terrorism strategy text 2-8-07 - Welcome to NYC.gov

1 FIRE DEPARTMENT CITY OF NEW YORKTERRORISM ANDDISASTERPREPAREDNESS STRATEGYM ichael R. Bloomberg, MayorNicholas Scoppetta, Fire CommissionerSalvatore J. Cassano, Chief of Department20079 MetroTech CenterBrooklyn, New York OFNEWYORKFDNY CONTACT & ACKNOWLEDGMENTSC ontact:Deputy Assistant Chief Joseph W. Pfeifer,Chief of Counterterrorism and Emergency PreparednessKeeley Townsend,Executive Coordinator of Strategic StudiesCenter for terrorism and Disaster PreparednessFire Department City of New York9 MetroTech CenterBrooklyn, NY 11201 Tel.: 718-281-8453 Fax: 718-281-8458 Acknowledgments:Numerous individuals within and outside the FDNY made key contributions to the content and editing of this docu-ment.

2 The Department would like to thank all of those who provided their time, technical expertise and STATEMENT OF THE NEW YORK CITY FIRE DEPARTMENTAs first responders to fires, medical and other emergencies, disasters and terroristacts, FDNY protects the lives and property of New York City residents and Department advances public safety through its fire prevention, investigation andeducation programs. The timely delivery of these services enables the FDNY to makesignificant contributions to the safety of New York City and homeland VALUESS ervice Bravery Safety Honor Dedication PreparednessTerrorism and DisasterPreparedness StrategyDuring the past five years, the Department has made significant progress in preparing forfuture terrorist threats and natural disasters by developing our capabilities and expandingour capacity to respond to all-hazard events.

3 The constantly changing nature of terrorismmandates that we not only continue to press forward in our work today, but that we do so with aneye to the future. To that end, we must develop a vision and strategy that will define our prepared-ness objectives and establish the foundation for the path we will take to meet those objectives. Employing the insight and skills from a cross section of the FDNY s work force, theDepartment leadership has developed this terrorism and Disaster Preparedness strategy . This doc-ument will provide direction and unity of vision to the Department s efforts toward enhanced pre-paredness.

4 It also will provide direction and cohesion across the different bureaus within theDepartment and lead to a more coordinated approach to planning, training, equipping andresponding. As we consider the threats of today and tomorrow, it is important that we identify thecritical uncertainties in our environment, remove the blind spots from our thinking and develop aflexible strategic vision for the information and guidance provided by FDNY uniformed and civilian staff, as well asnumerous advisors outside the Department, were instrumental to the successful completion of theStrategy document and will continue to be critical to implementing its proposed framework.

5 Weappreciate all who continue to participate in this important preparedness CommissionerChief of DepartmentNicholas ScoppettaSalvatore J. CassanoF IRED EPARTMENT9 METROTECHCENTERBROOKLYN, NY 11201-3857 FDNY terrorism AND DISASTER PREPAREDNESS STRATEGY55 TABLE OF CONTENTSI ntroduction7I. PURPOSE9 Terrorist Threat9 Natural Disasters10 All-Hazards Preparedness11II. MISSION AND FOCUS13 Organizational Adaptability14 Response Capability15 Prevention and Protection19 Coordination and Collaboration22 III. OPERATIONAL READINESS25 Planning25 Organization and Leadership26 Equipment and Systems26 Training26 Exercises, Evaluations and Corrective Actions27 Personnel27IV.

6 COORDINATION AND EVALUATION29 Coordination29 Evaluation30 Conclusion33 APPENDICES35 Appendix A--FDNY Role in National Target CapabilitiesA-1 to A-3 Appendix B--AcronymsB-1 Appendix C--GlossaryC-1 to C-2 Appendix D--EndnotesD-1 to D-2 Appendix E--ReferencesE-1 FDNY terrorism AND DISASTER PREPAREDNESS STRATEGY77 The Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) terrorism and Disaster Preparedness strategy ( theStrategy ) is one of many FDNY initiatives taken inresponse to the events of September 11, 2001.

7 After 9/11, theDepartment s core mission of life safety remained the changed is FDNY s understanding of the complex threatenvironment that members now live in and the additional stepsthat must be taken to operate safely and effectively within thesenew conditions. Since 9/11, great strides have been made to increase theability to effectively execute the Department s life safety mandatewithin any response scenario. FDNY members and leadershipmust continue to advance preparedness levels by learning, adapt-ing and evolving to meet the new challenges presented bychanges in the threat ensure the Department is pursuing the right initiatives,FDNY s role in the homeland security network must be defined,followed by continual and objective assessment of theDepartment s ability to fulfill that role.

8 This involves evaluatingthe outcomes of actions taken to reach these preparedness goalsand finding new and better ways to work collaboratively withsecurity partners. Because of the inevitable constraints imposedby the political economy of homeland security, the Departmentalso must find ways to achieve target levels of preparedness withlimited the many variables involved in terrorism and disas-ter preparedness, the intent of the strategy is to set a strategicdirection for the Department s preparedness efforts that buildsupon the FDNY s established core capabilities.

9 Concentratingefforts on strengthening the core will further enhance a strong,resilient and adaptable skill-set that will serve this City every dayand within any threat strategy also is designed to provide an organizationalsystem for pursuing preparedness goals in a manner that is meas-urably effective, economically efficient and sustainable over thelong-term. The strategy s end product is not simply an articula-tion of where the Department wants to be, but rather a road mapdescribing how to get I of the strategy (Purpose) addresses the founda-tion of terrorism and disaster preparedness, including an exami-nation of the current threat environment.

10 This chapter alsoexplains why the Department requires a strategy to guide pre-IntroductionFDNY terrorism AND DISASTER PREPAREDNESS STRATEGY8paredness efforts and the proposed outcomes of the strategy II (Mission and Focus) examines the life safetymission of the Department and the key points that must beaddressed to achieve a high degree of preparedness and effective-ness, including organizational adaptability; response capability;prevention and protection; and coordination and III (Operational Readiness) provides an outlinedescribing how the Department is ensuring that responders havethe tools, training and support they need to do their job.