Friday, September 09, 2005
BEST OF WEB II: The Smoking Gun
SMOKING GUN (with red hot barrel) Thanks to Vancouver Calling for the heads up on this one!
http://www.bhs.idaho.gov
The above address is the site of the Idaho Bureau of Homeland Security. If you scroll down to the national news section and click on "Important Information For First Responders", this is what you will find.
First Responders Urged Not To Respond To Hurricane Impact Areas Unless Dispatched By State, Local Authorities
Release Date: August 29, 2005 Release Number: HQ-05-174
WASHINGTON D.C. -- Michael D. Brown, Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Emergency Preparedness and Response and head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), today urged all fire and emergency services departments not to respond to counties and states affected by Hurricane Katrina without being requested and lawfully dispatched by state and local authorities under mutual aid agreements and the Emergency Management Assistance Compact.
"The response to Hurricane Katrina must be well coordinated between federal, state and local officials to most effectively protect life and property," Brown said. "We appreciate the willingness and generosity of our Nation’s first responders to deploy during disasters. But such efforts must be coordinated so that fire-rescue efforts are the most effective possible."
The U.S. Fire Administration, part of FEMA, asks that fire and emergency services organizations remain in contact with their local and state emergency management agency officials for updates on requirements in the affected areas.
"It is critical that fire and emergency departments across the country remain in their jurisdictions until such time as the affected states request assistance," said U.S. Fire Administrator R. David Paulison. "State and local mutual aid agreements are in place as is the Emergency Management Assistance Compact and those mechanisms will be used to request and task resources needed in the affected areas."
Paulison said the National Incident Management System is being used during the response to Hurricane Katrina and that self-dispatching volunteer assistance could significantly complicate the response and recovery effort.
FEMA prepares the nation for all hazards and manages federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident. FEMA also initiates mitigation activities, trains first responders, works with state and local emergency managers, and manages the National Flood Insurance Program and the U.S. Fire Administration. FEMA became part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on March 1, 2003.
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I suppose a single cry of "Good God, we need help down here!!" wouldn't suffice as a request huh?
There must be official paperwork, the proper process must be followed. So what if people are drowning and dying from hunger, thirst and heat. It is the process and it must be followed!
Bureaucratic BS at it's best.
There must be official paperwork, the proper process must be followed. So what if people are drowning and dying from hunger, thirst and heat. It is the process and it must be followed!
Bureaucratic BS at it's best.
It just keeps getting better and better. So much for less beauracracy right? I'm surprised the local government isn't required to fill out the request form in triplicate, have it notorized by the governor (who gets the pink copy)...
Yeah, Laura, and by the time it's notarized the weekend has arrived. We all know that NOTHING moves through a gov't office on weekends!
I only wish a lot of heads would roll after this fiasco, but I know that won't happen.
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I only wish a lot of heads would roll after this fiasco, but I know that won't happen.
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