Emergency Preparedness and Response: Some Issues and Challenges Associated with Major Emergency Incidents Page: 4 of 22
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respond to, and assist in the recovery from emergency events. First
responders are trained and equipped to arrive at the scene of an
emergency and take immediate action. Examples include entering the
scene of the event and assessing the situation, setting up a command
center, establishing safe and secure perimeters around the event site,
evacuating those within or near the site, tending to the injured and dead,
transporting them to medical care centers or morgues, rerouting traffic,
helping to restore public utilities, and clearing debris.
Last year, GAO issued a special report on 21st Century Challenges,
examining the federal government's long-term fiscal outlook, the nation's
ability to respond to emerging forces reshaping American Society, and the
future role of the federal government. Among the issues discussed was
homeland security.2 In our report we identified the following illustrative
challenges and questions for examining emergency preparedness and
response in the nation:
Defining an acceptable, achievable (within budget constraints) level of
risk. The nation can never be completely safe; total security is an
unachievable goal. Therefore, the issue becomes what is an acceptable
level of risk to guide homeland security strategies and investments,
particularly federal funding? What criteria should be used to target federal
and state funding for homeland security in order to maximize results and
mitigate risk within available resource levels?
* What should be the role of federal, state, and local governments in
identifying risks-from nature or man-in individual states and localities
and establishing standards for the equipment, skills, and capacities that
first responders need?
* Are existing incentives sufficient to support private sector protection of
critical infrastructure the private sector owns, and what changes might be
necessary?
* What is the most viable way to approach homeland security results
management and accountability? What are the appropriate goals and who
is accountable for the many components of homeland security when many
partners and functions and disciplines are involved? How can these actors
be held accountable and by whom?
2GAO, 21st Century Challenges: Reexamining the Base of the Federal Government,
GAO-05-325SP (Washington, D.C.: February 2005).GAO-06-467T
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United States. Government Accountability Office. Emergency Preparedness and Response: Some Issues and Challenges Associated with Major Emergency Incidents, text, February 23, 2006; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc292719/m1/4/: accessed May 7, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.