January 13, 1999 Panel Discussion

Draft NFPA 1600
Standard on Disaster/Emergency Management

SUMMARY

EIIP Virtual Forum Panel Discussion
Wednesday - January 13, 1999 - 12:00 Noon EST

Draft NFPA 1600 Standard
for Disaster/Emergency Management

Featured Panelists

Lloyd Bokman
Technical Committee Chair
U.S. Dept. of Energy Liaison/Hazardous Materials Planner
Ohio Emergency Management Agency

Bob Fletcher
Senior Policy Advisor
FEMA's Office of Policy and Regional Operations

Ms. Pat Moore
Vice President, Business Continuity Education
Strohl Systems

The January 13, 1999 EIIP Virtual Forum featured a panel discussion on the Draft NFPA 1600 Standard for Disaster/Emergency Management. The EIIP panelists were all members of the NFPA Technical Committee on Disaster Management, and all previous guests of the Virtual Forum.

· Lloyd Bokman, Technical Committee Chair, Ohio Emergency Management Agency
· Bob Fletcher, FEMA's Office of Policy and Regional Operations
· Pat Moore, Certified Business Continuity Professional (CBCP), Vice President, Business Continuity Education for Strohl Systems

The focus of the session was the standard-making process, status of the process, and how interested parties can get involved and participate. Lloyd Bokman gave an overview while Bob Fletcher and Pat Moore shared their perspectives from the public and the private sectors.

As explained by Bokman, The history of the document goes back to 1991 when the Standards Council of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) received a request for a standard on disaster management. The NFPA, formed in 1896, is made up of over 60,000 members worldwide; 24% are fire service affiliated and 76% come from the various sectors of business, industry, and government. A committee was formed of emergency management professionals from the various sectors to begin the work of developing a standard. The committee issued the document as a recommended practice rather than a standard in 1995. The document went into a revision cycle; this is the final year of that cycle and revisions have upgraded it to a standard. As part of that revision cycle, the present draft document will be available from the NFPA after January 22 and till April 2 for public comment. To receive a hard copy you can contact Martha Curtis, Staff Liaison, at <[email protected]> or 617-984-7496. Download the document from the NFPA web site under the proposals and comments section at http://www.nfpa.org the last week of January. Point was stressed that this has been a voluntary consensus effort and continues to be. The public comment period is an example that the NFPA process seeks to be democratic and inclusive.

Bob Fletcher reported that FEMA, NEMA and IAEM are working closely with the NFPA and other member organizations of the Technical Committee to develop the first joint standard for emergency management endorsed by the above organizations. The move to adopt common program elements with the widely accepted Capability Assessment for Readiness (CAR) used by NEMA and FEMA in 1998 to assess national readiness at the State level moved the NFPA 1600 ahead markedly towards serving all organizations.

Pat Moore stated the private sector can certainly benefit from this document with regard to expanding their own emergency response plans. Both the public and private sectors realize it is important to look beyond emergency management and disaster response to 'continuity of operations.' Moore also suggested it may be time to look at coordinating an 'industry' accreditation or certification.

The Q&A session was lively from the Virtual Forum's largest audience to date --- 60 participants from the US and Canada logged in for the panel discussion of the NFPA 1600 Draft Disaster / Emergency Management Standard.

Draft
NFPA 1600
Standard on Disaster / Emergency Management

OUTLINE

Chapter 1 Introduction

1-1* Scope. This standard establishes a common set of criteria for disaster and emergency management programs in both the public and private sectors.

1-2 Purpose. The purpose of this standard is to provide those with the responsibility for emergency management the criteria to assess current programs or to develop, implement and maintain a program to mitigate, prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters and emergencies.

Chapter 2 Program Management

2-1* Policy.

2-2* Disaster/Emergency Management Program Coordinator.

2-3* Disaster/Emergency Management Program Committee.

2-4 Program Assessment.

Chapter 3 Program Elements

3-1* General. The disaster/emergency management program shall include the following elements, the scope of which shall be determined by the hazards affecting the entity. These elements shall be applicable to the phases of mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery.

3-2 Laws and Authorities.

3-3* Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment.

3-4 Hazard Management.

3-5* Resource Management.

3-6 Planning.

......3-6.2* Plans.

......3-6.3 Common Plan Elements.

3-7 Direction, Control, and Coordination.

3-8 Communications and Warning.

3-9* Operations and Procedures.

3-10 Logistics and Facilities.

3-11 Training.

3-12 Exercises, Evaluations and Corrective Actions.

3-13 Public Education and Information.

3-14* Finance and Administration.

Appendix A Explanatory Material

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LLOYD W. BOKMAN

Chairman
NFPA Technical Committe on Disaster Management

Lloyd is the U.S. Dept. of Energy Liaison/Hazardous Materials Planner with the Ohio Emergency Management Agency. Mr. Bokman previously worked as a radiological emergency response planner. He received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science from the University of Akron. He has previous experience as a Captain and EMT in the fire service.

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ROBERT P. FLETCHER

Senior Policy Advisor
FEMA Office of Policy and Regional Operations

Mr. Fletcher is currently serving as Senior Policy Advisor for FEMA's Office of Policy and Regional Operations. He previously served as the Director, State and Local Preparedness Division in the Preparedness, Training and Exercise Directorate of FEMA Headquarters since December of 1993.

He represents FEMA on the NFPA 1600 Technical Committee for development of Emergency Management Standards and managed the completion of the first Capability Assessment for Readiness (CAR)Report to Congress for the United States. The CAR is a comprehensive emergency management program self-assessment jointly developed by FEMA and the National Emergency Management Association for use in all states and territories.

In his prior assignment as Chief of the Federal Response Division he managed the final development and publication of the Federal Response Plan signed by 28 Federal Departments and Agencies as the operational concept for Federal response under the Robert T. Stafford Act. Bob managed the emergency management program of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Headquarters prior to his coming to FEMA in 1990. His disaster experience began with Hurricane Camille in 1969 and since that time he has had involvement with a wide range of emergency management policy development and operations in the field and in headquarters.

He holds a Bachelors of Science in Civil Engineering from Virginia Military Institute and a
Masters in Engineering Administration from George Washington University. He attended the
John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, in National Security Programs
(1989) and in State and Local Programs (1996). He has been twice awarded the Department
of the Army Decoration for Meritorious Civilian Service as well as the FEMA Meritorious
Service Award.

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PATRICIA A. MOORE

Vice President, Business Continuity Education
Strohl Systems, Inc.

Pat Moore, a Certified Business Continuity Professional (CBCP) and a Fellow of the Business
Continuity Institute (FBCI), is Vice President, Business Continuity Education for Strohl
Systems, headquartered in King of Prussia, PA. Strohl Systems, and its global network of
distributors provide disaster recovery, business continuity, and business impact analysis
software, educational, training and consulting services for both the public and private sectors.

Pat is known internationally for her real world experience and expertise in the disaster recovery
and business continuity industry, including development of "continuity of operations" plans,
physical property restoration and loss mitigation, and lectures on these subjects for government
agencies and business and service organizations worldwide.

In addition to speaking and being a published author on these subjects, Pat is also active in
many industry organizations, including: being Chairperson, of the Education & Standards
Council of the Disaster Recovery Institute International, membership on the National Fire
Protection Association (NFPA) Disaster Management Committee, National Coordinating
Council On Emergency Management. (NCCEM) - Bus. & Industry Advisory Committee, the
National Emergency Management Association (NEMA) - Private Sector Committee, and acts
as an advisor to independent contingency planning organizations in both the public and private
sector.

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MODERATOR
AMY SEBRING

Amy Sebring has been instrumental in the development of the Emergency Information Infrastructure Partnership for the past two years, first as a volunteer and currently as its Technical Projects Coordinator. She has played a key role in the design and maintenance of the EIIP Virtual Forum website and application of "live chat" technology for the purpose of professional development and networking in the broader emergency management/disaster response community. She was previously employed as an Emergency Information Specialist for the City of Corpus Christi, Texas' Emergency Management Office and is active in local, regional and national professional associations.

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