Just as it has for the United States as a whole, the world in which emergency first responders work has changed in fundamental ways since September 11, 2001. Members of professions already defined by their high levels of risk now face new, often unknown threats on the job, specifically when responding to a terrorist event. At a basic level, terrorist attacks throughout the world have forced emergency first responders to see the incidents they are asked to respond to in a new light. One distinction between responding to deliberate attacks and responding to natural or technological disasters is that a terrorist attack could become an intentional hostile environment for first responders. In order to exacerbate physical and psychological casualties, terrorists may deliberately target emergency response capabilities and first responders. For instance, terrorist attacks on US soil could well utilize secondary devices, particularly proposed to hurt first responders on call and regular citizen spectators. Explosives are regularly utilized for this purpose,(==---) yet different …show more content…
This proved to be a major concern during the response to the September 11 attack on the World Trade Center. When the first tower was struck, firemen, policemen, and emergency medical technicians from all over the metropolitan area streamed to the site, leaving other parts of the city vulnerable and, after the towers collapsed, creating tremendous problems in accounting for emergency personnel.21Additionally, in the days following the tragedy, many organizations deployed assets to New York City only to find they were
Clay Dillow’s “To Catch a Bombmaker” was published by Popular Science in October 2015. This article educated the reader about the FBI’s Terrorist Explosive Device Analytical Center— a key aspect in the fight against terrorism. Dillow focused on ethos and logos to strengthen the validation of his claim concerning the importance of the TEDAC and was successful in persuading the reader to believe in its significance as well. He used expert quotes from FBI agents to give the article credibility; In addition, he presented statistical data in a clear and concise manner and gave many factual cases in which the TEDAC facilitated the government in their pursuit of terrorist and bomb makers. As proven by Dillow in “How to Catch a Bombmaker,” the Terrorist
A time to remember those who died, those who served, and those who carry on.” Unknown. During 9/11, the Manhattan firefighters were responding to a gas leak when they heard the explosion from one of the twin towers. Policemen and firefighters from all around New York and surrounding areas came to help rescue the victims.
The bombing of the World Trade Center was nicknamed “the Big One”, causing a sixteen alarm fire. FEMA’s Incident Commander (IC) arrived on the scene at 12:48 and began assessing what needed to be done: over 50,000 people needed to be evacuated, thick black smoke was filling the building and could not stopped, numerous people were trapped in elevators and personnel on the top floors were breaking glass raining it down on personnel on the ground.
For the purpose of this literary review the above incidents show a history of reliability when it comes to the National Guard. They are willing to act on facets of both state and federal orders and are able to maintain an organized hierarchy when doing so. The National Guard will be ready to respond due to being “forward-deployed in thousands of communities across the United States” (CNGR 2008, 9). Once again the National Guard Bureau outlines this in ten points: aviation and airlift, command and control, CBRNE response, engineering, medical, communications, transportation, security, logistics, and maintenance (NGB 2008, 7). All of which are significant when it comes to emergency response.
Walsh, Julie. "September 11 Terrorist Attacks." In Campell, Ballard C., Ph.D., Gen. Ed. Disasters, Accidents, and Crises in American History. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2008. American History Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE52&iPin=DACH0197&SingleRecord=True (accessed April 6, 2014).
Every incidence, of whatever kind, that occurs to a person, a corporation or a country leaves an impact of its kind. The most important thing is the lessons, which the stakeholders concerned learn from that incidence. Bombing incidences are often a result of terror attacks and the lessons or the action plans that ensue from any successful terror attack are not something intelligent minds can underscore (Knowles, 2003). One of the major targets in these bombings and occurrences of a similar kind is the business community. Critical analysis of explosions and bombings is very important to both the security agencies and the businesses. This is primarily because businesses thrive only in secure environment and therefore safety is a priority for any business setting. The World Trade Center (WTC) explosion in 1993 unearthed critical safety issues which any business development plan must observe. However, before exploring these issues, it is important to have a recap of how the incident was.
Burke, Robert. Counter-Terrorism for Emergency Responders. 2nd ed. Florida: CRC Press Taylor & Francis Group, 2007. Print.
Being the oldest daughter of a Senior ATF Agent, I have been exposed to domestic terrorism all of my life. My father has investigated thousands of bombings, fires, and explosions for more than twenty years now. Many of these incidents were examples of the terrorism that I speak about. His experiences have taught me countless lessons and informed me of many current events. The information that I have obtained from him is far more valuable than anything that the media could ever possibly convey. Though he is always strictly guarded with the confidences of his profession, he has always provided me with a firsthand knowledge of the impact that domestic terrorism has on the citizens and law enforcement. Through him, I learn the facts of these incidents without the media’s exaggerations. Today I will share with you some of these facts. I will talk to you about the impact that domestic terrorism has on our citizens. These impacts include: the monetary damages that terrorism inflicts, along with the injuries to the victims, the shocking repercussions that are embedded into the minds and souls of the people who come to sort through the rubble to find the survivors and the remaining evidence.
... be fostered. Nevertheless, current coordination is not bad as the MTA is the overall umbrella agency that has coordinated diverse emergency response organizations in the city of New York. For instance, during the time of the blackout, diverse stakeholders shared information although communication systems were weak. The impact of the blackout on the transportation sector and health of New York City was severe and key lessons can be learnt. Learning from past experience such as the blackout in 2003 has been attested by Volpe (2004) who indicates that experience would help improve future emergency response. This can also help design effective emergency policies and plans. Personnel had previously become familiar with each other through day-to-day operations and joint terrorism exercises. However, further research is recommended to expound more on this issue in detail.
Hazards pose risk to everyone. Our acceptance of the risks associated with hazards dictates where and how we live. As humans, we accept a certain amount of risk when choosing to live our daily lives. From time to time, a hazard becomes an emergent situation. Tornadoes in the Midwest, hurricanes along the Gulf Coast or earthquakes in California are all hazards that residents in those regions accept and live with. This paper will examine one hazard that caused a disaster requiring a response from emergency management personnel. Specifically, the hazard more closely examined here is an earthquake. With the recent twenty year anniversary covered by many media outlets, the January 17, 1994, Northridge, California earthquake to date is the most expensive earthquake in American history.
First Responders have a unique and difficult challenge as they attempt to prevent, respond to and defend against international terrorist attacks in their cities, counties and states. The ability of first responders to accomplish these tasks can save countless lives, protect property and bring to justice terrorists who try to harm Americans. The risks associated with trying to counter or prevent international terrorist attack are many and diverse. There are physical and psychological effects that first responders will face when responding to an international terrorist attack. They include secondary or tertiary attacks, exposure to nuclear, chemical or biological agents, and the psychological toll. There are two main risks when attempting to counter terrorist attacks; first is a lack of intelligence in helping to identify future attacks, events or terrorist personalities, the second risk is damaging community relations (especially with minority and immigrant
Morgenstern, H. (n.d.). Suicide terror - fire fighters response. In Suicide terror - fire fighters response [Fact sheet]. Retrieved October 28, 2008, from http://www.nationalhomelandsecurityknowledgebase.com/Research/International_Articles/Suicide_Terror_and_FireFighters.html
Hundreds of Boston’s medical responders had learned the basics of treating blast-injury victims, and how a bombing could affect their city. “In 2009, Rich Serino, then Boston's EMS chief and now deputy administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, hosted the first citywide “Tale of Our Cities” [leadership] conference in Boston” (Kellermann, 2013). Doctors from India, Spain, Israel, Britain, and Pakistan spoke at the conference. They spoke about how to handle blast-injury situations. The speakers had managed the consequences of terrorism attacks. They shared their experiences, leadership skills, and medical processes. People with jobs in security, emergency, trauma, and medical fields attended the event. Anti-terrorism knowledge was incorporated into Boston’s medical and social network through the 750 Boston locals that attended the
After the tragedies of 9/11 and even hurricane Katrina, the nation was stunned at how a superpower such as the United States could experience such traumatic tragedies and not have been prepared to handle, protect or efficiently assist its citizens. The question after 9/11 was how do we prevent this tragedy from occurring again? How can the country be more prepared? These thoughts gave way to the early formulation of the risk assessment in 2001 that initially associated risk directly proportional to the population of an area. This formula later turned out to be an ineffective method. As the Department of Homeland Security was created and its mission expanded from not only counterterrorism, but to include non-terrorism threats such as natural or man-made disasters...
Communities must come together in order to be aware of the steps that must be taken to reduce or prevent risk. “The guidance, programs, processes, and systems that support each component of the National Preparedness System enable a collaborative, whole community approach to national preparedness that engages individuals, families, communities, private and nonprofit sectors, faith based organizations and all levels of government.” (FEMA, 2011). Resources within a community are prioritized and customized based on community-based issues and local security programs. The resources used as the front line of defense are first responders, such as police officers, firefighters and medical personnel. The resources are provided and prioritized based on the priority of threat and risks to a specific community. Therefore, the threats and risks targeted towards a community must be analyzed and acknowledged in order to apply the correct resources to the opposing prioritized threats. Disasters and emergencies typically begin at the local level and eventually require resources from state and federal