The Newsletter of the National Domestic Preparedness Consortium

WINTER 2017

Dr. Karl Kim, Chair

NDPC – A National Homeland Security Resource

MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIRMAN ANSWERING THE CALLSERTC trains the nation’s responders to handle surface transportation incidents

The Security and Emergency Response Training Center (SERTC) in Pueblo, Colorado has continuously answered the call when training responders to handle emergencies involving hazardous materials by surface transportation. Courses PER-290 Tank Car Specialist (TCS), PER-327 Crude by Rail Emergency Response (CBR), and PER-291 Highway Emergency Response Specialist (HERS) are three examples of the National Domestic Preparedness Consortium’s (NDPC) continued approach to prepare our nation’s responders to address threats.

SERTC courses address specific fundamentals and skills associated with a safe response to these types of incidents. Specifically, the TCS course covers tank car design and construction, damage assessment, transfers/flaring, and leak mitigation. The CBR course goes into the chemical and physical properties of petroleum crude oil as well as tactical product control techniques, to include foam applications and cooling techniques. Both the TCS and CBR courses culminate in a full-scale derailment exercise. The HERS course covers construction features and specific mitigation techniques for emergency incidents involving all types of cargo tanks and containers.

On the horizon, SERTC is developing new programs focused on emergency response to intermodal container incidents and tank car loading and unloading. To support this endeavor, SERTC is in the process of building a state of the art loading/unloading prop that will simulate liquids, gas and flammable liquid releases.

In planning for national-level events such as political conventions, Olympic competitions and sporting events, SERTC offers three remote delivery programs. Surface Transportation Emergency Planning and Security (STEPS) focuses on the distinctive areas of education, STEPS freight, STEPS passenger, and STEPS senior officials.

In 2016, SERTC delivered TCS, CBR, and HERS courses in Spanish to meet the needs of responders located along our southern border.

For more information visit sertc.org. ■

Courses cover tank car design and construction, damage assessment, transfers/flaring, and leak mitigation

culminating in a full-scale derailment exercise.

In this issue of the National Domestic Preparedness Consortium newsletter, you will learn about the diverse activities of the seven centers that provide advanced, all-hazards training for our nation’s first responders and emergency managers. As a trusted partner of the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency, the

Consortium is committed to developing and delivering certified training courses at no cost to the participants. Each center focuses on a specialized area of training to ensure that the most advanced and up-to-date tools and technologies are available to support the capabilities and requirements of security professionals who serve our communities. We build resilience by investing in training and education.

Transportation Technology Center, Inc.’s Security and Emergency Response Training Center (SERTC) focuses on surface transportation by building capabilities to handle rail, tank car, and highway transportation incidents. A particularly important capability involves ensuring the safety and security of crude oil transport by rail. SERTC’s efforts to develop new training which addresses intermodal transportation is an example of how we need to evolve and address critical transportation needs.

The Center for Domestic Preparedness has developed training for active shooter incidents. The training was put to use, and helped prepare emergency managers and health care providers that responded to the tragic shootings in Orlando. The incident demonstrates the value of training and preparedness efforts. “Training and exercises, do indeed, save lives.”

The Consortium provides training for the worst-case scenarios, involving truly dangerous hazards and threats such as the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Counter Terrorism Operations Support (CTOS) work on radiological and nuclear training at the Nevada National Security Site. In addition to providing responders with knowledge, skills, and abilities to handle prevention, detection, protection, and response to weapons of mass destruction, the curriculum at CTOS requires constant tracking, analysis, and assessment of evolving threats. Vigilance is required to ensure the safety and security of our communities.

New Mexico Tech’s Energetic Materials Research and Testing Center has studied recent bombing incidents and has incorporated knowledge and examination of terrorism cases to increase the preparedness and response of local law enforcement and others to manage these disasters. We’ve heard back from those who received this training as to how specialized explosives training like this can save lives and improve safety and security.

You will also learn in this issue how Louisiana State University’s National Center for Biomedical Research and Training addresses hazards within the law enforcement, biological, and agricultural security realm, such as foodborne outbreaks, active shooters and incidents of bioterrorism.

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EVOLVING THREATS DRIVE CURRICULUM CHANGES AT CTOS

“TRAINING AND EXERCISES REALLY DO SAVE LIVES!” CDP training prepares Orlando Medical Center for active shooter response

In the early morning hours of June 12, 2016, an active shooter opened fire on the patrons of Pulse, an Orlando, Florida, nightclub, killing 49 people and injuring 53.

About an hour-and-a-half after the attack began, Eric Alberts, the emergency manager for Florida-based healthcare network Orlando Health, received the pager message: “Mass casualty is in effect due to active shooting; more than 20 traumas.”

Alberts reported to the Orlando Regional Medical Center (ORMC), the only Level-1 trauma center in central Florida, where the initial wave of nearly two dozen victims had arrived shortly after the shooting began at 2 a.m.

“I got here at four-something in the morning – somewhere following the first wave – with patients still in the emergency department,” said Alberts. The second wave of patients arrived after police breached the nightclub and killed the gunman at 5:15 a.m.

Alberts, an experienced emergency manager who joined Orlando Health in 2010, had attended the Framework for Healthcare Emergency Management (FRAME) course delivered at the Center for Domestic Preparedness (CDP) in Anniston, Alabama. The course is designed for personnel who are responsible for developing, implementing, maintaining and administering emergency management programs and plans for hospitals, clinics or

community health centers. Alberts said his FRAME training was key in ORMC’s preparedness to receive 44 of the nightclub shooting victims, 36 of which arrived during a 36-minute period.

“That course helped me lay the foundation for our entire [emergency management] program,” Alberts said. “We had some things right, but some needed to be modified. The [National Incident Management System] training helped us to get the right people trained. If it wasn’t for [FRAME], I don’t think we’d have as good a program.”

Aside from FRAME, more than 40 members from Orlando Health have taken the CDP’s Hospital Emergency Response Training for Mass Casualty Incidents (HERT) course, which prepares healthcare personnel to use the Hospital Incident Command System in response to a mass casualty incident. Some of those personnel were on duty the night of the Pulse shooting. Others – doctors, nurses and lab and x-ray technicians – voluntarily came in to assist.

Alberts described the hospital staff as having operated like a well-oiled machine, with doctors setting up a triage to treat the most seriously injured patients while other workers hurriedly cleaned operating suites after one surgery to prepare for the next.

“Training and exercises really do save lives!” Alberts said. “That training puts people into a rhythm, and it’s what’s needed in a big situation like this. They need to jump into that rhythm, get past that ‘fight-or-flight’ moment and get the job done.”

Alberts said CDP training also helped with some of the more unexpected challenges healthcare workers faced during the response, such as communications, assisting victims’ friends and families, and working with the media.

“We had between 200 and 300 media representatives from all over the world on site,” Alberts said. “We had [media] camped out here for over a week.”

Alberts said he fully supports and endorses CDP training, and encourages responders nationwide to take advantage of it.

“What a great program,” Alberts said. “It makes us better prepared. We could pay thousands of dollars to get this training through vendors, but we know CDP training is top notch. I highly recommend CDP training. It’s the industry standard.”

CDP training for state, local, tribal and territorial responders is fully funded by the Department of Homeland Security, to include travel, lodging and meals. For more information on FRAME, HERT or other CDP courses, and to register online, go to http://cdp.dhs.gov. ■

Role players and mannequin-like human patient simulators wear makeup and costuming to create a realistic, immersive mass-casualty training environment for CDP students in Anniston, Ala.

Studying recent events to update PRND and response training The overall goal of the Preventive Radiological Nuclear Detection (PRND) mission is to prevent the terrorist use of radiological and nuclear weapons. That mission has numerous facets and involves agencies of all levels and disciplines across the nation. Recent events around the world show an evolving threat that includes attacks on civilian soft targets and the use of small cells or lone-wolf terrorists. By reviewing and studying recent attacks in nations such as Israel, France, Belgium, Turkey, and the US, Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) are able to extract critical information related to the prevention, protection, and response to Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD).

All training provided to our nation’s first responders must be dynamic and constantly evolving to keep pace with the missions they perform and the threats they face. The training must also be attainable by providing flexibility in delivery options. Finally, in a litigious society, the training must be defendable to protect first responders, their commanders and agencies.

With those key principles driving development of curriculum, the Counter-Terrorism Operations Support (CTOS) program, at the Nevada National Security Site and satellite

instruction locations, is working to provide the first response community with updated training that equips them with more than just a list of knowledge, skills, and abilities. CTOS training emphasizes the development and operation of prevention, protection, and response teams. This concept provides agencies and communities with enhanced capability and the opportunity to identify gaps in resources and future issues that may be identified in their Threat and Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment (THIRA).

Examples of training that reflect this evolving threat and response process include courses such as PRND Team Operations, PRND Maritime Operations, and Operations Level Response to Radiological/Nuclear WMD. All of the course material reflects the evolving threat, and challenges responders to develop both personally and as a team to protect their communities and our Nation.

Additional efforts at CTOS include the development of training for new cutting-edge equipment as well testing and assessment of various detection platforms using our SME team. ■

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Pressure cooker device used in NY

TERRORISM CAN’T BE EXECUTED IN A VACUUMExecution of any terrorist act requires the terrorist to move from covert to overt action

Recent and current terrorist events, such as the pressure cooker and pipe bombing in New York and New Jersey, often cause first responder agencies, and those that train them, like NMT/EMRTC, to examine the events and evaluate the training it delivers. Within this construct, NMT/EMRTC analyzed these most recent bombings and simulated an event for CNN, which was reporting on the bombings in line with expanding the public’s knowledge of the use of such devices. NMT/EMRTC had researched the Boston Bombings, developed a case study and analyzed the nine steps to bombing incidents that NMT/EMRTC uses to train first responders in its IRTB and PRSBI courses.

Analyzing the terrorist acts of Khan Rahami reveals that he followed these nine steps and in doing so moved from his cover position to overt actions in order to execute his plan. This is important to understand so that first responders can act proactively rather than reactively. Further, when first responders experience a terrorist bombing event, NMT/EMRTC’s courses have provided invaluable training.

Such is the case in the New York and New Jersey bombings. As stated by Linden, New Jersey Police Chief, Jonathan Parham, “myself, and members of our department received [the] Incident Response to Terrorist Bombing Course and the training received was immediately put into action on Monday, September 19, 2016 during the gunfight and subsequent apprehension of terror suspect Ahmad Khan Rahami. My immediate concern was the thought of improvised explosive devices on his person, and possibly in any nearby vehicles. The training I received at the IRTB course allowed me to begin to consider blast radius, and how far an area needed to be cleared for safety from a device … Other officers who attended the course told me later they remembered friction, impact, shock, and heat were factors.”

As terrorist attacks happen NMT/EMRTC will continue to analyze the event and review training to ensure first responders are equipped with the means to make them safe and to detect those who would do harm. ■

DHS/FEMA-funded class held in Myrtle Beach, prior to the South Carolina Emergency Care Symposium in February

Officials in South Carolina have formed a coalition to improve preparedness for children involved in disaster, thanks, in part, to training offered by TEEX. A new statewide Pediatric Disaster Planning Coalition held its first meeting on May 9. The impetus for the coalition was a DHS/FEMA-funded class in Pediatric Disaster Response and Emergency Preparedness (MGT-439) held in Myrtle Beach, prior to the South Carolina Emergency Care Symposium in February. “During the class, we were able to see deficiencies we have, and I think it brought attention to things we needed to work on and questions we didn’t know the answers to,” said Karen Moore, EMS for Children Program Coordinator in the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control, Division of Trauma. Moore and others in the class saw an opportunity to build consensus among key stakeholders to develop a new pediatric disaster plan for the state. She and other class participants gathered after hours to discuss ways to begin taking the planning steps they were discussing in the class. The Pediatric Disaster Planning Working Group was born.

On May 9, a group of stakeholders met in person and by conference call to establish a statewide coalition to tackle the needs identified in the class. “We had a successful coalition meeting,” Moore said. “The TEEX course provided the tools we needed to begin this endeavor. The knowledgeable instructors provided the information and helped us pinpoint areas where our plan had deficiencies, and answered the multiple questions we had.

“We have been pushing this and tried in the past to put together a coalition, but this course ignited the spark we needed. This time, the message was coming from the experts at TEEX and they were pointing out things we needed to work on.” Moore said the TEEX instructors, Laura Prestidge and Glenn Miller, have continued to support their effort. “When they say you can contact us after the class, they really mean it!” ■

TEEX training inspires the development of a new coalition

BIRTH OF THE PEDIATRIC DISASTER PLANNING WORKING GROUP

2017 TRIBAL NATIONS TRAINING WEEKMARCH 19-25, 2017

The Center for Domestic Preparedness (CDP) will be hosting the 2017 Tribal Nations Training Week on the CDP campus in Anniston, AL. CDP training is completely funded for state, local, tribal and territorial

emergency responders to include roundtrip airfare, meals, lodging, training and any equipment required during training.

All personnel who work in an emergency response capacity and are affiliated with one or more Tribal Nations, Indian Health Service (IHS)

and those who work directly with Tribal Nations can apply to attend. For more information contact:

David Hall at David.Hall@fema.dhs.gov or 866-213-9548

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2017 NDPC CONFERENCE SCHEDULE

May 8-12 National State Administration Agency (NSAA) Symposium Anniston, AL

June 6-8 National Homeland Security Conference Buffalo, NY

June 15-18 International Hazardous Materials Response Teams Conference Baltimore, MD

July 26-29 International Association of Fire Chiefs Charlotte, NC

October 16-20 EMS World Las Vegas, NV

October 16-20 National Congress of American Indian 73rd Annual Convention Milwaukee, WI

October 21-24 International Association of Chiefs of Police Philadelphia, PA

TRAINING CONTINUES TO EVOLVE TO MEET NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS NEEDSNCBRT responds to preparedness needs in law enforcement, biological incident, and agricultural security training

The National Center for Biomedical Research and Training at LSU began in 1998 through a small subcontract with the Office of Domestic Preparedness. The original charge was to develop a single course for law enforcement and emergency response personnel, Operational WMD Response for Law Enforcement. Numerous law enforcement courses, such as Law Enforcement Prevention and Deterrence of Terrorist Acts, WMD Tactical Operations, Advanced Forensic Investigations in Hazardous Environments, and many others soon followed. NCBRT quickly became a leader in law enforcement training.

Over the years, NCBRT expanded into the area of bioterrorism through partnerships with the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine and ODP. One of NCBRT’s first bioterrorism courses, Emergency Response to Domestic Biological Incidents, is still a staple of NCBRT’s bioterrorism training lane today. The course, which is updated every three years, was just updated this year.

NCBRT also saw a need to train communities to respond to agricultural terrorism incidents, so the Preparedness and Response to Agricultural Terrorism course was developed. When the course was endorsed by the United States Department of Agriculture and more food and agricultural security courses were developed and certified, NCBRT’s third training lane was established.

Today, NCBRT continually develops new training within these three recognized training lanes in response to the national preparedness need. After the Virginia Tech shooting in 2007, NCBRT developed the Campus Emergencies Prevention, Response, and Recovery course to help participants navigate the difficult aspects of dealing with campus emergencies of all types.

When incidents of food recalls and related illnesses became increasingly common, NCBRT developed the Team Approach to Foodborne Outbreak Response course to teach participants how the skills, resources and expertise of all levels of government can be effectively connected to improve collaboration during a foodborne outbreak.

In response to frequent active shooter incidents, NCBRT developed its popular Law Enforcement Active Shooter Emergency Response course to teach law enforcement how to deal with the technical aspects of planning and implementing a rapid law enforcement deployment to an active shooter incident.

Most recently, NCBRT developed the Critical Decision Making for Complex Coordinated Attacks course. According to NCBRT Associate Director Jerry Monier, "After the Mumbai attacks it became a training issue, and the need has increased since the Paris and San Bernardino attacks. Complex coordinated attacks aren't just active shooter events. It involves all types of threats, and that requires us to look at how we respond."

Adds NCBRT Associate Director Jason Krause, “There is no crystal ball to tell us what the future holds, but I’m confident NCBRT is equipped to respond to the nation’s future preparedness needs however they may change over time. Historically, we have always risen to the challenge, and we continue to grow and enhance our capabilities everyday.” ■

NCBRT continually develops new training within three recognized training lanes in response to the national preparedness need

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Providing training to first responders and emergency managers during peak hazard seasonsNDPTC’S COURSE DELIVERIES IN RELATION TO TORNADO AND HURRICANE SEASONS

The East Coast was affected by Hurricane Matthew from October 7 through October 9, 2016. The Category 1 hurricane was felt from Florida to Virginia, with official landfall in South Carolina. Such unfortunate events are constant reminders that disasters can be unpredictable, and that preparedness is important. However, by following seasonal patterns of storms and other hazardous events, the National Disaster Preparedness Training Center (NDPTC) has been able to deliver training when it is needed the most.

The NDPTC’s goal is to focus efforts on all areas vulnerable to natural disasters, hazards, and weather-related events to further the preparedness of the nation. To keep first responders and emergency managers up to date with the newest information, tornado and hurricane courses have been delivered right before or during peak seasons.

Tornadoes can strike anywhere in the United States with little or no warning and are capable of causing significant loss of life and billions of dollars in damages. AWR-326, Tornado Awareness, helps participants better understand the basics of tornado science, the weather forecasting process, and the tornado warning process. Participants also learn how to implement safety measures for themselves, their families, and their organizations in preparation for tornado season. The NDPTC has been able to provide peak training of AWR-326 right before or during high tornado months (Figure 1).

AWR-343, Hurricane Awareness, was recently certified by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the National Training and Education Division (NTED) on May 5, 2016. The awareness-level course provides participants with a basic understanding of hurricane science, forecasting, warning, and preparedness. Topics covered include: conditions of tropical cyclone formation, prediction of track/intensity, official watch/warning definitions, and recommendations to prepare for associated hazards (e.g., high winds, heavy rain, and storm surge).

Immediately after course certification, the NDPTC focused on promoting the course in areas that were most vulnerable to hurricanes and their impacts. Through dedicated and concentrated efforts, 37 deliveries of AWR-343 were completed during the 2016 Hurricane Season (Figure 2).

Analyzing storm trends allows for targeted delivery efforts in the months or places that need training the most. The tropical storm and hurricane frequencies in 2016 (as seen in Figure 2) can help predict training needs for the upcoming 2017 Hurricane Season.

By applying targeted course scheduling and delivery, the NDPTC will continue to further the reach of its mission. For more information on NDPTC courses, and to register online, go to https://ndptc.hawaii.edu/ ■

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Participants benefit from course scheduling

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• CDP • CENTER FOR DOMESTIC PREPAREDNESS Expertise: Prevention, deterrence and response to CBRNE hazards and healthcare/public health mass casualty

• LSU-NCBRT • NATIONAL CENTER FOR BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH AND TRAINING AT LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY

Expertise: Biological, law enforcement, and agroterrorism response

• NNSA-CTOS • NATIONAL NUCLEAR SECURITY ADMINISTRATION/CTOS-CENTER FOR RADIOLOGICAL/NUCLEAR TRAINING AT THE NEVADA NATIONAL SECURITY SITE

Expertise: Prevention and response to radiological/nuclear attacks

• TTCI • TRANSPORTATION TECHNOLOGY CENTER INCORPORATED / SECURITY AND EMERGENCY RESPONSE TRAINING CENTER (SERTC)

Expertise: Rail and surface transportation safety, security and emergency response in surface transportation

• NMT-EMRTC • THE ENERGETIC MATERIALS RESEARCH AND TESTING CENTER AT NEW MEXICO TECH

Expertise: Prevention, deterrence, response and recover to explosive related events

• TEEX-NERRTC • TEXAS A&M ENGINEERING EXTENSION SERVICE, NATIONAL EMERGENCY RESPONSE AND RESCUE TRAINING CENTER

Expertise: Cybersecurity, crisis communications, executive and elected officials education, hazardous materials awareness and operations, health and medical services, incident management, infrastructure protection, search and rescue, threat and risk assessment, and training gap analyses

• UH-NDPTC • NATIONAL DISASTER PREPAREDNESS TRAINING CENTER AT UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI`I

Expertise: Natural disasters, coastal communities, islands and territories, underserved at-risk populations

The NDPC is comprised of seven members possessing core competencies that span the entire homeland security enterprise domain

The National Domestic Preparedness Consortium (NDPC) is a partnership of public and private organizations committed to serving emergency responders by providing quality, cost-effective counterterrorism training. The NDPC is sponsored through the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Federal Emergency Management Agency’s National Preparedness Directorate. It is the principal vehicle through which DHS develops and delivers training to state and local emergency responders.

The consortium is comprised of several preparedness training centers: the Energetic Materials Research and Testing Center at New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, the National Center for Biomedical Research and Training at Louisiana State University, the National Emergency Response and Rescue Training Center of Texas A&M University System’s Texas Engineering Extension Service, the National Exercise, Test, and Training Center at the Nevada Test Site, the Center for Domestic Preparedness, the Transportation Technology Center, Inc. in Colorado and the National Disaster Preparedness Training Center at the University of Hawai`i. Each of these organizations has distinguished themselves nationally as experts across the gamut of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear explosive agents, as well as in all four homeland security mission areas of prevention, protection, response and recovery. The NDPC provides advanced-level training to those involved in WMD and all-hazards catastrophic events.

Since its establishment in 1998, the NDPC’s impact on national preparedness has been substantial. The NDPC has conducted training in all 50 states and each U.S. territory. This training has benefited more than a million people since 1998. Today, the consortium’s various programs meet the training and education needs of more than 60,000 emergency responders each year. The consortium combines the missions of all its members with a commitment to provide a focused, threat-responsive, long-term national capability and capacity to execute and sustain comprehensive education, training, testing and exercise programs. ■

ABOUT THE NDPC

FOR MORE INFORMATION on training opportunities and availability for state, local, tribal

and territorial responders please go to the National Domestic

Preparedness Consortium website.

https://ndpc.us/

The Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service’s National Emergency Response and Rescue Training Center focuses on cyber security, search and rescue, crisis communications, and other critical training needs. In this issue, you will learn how they have developed new training that focuses on the needs of children. All of the consortium members strive to address the needs of vulnerable at-risk populations.

The University of Hawaii’s National Disaster Preparedness Training Center (NDPTC) provides training focused on natural hazards such as tornadoes and hurricanes. These frequently occurring threats affect many people and communities. Working together, the NDPTC has identified those commu-nities that are the most at-risk and has targeted training to be responsive to the needs and requirements of those who need training.

The Consortium is here to serve. We strive to build resilience through training and working with state and local gov-ernment, first responders, and emergency managers. As a national resource with a vast network of subject matter experts, instructors, and educational specialists dedicated to safety and security, we look forward to hearing from you and working with you. ■

Karl Kim, Ph.D.Chair, NDPC • Executive Director, NDPTC

NDPC – A National Homeland Security Resource

MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIRMAN

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