The District of Columbia Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency (HSEMA) today issued the city’s Annual Report to the Council of the District of Columbia on the state of homeland security and emergency management in the city.  The report, which was prepared in fulfillment of the annual reporting requirement of the Homeland Security, Risk Reduction and Preparedness Amendment Act of 2006, describes the city’s current level of preparedness, homeland security capabilities, priority initiatives, training sessions, exercises and mutual aid agreements.

In announcing the report, Mayor Adrian Fenty said, “This report highlights the city’s preparedness efforts over the last year and illustrates its compliance with federal and local homeland security and preparedness mandates, including the Homeland Security, Risk Reduction and Preparedness Amendment Act of 2006.  I am pleased with our progress and confident that our level of preparedness will continue to improve.”  

Highlights of Annual Report*:

• Training – Provided training for the city’s first responders and other emergency workers.  Over the past year, HSEMA enrolled 1,257 students in 89 training classes. 
  
• Community Exercises - From mid-January to mid-March, the agency conducted community emergency management exercises in neighborhoods across the city. More than 680 residents took part in the 13 exercises.
  
• Public Education on Disaster Preparedness – Created and distributed 1.25 million wallet –sized, personal preparedness plans and trained 48,000 residents on how to prepare.
  
• Neighborhood Corps Academy – Introduced a neighborhood/community based training program designed to organize, mobilize, and train residents to respond as a community in the event of a local emergency or disaster.
  
•  District Pandemic Influenza Plan- Updated the Department of Health’s (DOH) Pandemic Influenza Plan, a plan to address command and control procedures, legal authority, surveillance and investigation procedures, communications, and education and training.
  
• Video Interoperability for Public Safety (VIPS) program – Implemented the VIPS program to allow for more efficient monitoring of the city’s existing closed circuit television cameras. The program consolidates within one agency to access and monitor video images from the District’s 5200 closed circuit TV cameras.
  
• Backup Generators – Worked with regional partners to purchase 200 mobile back-up generators for traffic signal systems.
  
• Volunteer Healthcare Personnel Program - Implemented DOH and DHS mandated emergency system to credential, contact, and track medical personnel rapidly in the District. We have enrolled 302 medical personnel in DC Responds.
  
•  Super Shelter Sites –Identified the Washington Convention Center and The Armory as shelter sites that can accommodate at least 1000 people each. These sites meet the necessary mass care requirements and are accessible from evacuation routes and transfer points. There are an additional 49 smaller shelters that have been identified throughout the District.

HSEMA Director Darrell Darnell said, “This report will serve as a benchmark for HSEMA as we revise our Homeland Security Strategic Plan to align better with the most recent risk analysis, updated District Response Plan and enhanced capabilities.”

The city also released today a revised of the District Response Plan (DRP)*, a function-based plan that describes how DC agencies will work collaboratively with one another and with their regional and federal partners to respond to and recover from emergencies and catastrophic events. 

The DRP focuses on the elements or tasks common to all emergency incidents and assigns roles and responsibilities to city agencies and their federal, local and non-governmental partners.

This is the fourth revision to the plan since its creation in 2001, shortly after 9/11.  Prior to 9/11, the city’s response plans were incident specific and each one addressed a specific type of incident, eg hurricanes, snow, power outages, etc.

This most recent version remains true to the format adopted in 2001 and incorporates concepts and processes of the National Incident Management System (NIMS) and the National Response Framework (NRF), the federal government’s guide to how the nation conducts all-hazards emergency response.

Lead agencies for each of the plan’s 16 emergency support functions (ESFs) have conducted an intensive review of the plan to ensure that it accurately portrays the roles and responsibilities of the lead and support agencies and incorporates lessons learned, concerns and suggestions identified during this review.

DC Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency Director Darrell Darnell said, “This version of the DRP allows us to manage our response efforts even more effectively as it incorporates lessons learned over the past three years since the last revision and aligns our plan with the National Response Framework and the National Incident Management System (NIMS).”