Technical Tidbit - Coordinating Disasters with Emergency Support Functions

Morgan Greenwood: Welcome back to the All Hazards Hour. Today's episode is centered around an organizational tool in emergency management called emergency support functions, or commonly referred to as ESFs. If you've ever worked in an emergency operations center, completed FEMA training, participated in a disaster exercise, or even watched a large scale emergency response unfold, You've probably heard the term ESF or emergency support function. But what exactly are these functions and where did they come from? And more importantly, how are they utilized? But first, the views expressed on this program are those of the participants only and do not represent the views of any individual employer, sponsor, or of KatmaiSolutions. So today I'm breaking down a little bit of the history on emergency support functions, walking through the 15 functions used under the national response framework, and then I'll finish it out with a a bit of a realistic disaster scenario That showcases how these functions operate inside an EOC By the end of the episode, I hope you'll understand why ESFs are often described as a backbone of coordination and disaster response in the United States. So let's start with the simple definition of emergency support functions. These functions are organizational groupings of different participating sectors. We have governmental agencies, nonprofits, non-governmental organizations, NGOs. As well, we have our private sector partners. Combined together, they all coordinate specific resources and have their own capabilities in a specific functional area During an emergency or a disaster. While it might sound complicated, let's simplify it a little bit. A disaster occurs and your EOC is activated, you begin receiving tens to hundreds of requests. Some requests involve shelters, some involve road closures, or others might involve damaged hospitals, power outages, or maybe even a hazmat spill. Rather than assigning every issue to a specific agency, emergency managers group similar responsibilities together into functional categories, similar to our community lifelines that we talked about in the past. The emergency support functions are divided up into what I refer to as 15 areas of expertise. Response teams that are built around missions rather than the organization. Instead of asking which agency is going to be responsible for this road closure issue, you have a predefined team ready to act. So instead you go from a question of who to a statement of action. For example, ESF one transportation is going to be assigned to the mission of the road closure. This approach makes coordination much faster and more effective. Alright, so where did this concept of emergency support functions come from? Because they obviously didn't appear overnight. We've talked in depth about the development of emergency management as a profession and the disaster response capabilities over the years. And a big part of that was the development of emergency support functions, as disaster response prior to the early to mid 2000s was largely fragmented. Numerous federal agencies responded according to their individual authorities, but there wasn't always a clear structure for coordinating those efforts. And these major disasters that continued to unfold expose those weaknesses repeatedly. One of the most significant turning points came after Hurricane Andrew in nineteen ninety two. The federal government's response faced criticism for slow coordination and confusion among responding organizations. The disaster highlighted the need for a more organized framework that could bring multiple agencies together under the same common operating picture. in response, the federal government expanded the use of functional coordination through what would become known as the federal response plan. Within the federal response plan, emergency support functions were established to organize federal response resources according to the commission areas. Following the September eleventh terrorist attacks in two thousand one, the nation further modernized its emergency management systems, With the Federal Response Plan being evolved to the National Response Plan in 2004, and then eventually becoming the national response framework that we utilize today. Through all of these changes, ESFs remained because they provided a proven method of coordinating complex disaster operations. And today, emergency managers at the federal, state, tribal, territorial, and local levels use them. To organize response efforts across a variety of hazards. I'm gonna cover each one of these just a little bit since there are 15 of them and it is a lot of information. So let's go over each one of these support functions very briefly because it is a lot of information. So ESF one is transportation. They support the movement of people, responders, equipment, and supplies. Pretty self-explanatory. They also cover evacuation transportation, air, ground, and maritime support, damage assessments of transportation systems, and restoration of critical transportation routes. as well as so much more. ESF two is communications. This ESF is critical during disasters because it helps ensure responders continue to communicate despite damaged infrastructure. This includes things like emergency communication support, radio interoperability, network restoration, satellite communications, and telecommunications coordination. ESF three, which is Public Works and Engineering. This ESF focuses on infrastructure and engineering support, Their responsibilities might be debris removal, infrastructure assessments, emergency repairs, temporary facilities, or temporary power support. This ESF is typically covered by the US Army Corps of Engineers following major disasters, but it'll also be your local public works department handling this at the local level. ESF four is firefighting. They are the ones coordinating any type of firefighting resources and capabilities. This includes things like wildland fire suppression, fire resource mobilization, fire mutual aid support. ESF five Information and Planning This one has also been referred to as emergency management, ESF-5 emergency management, but I've also seen it ESF-5 GIS. So it just depends on what jurisdiction you're in and how they utilize it. But if the EOC had a brain, ESF-5 would be it. Their responsibilities are collecting situational information, developing incident action plans, creating situation reports, tracking all their resources, as well as future planning throughout the disaster. Decision makers rely on ESF five to understand what's happening now and what may happen next. ESF six. Mass care, emergency assistance, temporary housing, and human services. So what does that encompass? They're directly focusing on affected populations. Responsibilities are sheltering, feeding operations, disaster assistance, family reunification, and temporary housing. Organizations like the American Red Cross are frequently the ones who are supporting this function. ESF seven logistics. Logistics are the getters. Logistics keeps the response supplied and their responsibilities might be resource ordering, warehousing, distribution, transportation coordination, and supply chain support. Think of your water, generators, fuel, meals, medical supplies. All of those critical resources are coordinated through ESF seven. ESF eight, Public Health and Medical Services. Their focus is on protecting public health and supporting medical operations. Their primary responsibilities are going to be around hospital coordination, emergency medical services, public health monitoring, medical surge operations, and fatality management support. this ESF was utilized very largely during the COVID nineteen pandemic. ESF nine is search and rescue. Their responsibilities might be urban search and rescue, water rescue operations, wilderness rescue, or structural collapse rescue. Oftentimes too, the search and rescue teams are providing information back to ESF five on what it looks like on the ground. with information on damaged infrastructure. they may be out there conducting preliminary damage assessments as they're going through and assisting with whatever rescue operations are needed. ESF ten, oil and hazardous materials response. This ESF is going to be the one who is addressing the environmental threats and hazardous substance incidents. Their responsibilities are going to be chemical spills, hazardous material releases, or oil spill responses, as well as environmental monitoring. Their primary priority is protecting responders and the public. ESF eleven, Agriculture and Natural Resources. They're the ones protecting food systems, animals, natural resources, but their responsibilities might include food supply protection, livestock issues, animal sheltering, agricultural recovery support, and natural resource protection. This ESF often works behind the scenes but becomes highly visible during an agricultural emergency. ESF twelve Energy Energy powers nearly every critical service. Responsibilities for them are going to be power restoration coordination, fuel supply monitoring, energy infrastructure assessments, and utility coordination. Following hurricanes and ice storms, ESF twelve often becomes one of the most heavily engaged functions. ESF thirteen public safety and security. ESF thirteen supports law enforcement and public safety operations. Their responsibilities are going to be security operations, access control, enforcing curfews, traffic management, and critical infrastructure protection. Maintaining order during large scale emergencies is essential to a successful response. ESF 14, Cross sector business and infrastructure. This is going to be more of your private sector partners. ESF 14 is focusing on coordinating with the private sector and your infrastructure. Responsibilities for them are going to be business coordination, infrastructure stakeholder engagement, supply chain support, and economic stabilization efforts. This ESF recognizes that many critical services are owned and operated by private organizations. And last but not least, ESF fifteen, external affairs, sometimes referred to as public information. ESF fifteen deals with public communication. Their responsibilities are going to be public information, media relations, community outreach, rumor control, and a joint information center, or JIC operations. They're Job is to provide accurate information that helps build trust and reduce confusion during a disaster. Okay, so now that you have memorized every single one of these functions and you understand in depth exactly what they do you're ready for your pop quiz, let's build a scenario where we put all of these functions together into a mock-up disaster. In this instance, we have a category four hurricane that strikes a heavily populated coastal county. The storm brings sustained winds over one hundred and thirty five miles per hour, major flooding, widespread power outages to hundreds of thousands of community members, damage to hospitals, hundreds of impassable roads. And we now have thousands of residents who have become displaced. And on top of all of this, we have a hazmat release from an industrial facility. Easy peasy, right? We are obviously dealing with some pretty severe impacts. So the county activates its EOC at full activation mode. What happens next? ESF five begins information collection immediately. Their first priority is to understand the situation as they gather information reports from field responders, weather services, utilities, hospitals, and public works departments. They're building the initial common operating picture. What is actively going on within their community right now? ESF one begins addressing transportation issues. They're actively addressing flooded roadways, looking at damaged bridges that may be isolating several communities. Transportation officials are identifying safer routes for emergency vehicles and supply deliveries. ESF two begins restoring communications. Because of those high winds that they sustained, numerous communication towers were damaged. So portable communication assets are deployed to support emergency responders. ESF three starts the infrastructure recovery. as public work crews begin debris removal and damage assessments, they are also ensuring that critical facilities receive emergency repairs to restore normal operations. ESF six opens the shelters as thousands of residents have lost access to safe housing. They're now utilizing community shelters that have been opened throughout the county. ESF six is also the ones responsible for the mass feeding operations of those who are being housed in the community shelters. ESF seven is procuring resources. Remember, that's logistics. Those are our getters. The EOC receives requests for generators, fuel, bottled water, medical supplies, meals. The logistics team is on it and they're tracking and fulfilling these requests as they come in. ESF eight is supporting healthcare. One of the regional hospitals loses commercial power and faces partial flooding. The ESF coordinators and medical coordination teams are assisting patients evacuation and relocation. ESF nine is conducting search and rescue operations. The teams are actively engaged with residents who are trapped by floodwaters and and are rescuing them through coordinated water rescue operations. ESF ten is handling a chemical release as floodwaters may have breached containment systems at a nearby industrial facility. Their specialized hazardous material teams are monitoring the release and protecting the nearby population. ESF eleven. They're assisting with several livestock farms that are located in low lying areas of the county, hundreds of animals have been displaced by flooding. ESF eleven is also the ones who are assisting the local animal shelters as they are quickly reaching capacities as evacuees arrive with their pets. ESF twelve is coordinating power restorations. Utility representatives embedded in the EOC are provide restoration estimates and highlights the critical infrastructure sites that are receiving priority restoration. ESF thirteen is enhancing security operations around the shelters, hospitals, and field distribution points, as well as assisting with traffic control to keep evacuation routes open and minimize those who may want to return to an active disaster zone. ESF fourteen, which is our private partners, the grocery stores, fuel suppliers, trucking companies, and telecommunication providers are coordinating with the EOC to provide assistance and restore essential services. And then we have ESF fifteen. They are keeping everybody informed. Throughout the event, ESF fifteen has provided emergency alerts, press briefings, social media updates, requests. recovery information, ensuring that residents are receiving consistent and accurate information. So there's our scenario and we understand that everybody has a role to play. All these different partners, all these different cogs in the wheel moving together. And this is a lot of information to process at once. But when you break it down and understand the purpose of each function, it becomes easier to remember that these are not individual agencies, but they are rather a coordinated structure. A major disaster may involve hundreds of organizations operating simultaneously. ESFs provide a way to organize those organizations around common objectives and missions. While this framework may not work for every size jurisdiction, as some smaller communities may not have all the resources readily available to fill every single ESF role, it is still a powerful tool that can be utilized and built around for every community. Emergency support functions may not always receive public attention, but they're one of the most important components of modern emergency management. Because no matter the incident, whether it be hurricane, tornado, wildfire, earthquake, hazmat release, or public health emergency, ESFs create the structure that allows responders and government agencies, nonprofits, and private sector partners to work together effectively. Thank you for joining me for this episode of the All Hazards Hour. If you've worked at an EOC, I'd love to know which emergency support function seems to be busiest in your jurisdiction and why. If you enjoyed today's episode, share it with a colleague, emergency manager, public works professional, a utility partner, or anyone interested in how coordination works during a disaster. Until next time, stay safe, stay prepared, stay coordinated, and I'll see you on the next all hazards hour. The All Hazards Hour is brought to you by Katmai Solutions, your trusted partner in preparedness. To learn more, visit them at Katmaisolutions.com. That's K A T A I Solutions dot com.