Despite improved technology and equipment and a steady decline of structure fires, firefighter line-of-duty deaths and injury rates have increased over the past 10 years. Independent reports indicated poor decision-making by fire ground incident commanders (FGCs) as the primary cause of deaths and injuries. FGCs are vulnerable to skill decay given the expertise needed to manage an incident and limited opportunities to remain proficient. Guided by skill decay theory, the purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the relationship between skill decay among FGCs and experience, drilling and training opportunities (overlearning), years of experience, and time since initial training. A web-based survey was used to collect data from a convenience sample of 376 certified fire department officers. Findings from multiple linear regression analysis indicated that time since initial training in a fire command training program was significantly related to skill retention among FGCs (p = .008). Experience, drilling and training opportunities (overlearning), and years of experience in the fire service were not significantly related to skill retention. Findings may be used to strengthen fire service policies and reduce loss of life and property damage in the fire service and communities.

No description available.

Adopted in 2003, the National Incident Management System is the nation’s first standardized management system unifying the actions of all levels of governments during a large-scale emergency response. It sets the standard for interagency coordination and communication in the event of an emergency. This professional report seeks to produce a working, NIMS-compliant emergency communication plan for the City of Austin, Texas. The report begins with an explanation of NIMS, focusing on the national protocols for interagency communication and public information. It then presents a case study of emergency communications in practice, examining two firestorms in San Diego County, California that occurred four years apart – prior to and after the County’s implementation of NIMS communications protocols. The report synthesizes best practices in emergency communications – from both NIMS research and the San Diego case study – to create the City of Austin Public Information and Emergency Communication Plan, an operational guide that fully utilizes the tools and organizational structure of all City departments, including the City’s Communications and Public Information Office. / text

A primary role of the Incident Command System is to learn from past incidents, as illustrated by its origins in the wildland firefighting community. Successful emergency response operations under the Incident Command System has prompted its nationwide spread, this promulgation critically relies on the system’s capability to stabilize and continuously improve various aspects of emergency response through effective organizational learning. The objective of this study is to evaluate the potential to apply fundamental principles of the Toyota Production System (Lean manufacturing) to improve learning effectiveness within the Incident Command System. An in-depth review of literature and training documents regarding both systems revealed common goals and functional similarities, including the importance of continuous improvement. While these similarities point to the validity of applying Lean principles to the Incident Command System, a focus on the systematic learning function of the Incident Command System culminated in the discovery of gaps in approaches proposed by the Incident Command System framework. As a result, recommendations are made for adjustments in systematic problem solving to adapt Lean principles of root cause analysis and emphasis on standardization of successful countermeasures to benefit the system. Future recommendations are also proposed based on the author’s understanding of the system.

This project focuses on the Incident Management System (IMS) and how it was used to manage the Oklahoma City, World Trade Center, and Lafayette, IN terrorism incidents. The Incident Management System is used by emergency response agencies to manage the scene of a disaster and consists of eight management components which are: Modular Organization, Integrated Communications, Common Terminology, Unified Command Structure, Consolidated Action Plans, Manageable Span of Control, Designated Incident Facilities, and Comprehensive Resource Management. Through journal articles and interviews, this project assesses observations that occurred during the response phase of each terrorism incident. These observations are then categorized under each of the IMS components to determine whether unique, or more complex procedures occurred with terrorism, as compared to other types of emergency disasters. This study further explores why the IMS is important to communities, and why a community's comprehensive plan should include goals and risk management studies that affect a community's ability to effectively respond to a terrorism incident. / Department of Urban Planning

Thesis (M.A.)--Naval Postgraduate School, 2004. / Title from title page of source document (viewed on April 23, 2008). Includes bibliographical references (p. 105-113).

Bakgrund: Vid en allvarlig händelse krävs det att ambulanssjukvården, räddningstjänsten och polisen samverkar för att nå bästa möjliga utfall vid arbetet i skadeområdet. Arbetet i skadeområdet styrs av tydliga föreskrifter och rutiner. Då allvarlig händelse inträffar relativt sällan kan ambulanspersonalen uppleva en osäkerhet att samverka på skadeområdet. Inom diskursetiken ges det goda argumentet företräde framför maktförhållanden och manipulation i syfte att nå enighet och rationell förståelse. Patientperspektivet ska genomsyra de beslut som fattas i skadeområdet vilket möjliggörs genom enighet mellan de samverkande organisationerna. Syfte: Att undersöka ambulanspersonalens erfarenhet att samverka med polis och räddningstjänst i skadeområde. Metod: Studien utfördes genom en integrativ litteraturstudie. Systematiska databassökningar genomfördes i databaserna PubMed, CINAHL och PsycINFO. Resultatet baseras på 15 vetenskapliga artiklar som bedöms vara av måttlig till hög kvalitet. Analysen genomfördes enligt Whittemore och Knafls (2005) metodbeskrivning. Resultat: Samverkan mellan organisationerna innebar utmaningar i att skapa balans mellan det egna och det gemensamma ansvaret. Ledarskapet hade i hög grad inverkan på arbetet i skadeområdet, men att iklä sig rollen som sjukvårdsledare förknippades ofta med osäkerhet hos ambulanspersonalen. Kunskap, kommunikation och en känsla av tillhörighet skapade förutsättningar för samverkan mellan organisationerna. Resultatet presenteras under fyra huvudteman: "Vi" och "dem", Härska utan att söndra, Konsten att kommunicera och Övning ger färdighet. Konklusion: Förmågan att kommunicera och att ha förståelse för varandra skapar förutsättningar för samverkan mellan ambulans, polis och räddningstjänst. Det finns ett behov av att utveckla ambulanspersonalens förmåga i radiokommunikation och att undersöka hur gemenskap kan befrämjas. / Bakgrund: Vid en större olycka är det nödvändigt att ambulansen, polisen och räddningstjänsten samarbetar för att uppnå bästa möjliga resultat när man arbetar i skadeområdet. Arbetet på olycksplatsen styrs av tydliga regler och rutiner. Eftersom större händelser inträffar relativt sällan kan ambulanspersonalen uppleva osäkerhet om samarbetet i skadeområdet. I diskursetiken har det goda argumentet företräde framför maktrelationer och manipulation för att nå enighet och rationell förståelse. Patientperspektivet ska genomsyra de beslut som fattas inom skadeområdet, vilket möjliggörs genom överenskommelse mellan de samverkande organisationerna. Syfte: Att beskriva ambulanspersonalens erfarenheter av samarbete med polis och räddningstjänst på olycksplatsen. Metod: Studien genomfördes genom en integrativ litteraturstudie. Systematiska databassökningar genomfördes i databaserna PubMed, CINAHL och PsycINFO. Resultaten är baserade på 15 vetenskapliga artiklar som anses vara av måttlig till hög kvalitet. Analysen utfördes enligt Whittmores och Knafls (2005) metodbeskrivning. Resultat: Samarbetet mellan organisationerna innebar utmaningar för att skapa en balans mellan det egna och det gemensamma ansvaret. Ledarskapet hade en stor inverkan på arbetet inom skadeområdet och tog på sig rollen som ambulanssjukvårdare, men var ofta förknippat med osäkerhet bland ambulanspersonalen. Kunskap, kommunikation och en känsla av tillhörighet skapade förutsättningar för samverkan mellan organisationerna. Resultatet presenteras under fyra huvudteman: "Vi" och "dem", Avgörande utan splittring, Konsten att kommunicera och öva gör perfekt. Slutsats: Förmågan att kommunicera och ha förståelse för varandra skapar goda förutsättningar för samverkan mellan ambulanssjukvården, polisen och räddningstjänsten. Det finns ett behov av att utveckla ambulanspersonalens förmåga inom radiokommunikation och att undersöka hur känslan av samhörighet kan främjas.

Organized cybercrime has no borders in cyberspace. This paper suggests a state-of-the-art architected solution for a global Automated cross-border mutual legal assistance system within Digital Forensic (AUTOMLA). The Enterprise framework with technical viewpoint enables international collaboration between sovereign countries Fusion Centers. The evaluation concludes a user interface built in React, middleware Apollo with schema support linked to graph database Neo4j. GraphQL is the preferred application protocol over REST. Fusion Centers API is deployed as federated gateways, and business functions are implemented as PaaS serverless services.  Its intuitive modeling Forensics in graphs, semantic networks enables causality and inference. All suggested elements in AUTOMLA are forming an internationally agreed collaborative platform; the solution for fast cross-border crime investigations. AUTOMLA deployed on the Internet is a subject for threats. Risks are mitigated in design guided by security frameworks. The recommended development method is agile, distributed in between autonomous teams.

CHDS State/Local / Approved for public release, distribution is unlimited / Threatened with the loss of federal funding for Homeland Security and emergency management preparedness programs, state and local entities must implement the National Response Plan and the National Incident Management System, which includes the Incident Command System, Unified Command, and the Multiagency Coordination System. Although mandated by Congress and implemented by Homeland Security Presidential Directive 5, underdeveloped areas of Indian country and small towns, especially farming and ranching communities and agriculturally-based counties are likely to find that they do not have the capacity to fully implement these mandated federal response programs. A theoretical terrorist-induced multistate Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) outbreak is used to examine the impact of implementing newly established federally mandated response management programs on rural and tribal communities in agrarian states. Recovering from such an agroterrorism bioattack would require a coordinated multi-disciplinary response that is heavily dependent on local, tribal, state, and private sector personnel. However, because the United States has not experienced an outbreak of FMD since 1929, many of the skills required to quickly diagnose and respond may no longer exist. This thesis identifies potential methods for obtaining and deploying the FMD virus in a coordinated bioattack on the U.S. economy. / Director, Idaho Bureau of Disaster Services

During an incident, which is critical in nature, sense-making by the individuals involved are essential in ensuring an optimal response to the incident. The incident management systems employed to manage the allocation of resources to an incident allow for the visualisation of the incident and its constituents, and this visualisation supports sense-making by improving knowledge transfer. Knowledge visualisation contains pitfalls that can be avoided by implementing knowledge visualisation criteria. The purpose of this study is to identify the knowledge visualisation criteria that optimise the knowledge transfer by visual artifacts in incident management systems like emergency medical or fire-response systems. This study used the design science research (DSR) methodology and was conducted in the context of critical incident response management. A review of the existing literature was done to identify an initial set of knowledge visualisation criteria. The initial set was evaluated by content experts (using questionnaire driven interviews) and usability experts (using questionnaire driven interviews, usability testing with eye tracking and a survey) in the context of an emergency incident management system. The main contribution of this study is a validated set of knowledge visualisation criteria to guide knowledge transfer in incident management systems. / School of Computing / M. Sc. Computing