EMRAAS Pilot Project Team update to FEMA senior leadership
The OPPA Associate Administrator provided another EMRAAS Pilot Project Team update to FEMA senior leadership. One of the topics raised for EMRAAS Pilot Project Team consideration was that of resources; specifically, what type and in what amounts. It was acknowledged by FEMA senior leadership that detailed planning at this point would be “big picture” in nature. However, emergency management-related resources from a national perspective are not unlimited and sufficient lead-time will be needed to ensure proper resources are strategically located in advance of a Hurricane Lani landfall. This strategic pre-positioning approach is preferred to provide emergency management support as quickly as possible to those landfall areas most impacted by the Hurricane Lani weather event.
Of specific interested from FEMA senior leadership was the identification and prioritization of those emergency support function (ESF) capabilities thought by the EMRAAS Pilot Project Team to be most in demand after landfall. Since there are 15 different ESF categories, FEMA senior leadership is intensely interested in the EMRAAS Pilot Project Team’s initial thoughts regarding those ESFs considered “most important.” With this information, FEMA senior leadership – and other relevant internal and external stakeholders – can begin the necessary planning actions to proactively start to request, schedule, and pre-position the prioritized ESF capabilities as soon as possible and certainly before actual landfall.
As a result, the OPPA Associate Administrator has tasked the EMRAAS Pilot Project Team for a point paper that provides our Team’s brainstorming thoughts on which ESF sectors the Team views as “most important” when it comes to best ensuring the most effective and efficient disaster preparedness and subsequent response/recovery actions to be taken by the whole emergency management community for the benefit of all affected stakeholders.
Request the EMRAAS Pilot Project Team to briefly discuss the role of “emergency support function” (ESF) sectors as they relate to emergency management. How are they organized and why?
Sample Solution
The Emergency Support Function (ESF) sectors are the primary components of emergency management. They are organized in order to ensure that areas of responsibility across different disciplines can be identified and managed effectively in times of crisis. The ESFs provide structure for effective response and recovery activities which can be tailored to meet specific emergency or disaster situations.
The National Response Framework provides a standardized set of 15 ESFs that assist with organizing personnel, equipment, supplies, facilities, and other resources necessary for responding to an emergency or disaster. Each ESF is grouped into one of five categories: Transportation; Firefighting; Public Health & Medical Services; Communications; and Search & Rescue (O’Brien et al., 2017). Within each ESF there are various disciplines such as logistics, public information, health services, hazardous materials clean-up etc., which all fall under this unified framework.
In addition to providing structure during an emergency situation the ESFs also help identify roles and responsibilities related to decision-making processes prior to any actual incident occurring. For example the Firefighting ESF outlines what actions need to be taken if there is a fire at a specific location whereas the Public Health & Medical Services sector might detail who should respond in case of an epidemic outbreak (DuPont et al., 2020). By having this level of organization it allows for better planning before any kind of event strikes so that everyone knows what their role will be when needed.
Overall then, Emergency Support Function Sectors play an essential role in emergency management by helping organize personnel and resources while simultaneously outlining roles/responsibilities prior to any event occurring. This helps create clarity around decision-making processes which can potentially save lives in times of crisis.
