Base tests emergency response system

  • Published
  • By 1st Lt. Lisa Spilinek
  • 66 ABW Public Affairs
HANSCOM AFB, Mass. --  Hanscom personnel put a new twist on the usual way of conducting emergency response operations last week. 

The Electronic Systems Center Inspector General's Office conducted a Base Readiness Exercise Aug. 14 to test the base's ability to recall and operate an Emergency Operations Center in reaction to a simulated hazardous material and mass casualty event on base, said Joe Lawlor, ESC IG Readiness Division chief. 

The overall emergency management event was given an 'Excellent' rating, Mr. Lawlor said. The EOC was formed under the Air Force Incident Management System, which will be implemented Air Force-wide by December 2007. AFIMS, which was introduced by Secretary of the Air Force Michael W. Wynne in 2006, brings Air Force operations in line with Homeland Security Presidential Directive 5, which calls for the establishment of a single, comprehensive national system for managing domestic incidents. 

For more information on this conversion, see Air Force article titled, "Air Force implements Incident Management System," accessible online at http://public.mcguire.amc.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123041502.) 

The Installation Command and Control Center, which is composed of the EOC, the Air Base Wing Commander's Senior Staff, and the Emergency Communications Center, replaces the Crisis Action Team and the Disaster Control Group command and control elements, said David Bilodeau, 66th Mission Support Group Emergency Management Division. 

The exercise also tested the skills of Disaster Response Force personnel, which is the body that responds to the scene of emergency incidents. This body existed before the changes called for under AFIMS. 

AFIMS was first tested at Hanscom during a table-top exercise earlier this month. Under AFIMS, bases must establish a Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan 10-2. Hanscom is currently finalizing this document, which includes checklists for units involved in emergency response actions. After CEMP 10-2 is finalized and approved, Hanscom will convert to AFIMS, which would include switching from operating the CAT and DCG to operating the ICC. This conversion must be accomplished no later than Dec. 31, 2007, Mr. Bilodeau said. 

At Hanscom, the transition from CAT operations to EOC operations has been "transparent," Mr. Lawlor said. "[Most] EOC staff members are formerly CAT [or DCG] members." 

Mr. Lawlor said that despite the name changes, personnel within the ICC perform predominately the same functions and fulfill the same requirements that they did from within the CAT and DCG. However, the nomenclature will allow Hanscom personnel to work with off-base agencies with more ease. 

"Everybody speaks the same language and understands each other," he said. "This way we're all working off of the same sheet of music." 

For example, Mr. Lawlor said, under AFIMS, off-base law enforcement personnel responding to an on-base incident would know exactly which Emergency Support Function they would need to contact to deal with certain issues. ESFs are numbered one through 16 and have standardized responsibilities under AFIMS. ESF-13 is the Public Safety and Security function and would be the counterpart to off-base law enforcement personnel. ESFs are clearly labeled by number in the EOC, which enables off-base responders to identify their counterparts with just a glance around the room. 

While Mr. Lawlor said the implementation of AFIMS standardizes the way emergency response personnel function and interact, better communication is a constant goal. 

The nature of emergency incidents can hinder the information flow between responders at the scene and those in the EOC. Mr. Lawlor said that communication between those at the scene and those in the EOC is crucial to ensuring the flow of information is accurate and timely. 

Hanscom's implementation of AFIMS will be tested again in November during a Base Readiness Exercise.