The 2003 National Conference on Incident Command for Emergency Response

Improve the Incident Command Systems in Your Community Learn the Newest ICS Techniques for Damage Mitigation, Emergency Response and Inter-Agency Collaboration	Provide Emergency Response Training Go Beyond Training Provided at the Jurisdictional Level and Learn Best Practices for all Phases of Emergency Response
Develop Emergency Response Plans for Every Emergency Establish ICS for All Types of Emergencies at Any Time and Recover in the Fastest Possible Way	Employ Collaborative Response Techniques Work with other Response Teams in a Network that can Assure Maximum Response in Minimum Time

October 6-8 , 2003 - Washington, DC

Agenda and Speaking Faculty
Day 1: October 6, 2003 Multi-Agency Training and Preparation
8:00	Registration and Continental Breakfast
8:30	Keynote: Update from the White House Office of Homeland Security: One of the primary objectives of the Office of Homeland Security is coordinating national efforts in preparation for and mitigation of terrorist attacks within the United States. The Senior Director for Response and Recovery from this office will address the following topical issues: • Creation of the Department of Homeland Security and the new national strategy to combat terrorism • Coordination of domestic exercises, simulations and activities for training federal, state and local employees who will respond to a threat or attack • Coordination of national efforts to ensure public health preparedness for a terrorist attack • Coordination of federal assistance to state and local authorities Michael Byrne, Director, National Capital Region Coordination, U.S. Department of Homeland Security*
9:30	Small Counties with Small Budgets: Best Practices for Securing the Homeland and Designing and Maintaining the ICS in Your Community: A Panel Discussion Involving Representatives from a Community Like Yours Members of first response agencies will come together to discuss how local response agencies in their jurisdiction work with each other and with state and federal entities to develop and implement planning, training and response strategies that cope with large-scale incidents and events while on a finite budget. Hear how federal assistance, effective training and proper preparation can aid your agency in ensuing community safety in any response situation. Captain Pete Crawford, Commander, Special Operations Division, Alexandria Police Department Multi-Agency Representatives from Monongalia County, West Virginia
10:45	Break
11:00	Assessment Strategies: Evaluate Your Local Jurisdiction's Resources and Risks for Emergency Response • Standardizing equipment lists and evaluating what you have to work with based on the event • Developing your readiness checklist • The pitfalls of under or over estimating your resources • Mutual aid agreements: sharing equipment such as vehicles, protective equipment and facilities in a time of crisis Captain Pete Crawford, Commander, Special Operations Division, Alexandria Police Department
12:00	Networking Luncheon: Stories from the Field Delegates will be pooled for their most challenging emergency response incidents. The two most complex incidents will be shared at the luncheon with all attendees offering and debating response strategies.
1:00	Training Strategies: Innovations in First Responder Training • Designing meaningful training operations leading up to a simulation event • Training maintenance, scheduling and records • Running realistic full-scale event scenarios • Assessing staffing and personnel needs • Acting on post-exercise debriefings Captain Pete Crawford, Commander, Special Operations Division, Alexandria Police Department
1:45	Break
2:00	Coordination Strategies: Realistic Exercise Development and Cross Training for Local Jurisdictions • Setting up the ground rules for a multi-agency response • Customizing meaningful table top scenario exercises based on local resources and geography • Coordinating practical field exercises for policy makers and decision makers from response agencies • Practical tips from designers Elliot Grollman, Department of Homeland Security/ Department of Protective Services
3:00	Victim Assistance Strategies: Managing Fatalities and Treating Emergencies Through Coordination with the Public Health Systems Join this session to learn how the FBI interacts with state and local law enforcement and public health agencies to prevent acts of bio-terrorism and deal with crisis. Although both public health and law enforcement protect the public, the approach and nature of the work performed in the two disciplines are quite different, as defined by the CDC. The similarities and differences in public health and law enforcement investigations have to be understood and coordinated so that both can be most effective. • Role of public health in an ICS response • When public heath agencies should get involved • How can public health initiatives mesh with mitigation efforts of law enforcement, fire and EMS to provide large-scale medical assistance to large groups of affected persons following events such as a riot, fire, earthquake, hurricane, flood, chemical, biological attack or terrorist bombing? Robert M. Scripp MA, Intelligence Operations Specialist, Weapons of Mass Destruction Countermeasures Unit, Federal Bureau of Investigation
4:00	Adjourn

Day 2: October 7, 2003 Implementation and Response
8:00	Continental Breakfast
8:30	Deploying the ICS: Implementing and Adjusting the ICS Response During a Crisis On September 11, 2001, Special Agent Christopher Combs of the FBI’s National Capital Response Squad was on site at the Pentagon four minutes after the attack. In this presentation, he will share his first hand experience coordinating the multi-agency response during a major event. His main focus will cover overarching principles pertaining to the importance of the use of the Incident Command System for all emergency responders. Focus will be in the need for communication, collaboration and unification of command and control of a multi-agency response. • Master the logistics of responding to a major event • Operational do’s and don’ts based on first hand experience • Prioritizing your issues: responder safety, rescue and recovery, setting up perimeters and collecting evidence • Practical applications for planning and response: what to prepare for based on what actually happens Christopher Combs, Supervisory Special Agent, Weapons of Mass Destruction Operations Unit, Federal Bureau of Investigation
10:30	Break
10:45	Best Practices for Responding to Terrorist Emergencies This panel will provide best practices and specific strategies for responding to terrorist related emergencies. Among the key strategies that will be explored include: • Maintaining control in a panic situation • Ensuring responder safety • Maintaining evidence despite hazardous and destructive conditions • Media control Representative from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security
12:00	Networking Luncheon
1:00	Best Practices for Responding to Natural Disasters In this session, best practices and strategies will be presented for responding to natural disasters such as hurricanes, floods, wildland fires, earthquakes or other severe weather. Use the lessons learned through this session to design a natural disaster response plan to use in your community. Teamwork and experience come together to result in a response plan that can be applied in a wide array of circumstances, so be ready. Representative, National Weather Service
2:30	Break
2:45	INTERACTIVE SCENARIO: Your Community is Impacted by a Natural Disaster that Impacts a Major Public Event and Causes a Chemical / Biological Emergency In this interactive session, you will be presented with a real-life natural resource event that causes two emergencies in your community. Delegates will assess the nature of both emergencies and will devise response strategies to make the most of over-burdened emergency management resources. By going through an interactive excercise, participants will learn the following critical success factors: • How to train for concerts, sporting events, conventions and festivals • Best practices for establishing communications links, physical security, ingress/egress from command center and chain of command • Best practices for maximizing responder safety, rotation of assets and use of reserves • Inter-agency communication and event management following unforeseen incidents or natural disasters at large events Session Facilitators: Scott Linsky, Defense Group Incorporated Craig Levy, Deputy for Responder Services, CoBRA Group
4:30	Adjourn

Post-Conference Workshop: October 8, 2003 Securing Grants and Funding for Improving Your Incident Command System for Emergency Response
8:30	Workshop Registration and Continental Breakfast
9:00	Trends in Funding and Technical Assistance for State and Local First Responders from the FEMA Office of National Preparedness (ONP) In May of 2001, President Bush established the Office of National Preparedness within the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in order to assess national capability to deter terrorism and to coordinate response to terrorist attacks. • An update and breakdown of the federal funding and assistance to come • How the office of national preparedness works with state and local governments to ensure their planning, training and equipment needs are addressed • The Office of National Preparedness function under the new Department of Homeland Security Mark Dozier, Department of Homeland Security
10:00	Break
10:15	Federal Grants Funding Opportunities and Success Factors for First Responders Thomas Caves is an independent consultant for the North Carolina State Highway Patrol (SHP) and has played a key role in helping obtain $12,887,487 in funding since February of 1998. This extended and in-depth session will focus on: • Navigating the recent federal reorganization on homeland security • Finding funding opportunities on the Internet • What federal agencies are looking for in grant applications: how to write a competitive proposal • Block grants versus discretionary grants: why you need to understand the difference • Follow Congressional discussions regarding new priorities • Centralizing your agency's approach to grant funding: why it’s important Thomas Caves, Thomas Caves Consulting
11:00	Homeland Defense Reuse Program (HDER) The goal of the HDER Program is to provide surplus radiological detection instrumentation and other equipment, as well as training and technical support to emergency responder agencies nationwide to enhance their domestic preparedness capabilities. Join this session to learn about this Pilot Project and other federal efforts towards national preparedness and prevention capacity building. Kerry L. Thomas, Acting Assistant Director, Office for Domestic Preparedness, US Department of Homeland Security
12:00	Adjourn

Sponsorship Information

To learn more about sponsorship opportunities at Performance Institute educational seminars and conferences, please call Shawn Keeley at 703-894-0481.

Or by calling us at
703-894-0481

Venue

The 2003 National Conference on Incident Command for Emergency Response will be held at the Wyndham City Center Hotel in Washington, DC. The Wyndham City Center Hotel is situated just minutes from the monuments in Washington, DC.

Hotel

A limited number of rooms have been reserved at the hotel at a discounted rate ($150 single and $170 double). Please contact the hotel at (202) 775-0800 or 800-526-7495 by September 8, 2003 to make reservations. Be sure to ask for the Performance Institute conference rate. The Wyndham City Center Hotel will ensure that your conference experience is not only educational but also comfortable and enjoyable in every aspect.

Wyndham City Center Hotel
1143 New Hampshire Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20037
(202) 775-0800

Tuition

Tuition for attending the 2003 National Conference on Incident Command for Emergency Response:

Conference	$1095
Workshop	$495

Group Discounts

Reduced tuition rates for delegates who attend in groups of three or more are available by calling Shawn Keeley at 703-894-0481, or emailing him at Shawn Keeley.

Research

Free Subscription to Institute Research: The Performance Institute serves as the nation’s leading repository of thoroughly researched, documented, catalogued and peer-reviewed “best practices” in a multitude of issue areas. Each month, the Institute publishes research through a variety of e-mail publications. To subscribe to the Institute’s newsletter on Law Enforcement Innovations, e-mail your complete contact information to: [email protected]. Or for more information on Institute programs and services, visit us on the Internet at www.PerformanceWeb.org.