All Hazard Organization and Coordination

Concept of Operations, Organization and Coordination: An Overview

This abbreviated document is intended to provide guidance for the management of All Hazard Response (AHR) within the Southern Region. The AHR effort focuses primarily on National Level Response Missions under the National Response Framework (NRF). However, the same general principles, policies and protocols would apply under a Departmental All-Hazard Response Mission.

In most Forest Service Regions the Regional Forester (RF) has delegated the Director, Fire and Aviation Management (FAM) the authority to lead non-jurisdictional (off National Forest land) AHR events when directed by the USDA, FEMA, or the Department of Homeland Security. The Director of FAM assumes the role of Agency Administrator for these events.

While Forest Supervisors and District Rangers do not supervise resources working on NRF responses off National Forest Lands, they are expected to provide support and assistance as they are able and as requested. State Coordination centers will continue to perform their normal coordination function while supporting the All Hazard Response, which may result in a large and long term workload.

Authority and Responsibility for NRF

The National Response Framework (NRF) is the foundation document that defines how AHR events in the United States will be organized and managed. The NRF is organized into fifteen (15) Emergency Support Functions (ESFs). The Forest Service (FS) is the primary Federal agency to coordinate the Firefighting Emergency Support Function (ESF4) except in Alaska where the Department of Interior (DOI) assumes the primary role. The FS and DOI are co-primary agencies for the Agriculture and Natural Resources Emergency Support Function (ESF11). The FS and DOI are secondary agencies for eleven other ESF's.

Concept of Operations

The Assistant Director, Operations is responsible for organizing the R-8 support to any Emergency Operation or All Hazard Response and implementing the initial actions within this AHR plan. For many natural disasters (hurricanes, floods, tornados, etc.), pre-event and post-event intelligence is provided by the Predictive Services group located at the Southern Area Coordination Center (SACC) in conjunction with the National Weather Service and Hurricane Forecast Center.

The Assistant Director, Operations or the Regional Emergency Operations Specialist will activate various components of the R-8 response based on weather information, FEMA activations, national and regional wildfire situation, and other pertinent factors.

The Regional Emergency Operations Specialist will coordinate the selection, assignment, and management of ESF4 personnel across the region, ensuring that each ESF4 leader is briefed on the mission and expectations. Prior to acceptance of a FEMA Mission Assignment (MA) by an assigned Lead ESF4, the MA should first be reviewed by the Regional Fire and Emergency Operations Specialist. This is to confirm the Mission Assignment is in keeping with missions assigned to ESF4 in the National Response Framework (NRF) and with agency doctrine related to safety.

All Hazard Response Organization

All Area Command, Incident Management Teams, or other configurations of personnel responding under this plan will work for the Assistant Director, Operations, the Regional Emergency Operations Specialist, or an assigned Operations Deputy. A formal written delegation of authority will be provided to each Team Leader, Incident Commander, or Area Commander.

The Assistant Director, Operations or the Regional Emergency Operations Specialist will expand the staffing of R-8 Operations as necessary to maintain appropriate span of control. This expanded organization is called the All Hazard Response Organization (AHRO). Several Operations Deputies could be utilized to maintain a proper span of control between Area Commands, Incident Management Teams, disasters, states, FEMA regions, or other logical divisions of the workload.

The AHRO will be configured and customized to provide a safe, efficient response that meets the specific needs of Region 8, USFS, FEMA and DHS. A typical response may involve the activation of a Planning Group, Information Group, Finance and Incident Business Group, Safety Group and two or more Deputy Operations to provide oversight, support and assistance to all resources.

Southern Area Coordination Center (SACC) Operations for All-Hazard Incidents

The principal mission of the Southern Area Coordination Center (SACC) is the cost-effective coordination of emergency response with logistical assistance of its partner agencies of the Southern Area. This is accomplished through planning, communications, situation monitoring, projecting needs, and expediting resource orders between Federal Land Management Agencies, State Agencies, and other cooperators.

SACC will follow the standard procedures contained in the National Mobilization Guide and the Southern Area Mobilization Guide for All-Hazard Events as well as wildfires. The Southern Area Coordination Center Manager will ensure SACC is staffed to service the needs of Southern Region AHRO and the resources deployed through ESF4 or ESF11 for National Response Framework emergencies. The Southern Area Coordination Center will be staffed seven days a week when dispatched resources are deployed on all-hazard assignments. When Incident teams are deployed, SACC will coordinate with Southern Region AHRO, the jurisdictional agency, or the team IC prior to closing for the night. Responses to after-hours activity will be provided by a designated Duty Officer. The Forest Service will normally function in a supportive role in coordinating responses to emergencies and incidents of a nature other than wildfire, however, the agency may take the lead role for purposes of expediency in life-or-death situations. (FSM 1590.)

Specific agency policies will provide direction to determine the availability of resources, in conjunction with existing programs, to support and cooperate with local authorities and organizations. Priorities for filling All-Hazard resource orders will be set by the Southern Area Multi-Agency Coordinating Group if different from those contained in the Southern Area Mobilization Guide. If Mobilization Centers are established in the Southern Area to support All-Hazard incidents, the Mobilization Center Manager will report organizationally to the SACC Manager.

Northeast Area, Southwest and Southern Intra-Regional All Hazard Coordination

Nationally, the boundaries for FEMA regions do not align with USFS regions. This requires intra-regional coordination between USFS regions and geographic area coordination centers where confusion over leadership and support roles in FEMA responses might result. For instance, situations exist where lands geographically located within the regional boundaries are managed by FEMA regions with Regional Response Coordination Centers located outside of Southern Region boundaries.

In the South, all of FEMA Region 4 (Atlanta, GA), and FEMA Region 6 (Denton, TX) lie within the boundaries of the Southern Region, with the exception of New Mexico. The state of Virginia falls under FEMA Region 3 (Philadelphia, PA), and Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands fall within FEMA Region 2 (New York, NY). To avoid confusion, the following operating procedures have been jointly agreed upon by the Northeastern Area (NA), FS Region 8, and FS Region 9. (See Figure 1 for map of FEMA Regional boundaries.)

Map of FEMA Regions

Responses under the NRF in Virginia, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands will be led by the Northeastern Area (NA). Responses in all other states within Region 8 will be led by Region 8. Leadership of the response includes supervising the ESF4 organization and any assigned IMTs or other resources. It also includes issuing of F-codes (payment codes for FEMA assignments) and subsequent financial record accountability and billing.
The Caribbean Interagency Coordination Center (CICC) and the Virginia Interagency Coordination Center (VICC) are pre-designated as the dispatch organization for those locations. Both fall within the Southern Region, and both Centers relay their orders through the Southern Area Coordination Center in Atlanta, utilizing existing and normal mobilization procedures. For the Caribbean this is different from the normal flow of resource orders, which is via the Florida Interagency Coordination Center. Once activated, the CICC handles resource orders for the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

R-8 may place a liaison with the ESF4 organization in the appropriate Regional Response Coordination Center (RRCC), including the satellite site in San Juan, or the Joint Field Office (JFO) as needed.

NA/R-9 may place a liaison in SACC, VICC or CICC as needed.

R-8, R-9, NA and Eastern Area Coordination Center will all provide personnel to assist the other geographic areas as needed and as available.

Caribbean Multi-agency Coordinating Group will continue to communicate through the Southern Area Multi-agency Coordinating group.