Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
emergency first aid at designated sites, collecting and providing information on
victims to family members, and coordinating bulk distribution of emergency relief
items. As the primary agency for mass care under ESF 6, the American Red Cross
coordinated federal mass care assistance in support of state and local mass care
efforts. The American Red Cross was the only NGO signatory to the FRP. Other
NGOs became formally involved in later plans.
Although the FRP was revised in 2003 in response to the terrorist attacks
of September 11, 2001, it was acknowledged that further revision was needed to
include long-term recovery activities (e.g., housing) as well as response services.
National Response Plan
In 2003, President George W. Bush directed the DHS, through HSPD-5, to develop
a new national response plan to align federal coordination structures, capabilities,
and resources to form a unified, all-discipline, and all-hazards approach to domes-
tic incident management. This approach eliminated critical seams and tied together
a complete spectrum of incident management activities to include the prevention
of, preparedness for, response to, and recovery from terrorism, major natural disas-
ters, and other major emergencies.
In December 2004, Secretary Tom Ridge issued the NRP, which described
how to improve coordination among federal, state, local, and tribal organizations
to help save lives and protect America's communities by increasing the speed, effec-
tiveness, and efficiency of incident management.
As noted by the preface, Secretary Ridge acknowledged:
Implementation of the plan and its supporting protocols requires exten-
sive cooperation, collaboration, and information-sharing across juris-
dictions, as well as between the government and the private sector at
all levels.
The NRP was built on the template of NIMS, which provides a consistent doc-
trinal framework for incident management at all jurisdictional levels, regardless of
the cause, size, or complexity of the incident. It superseded other response plans:
◾
Federal Response Plan
◾
United States Government Interagency Domestic Terrorism Concept of
Operations Plan
◾
Federal Radiological Emergency Response Plan
The NRP and its coordinating structures and protocols provided mechanisms for
coordination and implementation of a wide variety of incident management and
emergency response activities (see Figure 1.2). The NRP was an integration of the
state, local, and federal assets. Included in these coordinating activities were federal
