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National Response Framework and Domestic Consequence Management

Camille J. Acred

Southwestern College Professional Studies

MSA 580, Terrorism: Perspectives & Consequence Management

Dr. Paul Baker, CPP

16 December 2012

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Abstract

The National Response Framework (NRF) is a National initiative developed as part of the

National Strategy for Homeland Security. The NRF, in conjunction with the National Incident

Management System (NIMS), focuses on incident management. The NRF replaced the 2004

National Response Plan (NRP) which was the pre-9/11 Federal Response Plan (FRP). Both the

NRF and NIMS fall under the purview of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)

ultimately covered under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Lessons learned from

the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and Hurricanes Rita and Katrina in regards to incident management

helped the NRF evolve into what it is today.

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National Response Framework and Domestic Consequence Management

The National Response Framework (NRF) exists to guide our Nation in conducting all-

hazards response and is intended to capture specific authorities and best practices for managing

incidents that range from the serious but purely local, to larger-scale terrorist attacks or

catastrophic natural disasters (U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 2008).

Since the terrorist attacks of 9/11 our country has been on a constant mission to revamp

homeland security and our response to disasters. Homeland security prior to 9/11 was said to be

a “patchwork of efforts undertaken by disparate departments and agencies across all levels of

government…there were turf battles and overlapping programs at the expense of equally or more

important measures to prevent and prepare for terrorist strikes” (Nacos, 2012, p. 239). Since 9/11

however, we have seen the inception of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the

PATRIOT Act, in addition to a complete reconstruction of the Federal Emergency Management

Agency (FEMA), a partner of DHS since early 2003. The United States has also learned from

previous mistakes; in this case specifically referring to Hurricanes Rita and Katrina in 2005.

Emergency response and consequence management are an extremely important part of our lives

as American citizens. Consequence management must be one of the government‟s top priorities.

Many people have the mindset that terrorist attacks, emergencies, and natural disasters will not

happen to them; however, we see that even the smallest of communities can be effected. Just

recently an elementary school in Connecticut was attacked by an armed gunman resulting in over

20 lives lost, many of them children. That small Connecticut town of 27,000 was probably never

expecting a tragedy like this one, but their law enforcement agencies were prepared and had

agreements with outlying agencies in the event that one did happen. While events of this nature

cannot be completely prevented we can be prepared, to react effectively and minimize the loss of

life and resources.

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In order to adequately understand how the NRF works familiarization is needed in the

following areas: the history and organization of the NRF, the five key principles of the NRF,

roles and responsibilities for all agencies involved, and the phases of response as defined by the

NRF.

History and Organization of the NRF

Prior to 9/11 there was a Federal Response Plan (FRP) in existence. The title in itself

implies that the focus of this plan was the federal government‟s roles and responsibilities in

reference to emergency response. In The Ultimate Terrorist, Stern (1999), states that prior to

9/11 New York City (along with most metropolitan areas of the country) was identified by

FEMA as being extremely unprepared for any type of terrorist incident, whether it be a bombing,

or chemical or biological attack. After 9/11 it was reaffirmed that we had gaps in our

consequence management procedures, especially when it came to communication between local,

state, and federal agencies. This prompted the creation of the National Strategy for Homeland

Security which in turn created the National Response Plan (NRP) in 2004 (Figure 1).

Figure 1, National Strategy (Military Police Captains' Career Course Consequence Management

Module Student Notebook Version 01-12, 2012)

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Another disaster struck with Katrina in late 2005 which exposed still more problems in

the recently published plan. The NRP was revised due to these deficiencies noted from Katrina

and Rita before it finally evolved into the current NRF which was published in 2008 (U.S.

Department of Homeland Security, 2008). The primary purpose for the NRF is to “commit the

Federal Government, in partnership with local, tribal, and State governments and the private

sector, to complete both strategic and operational plans” (U.S. Department of Homeland

Security, 2008, p. 3). Any issue relating to homeland security policies is an arduous task; there

are over 100 different organizations that have a major part in homeland security. “Given the

diversity of agencies and the diversity of information sources it is quite clear that decision-

making tasks related to homeland security are highly decentralized. Effective sharing,

dissemination, and, assimilation of information are key to successful homeland security strategy”

(Raghu, 2005, p. 310).

Many people have heard of DHS‟s National Incident Management System (NIMS) which

works hand in hand with the NRF. “NIMS provides the template for the management of

incidents, while the NRF provides the structure” (Military Police Captains' Career Course

Consequence Management Module Student Notebook Version 01-12, 2012). FEMA governs all

of the programs dealing with disaster and consequence management and has a unique

relationship, able to bypass DHS and go directly to the President if necessary. NIMS and the

NRF both fall under the response and recovery section of FEMA. The NRF is based on the

response doctrine, or the five key principles of response operations (U.S. Department of

Homeland Security, 2008, p. 8).

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Five Key Principles of the NRF

Engaged Partnership

This is the concept most violated in times of disaster and was the main problem in the

Katrina aftermath and during the 9/11 attacks. Engaged partnership is the ability for local, state,

and federal agencies to increase their emergency preparedness by using prior coordination,

planning, and exercises. The NRF directs specific scenarios to be used for training exercises

(Figure 2). Learning to work together greatly increases their effectiveness during an emergency,

with that said it is important to understand that all emergencies begin within a local jurisdiction,

and should be evaluated first by the local agency. This will be further discussed with the second

principle of the NRF, tiered response.

Figure 2, NRF Directed Scenarios (U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 2008, p. 75)

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Tiered Response

Tiered response is nothing more than handling problems at the lowest level. When events

are not handled at the lowest level, valuable resources can be exhausted. It is important to

recognize that there are many times when Federal assistance is required and the NRF exists to

make getting that assistance much easier. The NRF also exists so that local communities will be

well versed in consequence management and will be able to handle them at the lowest level

initially. Being trained in these areas will also help local authorities recognize the signs that state

or federal assistance is needed earlier, and will allow for the aid to be available faster. One great

example is the difference in how Mississippi and Louisiana handled hurricane Katrina. In a

special report by Congress, Louisiana is described as not complying with the NRP (in effect at

that time) or NIMS standards, and admittedly had a lack of communication from one parish to

another. Mississippi however, was reported by Congress (2006) as acting in the following

manner:

The Mississippi Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan (the Hurricane Plan),

created in 1999, correctly assumed that a major hurricane (Category 3 or higher) would

strike the Mississippi coast within the next 10 years. It also assumed that residents, as

well as local and state responders, would be on their own after landfall: “Due to multi-

state infrastructure damage, assistance will not be available from the federal government

or non-affected states for at least 72 hours after the hurricane. (p. 99)

The two states operated at two different levels of preparedness and the results were obvious in

the devastating aftermath of the storm. Louisiana may have fared better if they had been more

flexible in their operational capabilities, which is the next key principle of the NRF.

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Scalable, Flexible, and Adaptable Operational Capabilities

DHS stresses that “as incidents change in size, scope, and complexity, the response must

adapt to meet requirements” (U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 2008, p. 10). It comes as

no surprise that the initial emergency may morph into something completely different; a bomb

threat may evolve into a mass casualty incident, an actual bomb or explosion may evolve into a

sniper fire incident, there are no definitive lines when it comes to crisis management. The key to

staying on top of this is to incorporate some of the aforementioned scenarios together, change up

your training, and to have emergency response personnel trained in more than one area of

response. An example of this is how firefighters and paramedics work together as first

responders. Firefighters are almost always first on the scene and they are all trained in

Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR). If first responders were only trained in one area of

consequence management they would not be effective and the casualty rate would prove it.

There are many different agencies working side-by-side in emergencies requiring an extremely

skilled command organization or „unity of command.‟

Unity of Effort through Unified Command

Anyone who has been overall responsible during an emergency can attest to the fact that

it is no easy feat. Now imagine being in charge of your organization, while working alongside 15

different organizations and their leaders; the more chiefs you have seems to increase the number

of problems. Unified command stresses the importance of knowing each organization‟s roles,

responsibilities, and capabilities. NRF also stresses the importance of the Incident Command

System (ICS), a founding principle of NIMS. Lack of ICS is what hurt the state of Louisiana

during Hurricane Katrina. One official during Katrina said of the lack of the (then) NRP

compliance “In our case, we still have a chain of command. It‟s just – it‟s set up just a little bit

different, but I think in spirit we‟re doing incident command” (United States Senate, 2006, p.

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82), while another official said of their ICS system, “some parishes do a better job of

understanding the ICS system, the NIMS structures. Others don‟t do as good a job. … I will tell

you that we have some that work together great and we have others that hardly speak to each

other” (United States Senate, 2006, p. 82).

NIMS is the main guideline for Incident Command, enforcing unified command through

“(1) developing a single set of objectives; (2) using a collective, strategic approach; (3)

improving information flow and coordination; (4) creating common understanding of joint

priorities and restrictions; (5) ensuring that no agency‟s legal authorities are compromised

or neglected; and (6) optimizing the combined efforts of all agencies under a single plan” (U.S.

Department of Homeland Security, 2008, p. 11). NRF is more focused on structure and action,

which ties in directly to the fifth key principle, readiness to act.

Readiness to Act

The NRF is all about action, it is a guide to emergency response and all parties involved.

Planning scenarios are a large part of readiness. Think of these scenarios as drills, at schools fire

and severe weather drills are conducted in order to make the response more effective and

efficient. During my time in the corrections field we had countless drills, ranging from basic fire

drills to full-scale escaped-convict drills. With the smaller drills, a standard was set for the

desired response which if not met, was documented and reported to higher headquarters. For

larger scale exercises, many different local agencies were involved. Having the experience of

working with other agencies helps make future events run smoother. Exercises or scenarios are

extremely important and will increase your preparedness or „readiness to act‟ as an individual or

agency as a whole. The principles of Engaged Partnership; Tiered Response; Scalable, Flexible,

and Adaptable Operational Capabilities; Unity of Effort through Unified Command; and

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Readiness to Act work together to create an effective and efficient response system for all

agencies involved.

Roles and Responsibilities

The major players in emergency response are the local, state, and federal governments.

There are other agencies involved however; the local, state, and Federal Governments maintain

the brunt of the responsibility during an emergency.

Local Governments

Emergency response always begins with the local authorities. The NRF requires that

“local leaders and emergency managers prepare their communities to manage incidents locally”

(U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 2008, p. 15). The mayor is primarily responsible for

keeping people safe within his or her jurisdiction, therefore emergency management is a major

responsibility. Since an emergency can involve anything from biohazards to mass casualties, a

mayor needs to be thoroughly educated on resources available and have made prior coordination

with all agencies within in his or her jurisdiction. One way to do this is through conducting

coordinated exercises throughout the community. The mayor should also have a good working

relationship with their respective Congressman, as they play an important role in state or Federal

response support during an emergency. Sirota (2001), in Observations on Mayor Giuliani’s

Leadership in the wake of 9/11, discusses the reasons that Mayor Giuliani was so successful

before, during, and after the terrorist attacks. Sirota (2001) discusses many of Mayor Giuliani‟s

attributes including; intelligence, foresight, strength, commitment, and communications. Most

impressive was Mayor Giuliani‟s leadership through the crisis. Sirota (2001) discusses Giuliani‟s

total command technique which is synonymous with the ICS vision set forth by NIMS. Mayor

Giuliani is a prime example of proper planning and coordination enhancing his city‟s

preparedness.

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Some other positions of importance within the local government are emergency managers

and department heads, and lastly, the individual citizen. Many Americans do not like to think of

themselves as having responsibilities within the community, when it comes down to it some of

the response effort does rely on the individual (e.g., following evacuation orders). The next level

of support for local entities is through the State.

State Governments

The State‟s primary role is to support the local government throughout all phases of a

disaster. The main body within the state is the Governor. DHS states that the “public safety and

welfare of a State‟s citizens are fundamental responsibilities of every Governor, who is to

provide the strategic guidance needed to prevent, mitigate, prepare for, respond to, and recover

from incidents of all types.” (U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 2008, p. 21). There is even

a Governor’s Guide to Homeland Security complete with a checklist of what to ensure is in place

even before inauguration.

Two additional important offices to the Governor of are the State Homeland Security

Advisor and the Director of the State Emergency Management Agency. One important task of

the State Homeland Security Advisor is that he or she usually serves as the head of an emergency

response committee which includes members such as the National Guard and Public Health

Department, two very valuable resources in dealing with emergency management. The State

Homeland Security Advisor and the Director of the State Emergency Management Agency are

directly linked to the DHS and FEMA, at the Federal Government level.

Federal Government

The President leads the emergency response effort with guidance from the DHS. This

involvement is governed by Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD) 5, Management

of Domestic Incidents, briefly covered in Figure 1. It is stated that “the objective of the United

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States Government is to ensure that all levels of government across the Nation have the

capability to work efficiently and effectively together, using a national approach to domestic

incident management” (U.S. Government Printing Office, 2003). Some key elements of Federal

Response include; Intelligence, Law Enforcement, and Defense Support of Civil Authorities

(DSCA).

Phases of Response

The NRF focuses on effective response through three phases of prepare, respond, and

recover. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has developed a graphic representation of

this cycle shown below in Figure 3.

Preparation is the most vital phase in the process. The NRF outlines six essential activities

included in the preparation phase; plan, organize, train, equip, exercise, and evaluate and

improve (U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 2008). Preparation is of equal importance at

each level of government and should place great emphasis on the planning scenarios shown in

Figure 2. Essentially, practice makes perfect, which is why the aforementioned scenarios and

exercises are so important to preparedness.

Figure 3, 3 Phases of Response, (Emergency/Incident Planning, Response, and Recovery, 2012)

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Response focuses on employing the available resources. This is the phase when Federal

Assistance is requested if needed. Federal assistance is available only as fast as reporting is

received, a vital step in this process. This is also the phase in which you would request a

Presidential Declaration of Emergency. The processes involved in Presidential Declarations have

changed in the last decade, most changes stemmed from lessons learned during Hurricane

Katrina. FEMA is now extremely involved in this process.

Recovery is the final phase of the process in which the focus is shifted to returning to

self-sufficiency (U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 2008). Recovery encompasses the

short-term and long-term recovery of a community. Katrina is a good example of both, as many

affected areas took years to recover-while some never did. Many Non-governmental Agencies

are involved in the recovery process, the American Red Cross being one of them.

In conclusion, this overview of the NRF exposes its origin, organization, key principles,

key players and their roles and responsibilities, along with the three phases of response. Together

with NIMS, the NRF provides the structure for the management of all types of incidents.

Emergency response and consequence management will only become more significant in the

future. Consequence management must remain one of the government‟s top priorities in order for

us to minimize the catastrophic effects of these events.

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References

Emergency/Incident Planning, Response, and Recovery. (2012, December 10). Retrieved

December 13, 2012, from United States Environmental Protection Agency:

http://water.epa.gov/infrastructure/watersecurity/emerplan/index.cfm

Military Police Captains' Career Course Consequence Management Module Student Notebook

Version 01-12. (2012).

Nacos, B. L. (2012). Terrorism and Counterterrorism (4th Ed.). Boston: Longman.

Raghu, T. (2005). Addressing the Homeland Security Problem: A Collaborative Decision-

Making Framework. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and

Technology, 310-324.

Sirota, D. P. (2001). Observations on Mayor Giuliani's Leadership in the Wake of 9/11.

Stern, J. (1999). The Ultimate Terrorists. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

U.S. Department of Homeland Security. (2008, January). National Response Framework.

Washington D.C.

U.S. Government Printing Office. (2003, February 28). Homeland Security Presidential

Directive/HSPD–5—Management of Domestic Incidents. Retrieved December 13, 2012,

from U.S. Government Printing Office: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PPP-2003-

book1/pdf/PPP-2003-book1-doc-pg229.pdf

United States Senate. (2006). Hurricane Katrina: A Nation Still Unprepared. Washington: U.S.

Government Printing Office.