Amy Sebring: Happy New Year everyone and welcome to the EIIP Virtual Forum! Our topic today is the next edition of the NFPA 1600 Standard on Emergency Management, which as you may know ... Amy Sebring: serves as the basis of the EMAP accreditation standard in the U.S., and will serve as the basis of a similar standard in Canada in the future. Amy Sebring: Before we get into our discussion, for the benefit of any first- timers, we will go over the order of business. We will begin with a presentation and then we will proceed to your questions and comments. Amy Sebring: We will provide further instructions just before we begin the Q&A section, but you may wish to jot down your questions or comments as we go along. Amy Sebring: Please do not send private messages to our speaker or the moderator, as we will be busy with the presentation. If you need assistance, you may send a private message to Avagene. Amy Sebring: A formatted transcript of today's session will be available by later this afternoon -- just check back on our home page or the background page (refresh the pages as needed). Amy Sebring: Now it is my pleasure to once again welcome Lloyd W. Bokman, Chair of the Technical Committee on Disaster/ Emergency Management and Business Continuity Programs and U.S. Dept. of Energy Liaison/Emergency Planner with the Ohio Emergency Management Agency. Amy Sebring: Please see the background page for today's session at http://www.emforum.org/vforum/060111.htm for further biographical info, and please note that there are links to related documents and Websites available there. Amy Sebring: Welcome Lloyd, and thank you for joining us today. I turn the floor over to you to start us off please. Lloyd Bokman: Thank you, Amy, and I would also like to thank everyone for being here today. Lloyd Bokman: The first edition of NFPA 1600 was published in 1995, the second in 2000 and the current edition was published in 2004. The development and evolution of the document continues and the next edition is scheduled for publication in April of 2007. The NFPA standards making process is a continuous one with a 3 to 5 year revision cycle and the NFPA 1600 Committee reviewed 148 proposals that were received for this current revision period. Lloyd Bokman: Perhaps the most obvious revision in this draft is highlighting the concept of prevention by including it as a fifth phase of emergency management, along with mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery. A special Prevention Task Group, chaired by Dr. Dean Larson of Purdue University, was formed to research the proposal and report back to the committee. Lloyd Bokman: After much discussion, the committee came to the consensus opinion that the concept of prevention needed to be emphasized and have a more prominent role in the field of emergency management and business continuity, especially as an all hazards concept. Lloyd Bokman: Since 9/11 the term "prevention" has almost become exclusively synonymous with identifying terrorists, taking them out of play through incarceration or elimination, and by doing this, prevent a potential terrorist attack from occurring. However, the concept of prevention has historically applied to other types of hazards too. Lloyd Bokman: For example, a water treatment plant that identifies chlorine as a dangerous substance, eliminates the one ton cylinder of pure gaseous chlorine from the field of play (by switching to a less dangerous chemical, such as sodium hypochlorite or calcium hypochlorite), can prevent a potentially dangerous toxic chemical release from occurring. Lloyd Bokman: This concept is slightly different than having a chlorine release where the consequences are limited or mitigated because of the safety systems installed, such as water sprays that knock the chlorine plume out of the air, after it is released. Lloyd Bokman: Traditionally, prevention has been under the mitigation phase and has always been a strategy for us to use, but the committee wanted to highlight the importance of it and put it up front. Not all hazards can be prevented, especially natural hazards. We can't control or stop the rain from falling, the wind from blowing or the earthquake from shaking. Lloyd Bokman: We can't eliminate these potential causes of disaster, not with today's technology. However, we can, in certain circumstances, lessen or mitigate the effects or the consequences of them through flood plain management, building codes and other techniques. Lloyd Bokman: If it is possible and feasible to prevent a hazard by taking it "out of play", then we should attempt to do so. However, if we can't prevent the source of the hazard from occurring, then we should attempt to mitigate the effects of the hazard when it does present itself as an occurrence. The 1600 Committee wanted to not only emphasize the importance of "Prevention" as a concept, but also its applicability to other types of hazards, in addition to terrorism. Lloyd Bokman: The 1600 Committee did something similar in the current 2004 edition when it took the element of mutual aid, which had been under the element of resource management, and emphasized it by making it a separate element. Based on comments received at that time, the committee came to the consensus that mutual aid was important enough to be a related, but a separate element from resource management. Lloyd Bokman: Several of the proposals made to the committee dealt with adding specific language in the body of the standard that would include U.S. specific systems or industry specific guidelines. For instance, it was proposed that NFPA 1600 adopt the U.S. National Incident Management System (NIMS) as the system to be used during incidents. Lloyd Bokman: While the committee agreed that it is the system to be used in the U.S. and referenced NIMS in the document's annex as a good example of an incident management system, the committee agreed that the NFPA 1600 document should remain focused on its applicability and relevance to all countries. There are over 79,000 members of the NFPA in over 100 countries that utilize NFPA documents. Lloyd Bokman: Since NIMS is U.S. specific, the committee came to the consensus that "an" (not "the") incident management system or incident command system should be in place. This recognizes the existence of other country's systems, such as the systems in Canada, the U.K., Asia, and on the continent of Europe. However, the committee did state what the capabilities of such a system must be. Lloyd Bokman: This language still allows them to utilize the many elements of NFPA 1600 under their particular sovereign system. We have several international members on the 1600 Committee and their perspectives have been valuable. Our Canadian members have been most helpful and the NFPA and the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) recently signed an agreement to work together to improve public safety. Lloyd Bokman: Because of terrorism and the many natural disasters that the world has recently experienced, the international community has become very aware of the need for a worldwide discussion on the issue of emergency preparedness. To this end, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) (based in Geneva, Switzerland), the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), and New York University (NYU) will be sponsoring a workshop in April of 2006, in Florence, Italy. Lloyd Bokman: The purpose of the workshop is to review existing standards and to reach a consensus with an ISO International Working Agreement (IWA) on how best to approach the question of emergency preparedness. NFPA 1600 has been submitted for the workshop participants to review. Lloyd Bokman: I am optimistic about this new international effort. I have always found it interesting and gratifying that the few times in the history of our planet, where it was evident that governments, religions, and societies have willingly put aside their differences for a greater good, have been times of disaster and emergencies, unfortunate as they may be. The goal of helping ordinary people in distress took precedence. Lloyd Bokman: The Indian Ocean Tsunami, the South-East Asia Earthquake and Katrina are examples of international efforts where political, religious and social boundaries became less important. Barriers were lowered and put to the side. After Katrina, personnel and/or supplies traveled to the U.S. from around the world including Canada, Europe and Mexico (the Mexican army had a convoy of trucks with supplies cross the border) to help ordinary people. Lloyd Bokman: As the world "shrinks" or is "flattened" through increased means of communication and ease of travel and transport, this workshop may be an opportunity to use that common goal, as a historical touchstone, to guide us on where we go from here. Lloyd Bokman: From the beginning, the approach of the NFPA 1600 Committee has been a total program, holistic approach. NFPA 1600 is meant to apply, as the information technology folks like to say, "Enterprise wide". It was meant to be a macro-level, umbrella document for all related activities within any enterprise or organization, public and private. Lloyd Bokman: Perhaps this approach will be a contribution that we can make as part of the ISO's emergency preparedness workshop in April. Lloyd Bokman: The past two years have been very busy for the NFPA 1600 Committee, especially since the 9/11 Commission recommended the document as the emergency preparedness standard for the private sector and it was included in the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004. We appreciate all the proposals that we have received and we look forward to your comments concerning the current draft document. Lloyd Bokman: I invite you to submit comments by going to www.nfpa.org and in the menu, at the top under "Codes and Standards", go to the "Code Development Process" and click on "Proposals (ROP) and Comments (ROC)". Directions on how to formally submit comments, by the March 3, 2006 deadline, can be found there. Lloyd Bokman: If you would like to see more general information on NFPA 1600, please go to the NFPA 1600 status page, hosted by the National Association of SARA Title III Program Officials (NASTTPO) at www.nasttpo.org/NFPA1600.htm. Lloyd Bokman: Thank you for your attention and I'll now turn the session back over to our moderator, Amy. Amy Sebring: hank you very much Lloyd. Now, to proceed to your questions. Our protocol for audience questions is to enter a question mark ? to indicate you wish to ask a question or make a comment.... Amy Sebring: Then go ahead and compose your question or comment to have it ready, but do NOT hit your Enter key or click on the Send button until you are recognized by name. Please WAIT your turn. We will take questions in the order the question marks are sent to the screen. Amy Sebring: ONE QUESTION AT A TIME please and please keep your questions or comments reasonably concise. If you have a follow up question or comment, please get back in the line with another question mark. We are ready to begin now. Battle Brown: ? rick tobin:? Amy Sebring: Battle, when you are ready please. Battle Brown: Lloyd, can you comment on how 1600 will affect interoperability and communications issues we've seen lacking recently? guy corriveau: ? Terry Bruns: ? Lloyd Bokman: Hi Battle ... in the current 2004 edition we put a statement in the document concerning the importance of interoperability ... Bob Robinson: ? Lloyd Bokman: This included not only the idea of interoperability of communications ... Lloyd Bokman: but also command and control and other systems ... Lloyd Bokman: It is important to remember that NFPA 1600 is a voluntary standard ... Lloyd Bokman: and local agencies and companies must adopt it in order to make it work for them. Amy Sebring: Rick next please. rick tobin: Lloyd, do you have any opinion on how the international standards conference might change the contents of NFPA 1600 in regards to its use for the Emergency Management Assessment Program in the U.S.? Battle Brown: A voluntary standard that is likely to create legal liability for those who don't follow along. At least in litigious USA Lloyd Bokman: Hi Rick ... in the short term I see no changes in NFPA 1600 because the discussions with the ISO stakeholders is just beginning ... Lloyd Bokman: However, the NFPA solicits comments from all over the world as part of the standards making process ... Lloyd Bokman: and if some good additional insights come out of these discussions, I can see the committee possibly adding them to the document in the future but we have to wait to see how it evolves. Amy Sebring: Guy next please. Amy Sebring: Guy, please break up your question or comment as needed. guy corriveau: First let me apologize for the unintentional carriage return and sent text earlier--- first time forum attendee. Prevention as a pillar of Disaster Management is of concern to me. I understand that prevention as a concept is well known in other fields such as law enforcement and health where certain events may in fact be prevented -- but in our discipline of Disaster Management the majority of events we deal with (Natural, Technological, Human) are non-preventable. If disaster events were preventable then disaster management itself becomes moot --- mitigation becomes redundant.... preparation for a preventable event is wasteful... and no response or recovery is necessary.... For the few instances where prevention is in order, I would argue that this would be an extension of our mitigation responsibilities --- ultimate mitigation is prevention is it not? Lloyd Bokman: Battle, you are correct and that is true of even guidance documents at least in the U.S. Amy Sebring: Terry next please. Terry Bruns: Both the U.S and Canadian Federal Governments have recognized ICS as the standard by which emergency response will be managed. While there is considerable information in the appendices concerning ICS, ICS is never mentioned in the main body of the NFPA-1600 standard. The closest mention is reference to an Incident Management System which is not defined anywhere. ICS is well understood and easy to adopt at the private sector level. Was this omission an oversight or was it deliberately excluded from the main body? If the later, what was the motivation? Lloyd Bokman: Guy, you are right that many events are not preventable... guy corriveau: ? Lloyd Bokman: but some are as the example of chemicals that I gave and the Comittee wanted to look at all hazards. Avagene Moore: Right. Mistakes do happen. It is OK. Lloyd Bokman: Though ICS is used in Canada and well known, NIMS is not ... Lloyd Bokman: the committee decided to go with a generic incident management system ... Lloyd Bokman: because this standard can be used in other countries in addition to the US and Canada. Amy Sebring: Bob Robinson next please. Bob Robinson: Lloyd, Where are we on having NFPA 1600 set as the standard on Emergency Preparedness in the USA? Is that something that DHS would do, or is there another mechanism for that? Amy Sebring: ? Lloyd Bokman: Actually, Bob, the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 ... Lloyd Bokman: stated that NFPA 1600 should be the again voluntary standard for preparedness in the private sector ... Lloyd Bokman: and it charged DHS with promoting it as the voluntary standard. Amy Sebring: Guy next please (we are nearing end of the line - please enter question mark at any time). guy corriveau: I am the Director of Disaster Management in a moderately large Health Authority in Canada (approximately 27,000 health care workers) incorporating hospitals, nursing homes, and community health centres across a region. The Disaster Management Program here is based on NFPA 1600 and it has been a challenge to introduce new terminology in the medical world --- an interesting discussion usually surrounds the use of mitigation vs. prevention. I was just making in roads in helping them understand the difference. Jack Williamson: (This user is now known as Jack) Don Sherwood: ? Edwina Juillet: ? Lloyd Bokman: Several committee members used the medical field as a good example of prevention ... Lloyd Bokman: such as the gathering up of birds to prevent a pandemic ... Lloyd Bokman: they're taking the bad actors off the filed of play, similar to arresting terrorists ... Lloyd Bokman: but this is different than trying to lessen the effects of a pandemic once it has broken loose and is doing wide scale damage. Amy Sebring: Lloyd, can you briefly outline the NFPA process after the comment closing date? Lloyd Bokman: Sure, Amy ... Lloyd Bokman: After the closing date for comments, the 1600 Committee is scheduled to meet in Vancouver at the end of March to review the comments ... guy corriveau: All I am arguing is that disasters find a way ---- when all the birds are culled the virus will be broken loose in pigs ----- culling is mitigation ---- I don't think there's a way of preventing bad things from happening --- ergo: Disaster Management. Lloyd Bokman: After review of the comments a final draft document will be produced ... Lloyd Bokman: This will go to the annual meeting of the NFPA for a vote of the membership ... Lloyd Bokman: it is also at this time anybody, including non-members can address the membership either to support or not support the draft ... Lloyd Bokman: We're still not done because there is an appeals process ... Lloyd Bokman: One can appeal to the NFPA Standards Council, who has the final say ... Avagene Moore: ? Lloyd Bokman: That is how we come up with the scheduled publishing date of April 2007, after this process is completed. Amy Sebring: Thanks Lloyd. Don next please. Don Sherwood: Thanks Amy and Lloyd, Lloyd could you please expand further on the difference between Prevention and Mitigation? Lloyd Bokman: The committee felt that it was a fine line, but one that should be brought out and highlighted ... Lloyd Bokman: Again I would use my previous example .... Lloyd Bokman: Most immediately see arresting terrorists as a form of prevention ... Lloyd Bokman: This effectively takes them off the "field of play" so to speak .... Lloyd Bokman: The same can be said of other hazards, though not all ... Jack: (This user is now known as Jack Williamson) Lloyd Bokman: You can take a toxic chemical, such as chlorine, off the "field of play" by substituting it ... Lloyd Bokman: with a less dangerous chemical that does the same thing ... Lloyd Bokman: you have effectively eliminated the hazard by not introducing it to the equation, thus preventing and incident from occurring. Amy Sebring: Edwina next please. Edwina Juillet: ? just sharing - my interest: preparedness by/for people with disabilities... Amy Sebring: If I may ... Amy Sebring: that will be the precise topic of our next Forum session. An update post-Katrina. Amy Sebring: Stay tuned. But Lloyd is there anything in the Standard relating? Edwina Juillet: terrific Debbie Miller: ? Lloyd Bokman: Not specifically because we try to remain generic or macro level as possibel ... Lloyd Bokman: however, the need for adequate warning systems for all ... Lloyd Bokman: and the need for adequate planning, including the use of proper shelters and transportation for all certainly includes the disabled. Amy Sebring: Ava next please. Avagene Moore: Lloyd, do you envision a time when the standard will be mandatory since it is being utilized by EMAP and the interest is high with the ISO and others around the world? Or -- in your opinion, is the voluntary approach more effective? Amy Sebring: ? Lloyd Bokman: Personally, I like the voluntary approach because, I may be optimistic, but I think most people are professional enough ... Lloyd Bokman: in their work to see the need for it ... Lloyd Bokman: If it does become mandatory, the criteria in such a program may be based on 1600... Lloyd Bokman: but may not be 1600 verbatim ... Lloyd Bokman: for example EMAP, a very worthwhile program, has added more detailed criteria under each of the elements of 1600 ... Lloyd Bokman: so what may be mandatory could be up to the adopting authority. Amy Sebring: Debbie next please. Debbie Miller: So if I am reading this correctly, NFPA 1600 is supposed to encompass disaster management for the Global community. However it doesn't spell out the Incident Command System, which is already tried and true. Since we are establishing disaster preparedness in other countries, wouldn't it be best to spell out the Incident Command System? I'm not getting a warm and fuzzy feeling that this will be easy to modify once the standard has been voted upon and approved. Encouraging other countries to use generic systems might well become another fiasco like the California Oakland Storm Fires of the early 1990's - San Francisco and Oakland fire departments couldn't talk to each other on radios nor even hook up the hoses to the fire hydrants... Why not start the newcomers on a tried and true path first? Lloyd Bokman: Hi Debbie, the ICS is a very good system and I highly recommend it ... Lloyd Bokman: however, we are not recommending a generic system, we are saying that other command systems ... Lloyd Bokman: used in other parts of the world are equally valid and many of them are not based on the US system, though I think they share many of the same functions ... Lloyd Bokman: since the functions at emergencies can't vary that much ... Lloyd Bokman: These are also tried and true systems that have been used for years ... Lloyd Bokman: I understand the Britain has a very good one as well as some others too. Amy Sebring: (Last question today). Lloyd, Edwina's question reminded me that there was another NFPA Technical Committee that was working on a standard for nursing homes. Have you heard anything about any current efforts of that committee? Lloyd Bokman: There is the NFPA 99 Committee, which has a standard for healthcare facilities ... Lloyd Bokman: they are working on updating their standard in the area of emergency preparedness and looking at more detailed criteria ... Lloyd Bokman: that is more specific to those facilities. Amy Sebring: Great. That's what I was thinking of, thanks. ... Amy Sebring: That's all we have time for today. Thank you very much Lloyd for an excellent job as usual. Please stand by a moment while we make a couple of quick announcements .... Edwina Juillet: and, the date of next forum, "post Katrina..." Amy Sebring: Again, the formatted transcript will be available later today. If you are not on our mailing list and would like to get notices of future sessions and availability of transcripts, just go to our home page and click on Subscribe. Amy Sebring: Thanks to everyone for participating today. We stand adjourned but before you go, please help me show our appreciation to Lloyd for a fine job.