InfraGard Members Alliance Houston

New ISO standard for emergency management

To minimize the impact of disasters, terrorist attacks and other major incidents, ISO has published a new standard for emergency management and incident response. ISO 22320:2011, Societal security – Emergency management – Requirements for incident response, will help save lives, mitigate harm and damage and ensure continuity of basic services such as health, rescue services, water and food supplies, and electricity and fuel delivery.

http://www.iso.org/iso/pressrelease.htm?refid=Ref1496

Submitted by: E. Charles Sterling

FEMA now accepting nominations and applications for membership

National Advisory Council

The National Advisory Council (NAC) shall advise the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on all aspects of emergency management. The National Advisory Council shall incorporate State, local and tribal government and private sector input in the development and revision of the national preparedness goal, the national preparedness system, the National Incident Management System, the National Response Plan and other related plans and strategies.

http://www.fema.gov/about/nac/

Submitted by: E. Charles Sterling

Hazmat Fusion Center

The National Hazardous Materials Fusion Center (NHMFC) provides responders, throughout the U.S., an information sharing capability previously not available to first responders.

The NHMFC Website (www.hazmatfc.com) was demonstrated during the EPA, Region 6, HotZone Conference in Houston, Texas. The internet portal not only provides responders an opportunity to report information on HazMat incidents, but also provides a number of easy to use resources.

http://scienceray.com/physics/hazmat-fusion-center

http://www.hazmatfc.com/Pages/Home.aspx

Submitted by: E. Charles Sterling

Response and Restoration software and information

NOAA's Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R) protects coastal and marine resources, mitigates threats, reduces harm, and restores ecological function. The Office provides comprehensive solutions to environmental hazards caused by oil, chemicals, and marine debris.

CAMEO Chemicals is a database of hazardous chemicals that emergency responders and planners can use to get response recommendations and predict hazards.

Get a standalone version of CAMEO Chemicals that you can run from your Windows computer.

http://response.restoration.noaa.gov/index.php

Submitted by: E. Charles Sterling

FEMA Challenge Seeks Innovative Preparedness Ideas

FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate announced a new public challenge Oct. 28 that asks Americans to offer creative ideas for preparing communities for disasters.

Fugate told his audience at the 2010 TEDMED Conference in San Diego that responding to disasters takes an entire team, not just the U.S. government, and planning for an entire community must be done before a disaster hits.

http://ohsonline.com/articles/2010/10/29/fema-challenge-seeks-innovative-preparedness-ideas.aspx

Submitted by: E. Charles Sterling

Quarterly meeting on Nov. 18th at NERRTC

The quarterly InfraGard meeting will be held on Thursday, November 18th, 2010 at the National Emergency Response and Rescue Training Center (NERRTC), on the campus of Texas A&M University from 9:00 until 2:00.

We will be having a number of informative sessions on a variety of tropics including: NIMS, WMD, and the training resources available, at this one of a kind training venue in the world.

Additional details will be forthcoming.  Those interested in attending should RSVP on the website under the events tab.

The location is also the base for the Urban Search and Rescue Team - Texas Task Force 1

Our visit will include a tour of the Brayton Fire School and Disaster City and the Emergency Operations Training Center.