resources include:

• Information about the resource should be shared with the rest of the Command and General Staff, especially the Liaison Officer, and the Planning, Logistics, and Finance/Administration Section Chiefs.
• Nongovernmental and private-sector resources should be inspected and formal agreements completed as soon as possible.
• The presence and status of public-sector resources on the incident should be reported to their home agency.

Planning and organizing to provide management and logistical support to complex incidents requires a level of detail well beyond "normal" incident response. Effective preparedness actions are required to:

• Organize, support, and integrate large quantities of resources from local, tribal, territorial, state, and Federal sources.
• Anticipate and manage convergence issues resulting from unrequested resources, unsolicited donations, and unaffiliated volunteerism.
• Ensure scene safety.

The next lesson is the Course Summary.