Emergency Support Functions
Instructions: After reading Chapters 2 and 3 of the Comprehensive Preparedness Guide, choose one of the Emergency Support Functions to research. Write a minimum of 2 pages (not including cover page and reference list) on the function and its contents. External research will generally be required but some are also discussed in Appendix C of the guide. Please create your response in a Microsoft word document, following APA guidelines, and upload as an attachment for submission. Pages are to be double-spaced utilizing Verdana 12 point font text. The page requirements are exclusive of your reference list and cover page.
Solution.
Emergency Support Functions .
Emergency Support Function: Transportation Annex
Transportation Annex is one of the fifteen emergency support functions (Gooden, Jones, Martin, & Boyd, 2009). It is the first number 1 on the list and is coordinated by the Department of Transportation. Transportation Annex as a form of ESF has several functions and includes an integrated method to Federal Government can assist to supplement local and state response efforts in transportation dimensions. Transportation provides help through offering assistance to the state, local, territorial, tribal, federal governmental units, the private sector, and non-governmental organizations in managing of transport schemes and infrastructure in the case of inland threats or response to potential or actual occurrences.
First, the department of transportation in coordination with the transportation annex support other agencies majorly by providing assistance in transport services, especially in domestic incident management through methods that, government agencies consider. To begin with, they monitor and report the position of the transportation system and infrastructure as well as supervise and report that status of damage after an incident. Also, they have the capacity to find temporary alternatives solutions to transportation that can be implemented by other when the transportation systems are damaged, overwhelmed or absent. Additionally, they also perform activities directed by the department of transportation authorities which relate with aviation, railroad, pipeline and maritime transportation sectors.
Consequently, they co-ordinate the refurbishment and recovery of the infrastructure and the transport system. Through coordinating these activities, they are also involved with the co-ordination and support prevention programs. Additionally, they back and coordinate preparedness, recovery, prevention, and mitigation activities among the participants within the authorities and resource confinement requirement of the annex transportation agencies. It is significant to note that transportation annex is not held responsible for transport of equipment, goods, people or animals.
ESF #1 is divided into a regional emergency transportation coordinator, regional emergency transportation unit, and a regional emergency transportation representative. RETCO ensures that there are an effective and efficient regional transportation emergency programs. The RETREP is one is responsible for coordinating local, state, and private sector in disaster planning. Also, RETREP advances and develops an ESF-1 response team and lead the team in the main operations. Lastly, the response units are required to support ESF-1 goals and mission in a variety of locations. They also perform collateral duties (Greenber, 2010).
For the above functions be achieved, the transportation annex uses different methods to meet their objectives. First, the ESF #employs hazard and threat analysis as a method to summarize the major results of transportation hazards. In this approach, the threats are analyzed based on the previous assessment of a completed hazard. This method can be presented as a local mitigation plan. Hazard and threat analysis in transportation is essential as it helps the Department of Transportation and ESF #1 to plan for any action or to use it to estimate the results of an incident. Also, transportation annex uses methods such as capability assessment which describes the process that they use to determine the capabilities that damage to the transport system and infrastructure can be used to determine the responses actions involved (FEMA, 2010). Also, transportation annex addresses different methods that the Department of Transportation and other agencies can follow to come up with a critical evaluation during a result of damage to the transportation system and infrastructure. The parties involved in the ESF #1 include interagency partners, Emergency Response Organization(ERO), Emergency Response Team(ERT), The US Department of Transportation (DOT) and a national response program. All these parties work hand in hand to approach any prevention, preparedness, or recovery scenario in the transport system and infrastructure to achieve the objectives put forth.
References
FEMA. (2010, November). Developing and Maintaining Emergency Operations Plans. Comprehensive Preparedness Guide (CPG) 101 Version 2.0. United States of America: United States Department of Homeland Security.
Gooden, S., Jones, D., Martin, K. J., & Boyd, M. (2009). Social Equity in Local Emergency Management Planning. State & Local Government Review, 1-12.
Greenber, J. (2010). Central United States Earthquake Consortium PRECAP Workshop. Emergency Support Function 1 Overview. Office of Intelligence, Security, and Emergency Response United States Department of Transportation.