Strategic Planning For The Improvement Of The Ems And Fire Departments - Essay Example

EXECUTIVE BRIEF ON STRATEGIC PLANNING FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE EMS AND FIRE DEPARTMENTS A Strategic Planning Project Submitted By to University of Maryland University College HMLS 304 Professor Robert L. Ditch, EdD (c), CEM (Date) TABLE OF CONTENT CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION Background …………………………………………………. 3 Statement of the Problem …………………………………. 4 Operational Definitions …………………………………. 5 Significance of the Study …………………………………. 6 2. LITERATURE REVIEW ………………………………………….. 6 Reflection ………………………………………………….. 9 3. REFERENCES ………………………………………………….. 10 Chapter One INTRODUCTION Background Domestic terrorism has been an increasing concern for the United States in addition to the lingering threat of international terrorists. Before the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack in New York, the situation was characterized by lack of preparedness especially in many communities for potential terrorist attacks. The prevalent attitude was a lukewarm interest at best to future or possible disasters as the perception is that there are more pressing tasks needed to be addressed momentarily. According to Cook, the public’s concern about terrorism tends to wane over time, supporting Erik Auf der Heide when he declared that “interest in disaster preparedness is proportional to the recency and magnitude of the last disaster.” (p. 3) such public attitude has been crucial in national policymaking that determines America’s preparedness for terrorist attacks. When the 9/11 disaster occurred, the public and the government were finally seized with the realization of how important it is to address the issue. This did not come, however, without a price. Hundreds of Americans lost their lives and the impact of the crumbling Twin Towers sent ripples not only economically but also in the psyche of America as a nation. Scholars point to tragedies such as the 9/11 as some catalyst that spur the public and authorities into action. They become opportunities in order to improve the emergency response capability in America. Immediately after the 9/11 incident, the FBI Academy Handbook stressed that in addition to improving capability, there is now a need for an active municipal and citizen involvement to fight terrorism. It stressed that these stakeholders are the in the frontlines in the on-going battle, being the first to be affected and the first to respond in cases of terrorist attacks. (IBP 2002, p. 48) For this purpose, there is now a concerted effort to improve municipal capabilities and resources to address the terrorist problem. The Office of the Homeland Security leads these efforts. This brief outlines the program that has been set in place in Carroll County as part of its role in the national strategy for terrorist threat preparedness. One of the most important of the county’s goal is to ensure that the Fire and EMS departments are integrated and coordinated to effectively carry out the responsibilities assigned by Homeland Security. Statement of the Problem Currently, the EMS and the fire departments in Carroll County work in a loosely coordinated system and mostly staffed by volunteers. The landscape is a primarily a consequence of budget cuts wherein professional manpower is largely viewed as an extra cost that can be done away with because of the availability of volunteers. The volunteer system came as a result of the culture of volunteerism established by closely-knit community in the past. This, however, is changing as the number of volunteers continues to drop. In addition, the need for more effective and proper coordination is also seen as an additional burden that is why there is no common policy and departmental integration. These variables, however, may prove to be costly for the county in the long run. For example, separately functioning agencies could lead to inefficiencies and unwarranted spending because of unbalanced excesses. Then, the negative effect of faulty service delivery by untrained, unspecialized and professional staff may prove more costly not just financially, but also in terms of damage to lives and property. There is a need, hence, to address this problem, which can be done by focusing on interagency cooperation and integration as well as the professionalization of both the EMS and Fire departments. Operational Definitions The following are the terms used in this brief along with their definitions: CCVESA (Carroll County Volunteer Emergency Services Association): the team that handles homeland security issues in Carroll County. Combination department: department made up of voluntary and salaried staff Integration: combining separate departments under one management and coordination. Emergency Medical Services (EMS) – The delivery of medical services to people experiencing medical emergencies, specifically in a pre-hospital setting (Barr & Eversole, 2003, p.923). EMS department (Emergency Medical Services): a section of homeland security that deals with medical related casualties reported to the department. Fire department: homeland security component that deals with fire accidents across the county. Disintegrated operation: a system of operation by several institutions on a completely independent basis with little or no cooperation among them. Significance of the Study The examination of the existing system in disaster/terrorism preparedness in Carroll County is crucial in improving the capability of the county as a first line of defense and the first responder to a future and potential catastrophe. The lessons of the pre-9/11 approach to terrorist attacks should already enlighten policymakers on the argument that capable and integrated agencies and stakeholders can make a difference in preventing and mitigating terrorist attacks and other disasters. Hence, this study can provide more insights and more specific measures that could achieve for the county an effective homeland security-led strategy and programs by focusing on the current problems and specifying what should be done about them. This study can identify which levels of service are ineffective and how to deal with them. In line with the security preparedness necessitated by a society’s vulnerability to security challenges as the one exposed to the American community, it is important that policy design and formulation is realigned ad adjusted to the pressing needs of this sector. The significance of this proposal is therefore the timing of the realignment of staffing and coordination needs proposed in line with the missing links. Chapter Two LITERATURE REVIEW Because of the high degree of interest both on the policy networks and in the academic field, the issue about terrorism and its proper response is widely covered in the body of literature since 9/11. This research, therefore, will have no shortage of statistics, theories and empirical evidences to support important points in the discourse of Carroll County’s Homeland Security capabilities. In finding a more effective model of terrorist or emergency response for the EMS and Fire departments, the corpus of literature becomes invaluable. Government documents on policy are very comprehensive on matters concerning relevant federal policies, strategies, and resources. For example, Carroll County can learn tremendously from the transcript of the hearing before the Select committee on Homeland Security during the 108th Congress. An important position expressed in the outcome of such hearing is the identification of three critical components in terrorist preparedness strategy of America. These are: planning, training and exercising – components that are equal in significance. (p. 25) These variables, according to experts, highlight how the role of each of the federal and local players – state, county and municipal – must be performed effectively in order for the others to be effective as well. The idea is that there is some form of interdependency, which could emerge as a weakness once a component falters or prove ineffective in its assigned responsibility. Veenema (2007), meanwhile, explained the various types of disasters and how should local agencies such as those in Carroll County could respond adequately. From natural disasters, man-made to planned activities such as terrorist attacks, each was comprehensively provided the recommended response, including the agencies and their roles in the whole picture. The role of the EMS was particularly emphasized, highlighting how it should be able to be flexible in its response to different types of disasters. (p. 54) Pangi (2003) was also helpful in this area, stressing that the disasters and terrorist attacks that transpired since the 1990s should have provided several case studies that can summarize and reveal potential opportunities to preempt attacks and disasters or, at least, mitigate their effects. (p. 372) Several studies have also identified specific problems and challenges in the local setting. A case in point is Gregory Bennett’s work on the significance of training and professional response to disasters. The author pointed, for instance, how most of the fire agencies in America are completely unaware of the types of radiation present everyday and how to detect it, in addition to understanding what the radiation readings mean. (p. 85) This insufficient knowledge about hazardous materials is just one of the many problems of fire departments in terms of capability. If this would continue, fire fighters may not only ineffectively respond to emergency incidents but that they may further cause harm both to the victims and to themselves. Since having been identified as the primary reasons for the 9/11 attacks, coordination and cooperation became the subject of examination and criticisms from academics and experts. Carroll County can benefit from this literature. According to Keyes (2005), establishing and maintaining collaboration and integration is easier said than done since when organizational forces join, confusion and chaos tend to erupt since problems concerning the issues of leadership and resources, among others, often emerge. (p. 316) Besides these problems, Keyes cited two important elements that could make a difference in achieving a truly integrated and collaborative strategy involving various agencies. The first is the establishment of fixed and mobile command and control structures since it addresses the challenges in incident management. Secondly, there is a need to enhance inter-agency communication such as the use of command channels, standard means of communication, the elimination of agency-specific jargon, and so forth. (p. 316) Command and control issues, wrote Maniscalco and Christen, “are always best answered in advance of the incident, rather than during the emergency,” and that “having a comprehensive emergency action annex to existing community management plan for bioterrorism incidents is strongly encouraged.” (p. 129) Otherwise, counties with unorganized interagency relationship will find themselves faced with problems such as who is in-charge in the event of a catastrophe. Say, in the event of bio-terrorism, who will lead: local EMS, fire department, police or emergency management personnel? (Maniscalco & Christen, p. 129) Reflection Based on the review of literature, the two important issues being addressed by this paper had been highlighted. First is that there is a need for competent and professional staff to man either the local EMS or fire departments. The effects of disasters and catastrophes caused by man and nature require specialized skills. It has been cited, for example, that fire agencies are incapable to identify types of radiation. How much more if the firefighters are mere volunteers without any sufficient trainings and certifications? There is a need to professionalize the agencies tasked as first responders, particularly the EMS and the fire department. This is also aggravated by the fact that volunteers are now steadily dwindling. Carroll County should already learn from the examples of previous experiences. Capable people can prevent disasters and mitigate their effects. Secondly, there is a need for a seamless integration between several Homeland Security agencies in Carroll County. It has been explained that, presently, they function separately and collectively has poor coordination capabilities. The corpus of literature is quite clear that this case would most certainly lead to a catastrophic incident management. There is a need to reexamine the current system in Carroll County and refine it in such a way that agencies play their part, contribute in a collaborative framework that is devoid of leadership conflicts, communication problems and even rivalry and competition. References Barr, R., & Eversole, J. M. (2003). The Fire Chiefs Handbook. Tulsa, OK: Penn Well Corporation Bennett, G. (2010). Cross-Training for First Responders. New York: CRC Press, 2010. Cook, A. (2009). Emergency response to domestic terrorism. New York: Continuum International Publishing Group. International Business Publications (IBP). (2002). Us FBI Academy Handbook. Washington D.C.: IBP. Keyes, D. (2005). Medical response to terrorism: preparedness and clinical practice. Lippincott Williams and Wilkins. Maniscalco. P. and Christen, H. (2010). Homeland Security: Principles and Practice of Terrorism Response. Jones and Bartlett Publishers. Pangi, R. (2003). Countering terrorism: dimensions of preparedness. MIT Press. United States Congress. (2004). Practice makes perfect : strengthening homeland security by exercising terrorism scenarios : hearing before the Select Committee on Homeland Security, House of Representatives, One Hundred Eighth Congress, second session, July 8, 2004. Washington, D.C.: DIANE Publishing. Veneema, T. Disaster nursing and emergency preparedness: for chemical, biological, and radiological terrorism and other hazards. Berlin: Springer. Read More