Dennis R. Schrader, Deputy Administrator, National Preparedness, and Glenn Cannon, Assistant Administrator for Disaster Operations, FEMA

DomesticPreparedness met with Dennis R. Schrader, Deputy Administrator, National Preparedness, FEMA. Schrader, the FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) deputy administrator for national preparedness – accompanied by Glenn Cannon, FEMA assistant director for disaster operations – discusses the soon-to-be-released final version of the National Response Framework (NRF). How the National Response Framework reflects the “new” and “forward-leaning” FEMA and eliminates the need for formal declaration of an incident of national significance. The recognition by elected officials of the importance of executive leadership for preparedness. The emergency manager as a “coordinator” for logistics and communications support; institutionalizing coordination with the private sector and faith-based organizations; the stand-up of ESF 13 (public safety and security) law-enforcement teams to assist state and local authorities; how the FEMA gap-analysis process is driving requirements and determining the allocation of resources. The rollout of incident management assistance teams (IMATs). The relationship between, and responsibilities of, local emergency operations centers (EOCs) and area commands; the role of the designated safety officer in the incident command structure. Back-ups and redundancy in the information-technology infrastructure. The rollout of the mobile emergency response support (MERS) program. NRF OverviewCoordinationIncident ManagementIT and Communications