FIRST RESPONDERS - Hurricane Katrina
First Responders Urged Not To Respond To Hurricane
Impact Areas Unless Dispatched By State, Local
Authorities
Release Date: August 29, 2005
Release Number: HQ-05-174
WASHINGTON D.C. -- Michael D. Brown, Under Secretary
of Homeland Security for Emergency Preparedness and
Response and head of the Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA), today urged all fire and emergency
services departments not to respond to counties and
states affected by Hurricane Katrina without being
requested and lawfully dispatched by state and local
authorities under mutual aid agreements and the
Emergency Management Assistance Compact.
�The response to Hurricane Katrina must be well
coordinated between federal, state and local officials
to most effectively protect life and property,� Brown
said. �We appreciate the willingness and generosity of
our Nation�s first responders to deploy during
disasters. But such efforts must be coordinated so
that fire-rescue efforts are the most effective
possible.�
The U.S. Fire Administration, part of FEMA, asks that
fire and emergency services organizations remain in
contact with their local and state emergency
management agency officials for updates on
requirements in the affected areas.
�It is critical that fire and emergency departments
across the country remain in their jurisdictions until
such time as the affected states request assistance,�
said U.S. Fire Administrator R. David Paulison. �State
and local mutual aid agreements are in place as is the
Emergency Management Assistance Compact and those
mechanisms will be used to request and task resources
needed in the affected areas.�
Paulison said the National Incident Management System
is being used during the response to Hurricane Katrina
and that self-dispatching volunteer assistance could
significantly complicate the response and recovery
effort.
FEMA prepares the nation for all hazards and manages
federal response and recovery efforts following any
national incident. FEMA also initiates mitigation
activities, trains first responders, works with state
and local emergency managers, and manages the National
Flood Insurance Program and the U.S. Fire
Administration. FEMA became part of the U.S.
Department of Homeland Security on March 1, 2003.
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