These are common emergency management terms and abbreviations used in the USA
AAR - After Action Report: A public record which comprises a formal summary of incident operations, tactics, accomplishment of performance objectives, accident and injury investigation findings, equipment and personnel performance, evaluations and “lessons learned.â€Â
Access Control Point (HAZMAT): The point of entry and exit from the control zones. Regulates access to and from the work areas.
Accident: An unintentional event or series of events that causes or has potential to cause damage or harm. Similar to Incident and Event, however, these latter terms include intentional acts.
ACS – See Auxiliary Communications Service
Activation: Implementation of the emergency management plan, either whole, or in part. Also applies to activating the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and deployment of responder teams, from either professional or volunteer service organizations.
AEMT: Advanced Emergency Medical Technician. Also known as EMT-II and EMT-CC.
Agency Executive or Administrator: Chief executive officer (or designee) of the served agency or jurisdiction that has responsibility for the incident.
AHJ: Authority Having Jurisdiction
AIRCO: Air coordinator. Either airborne, usually from light, fixed-wing aircraft, or visual from the ground, traffic coordination, by an experienced officer serving as supervisor for an tanker, search, supply, or medical evacuation aviation operations in support of an incident.
Alert: Advisory that an emergency situation has either occurred or is approaching, but is less imminent than implied by a warning message.
All-Hazards Plan: An Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) which recognizes flexibility in planning and the need to combine hazard-specific activities with a core approach which encompasses responses appropriate to all hazards. See FEMA State and Local Guide SLG-101.
Allocated Resources: Resources dispatched to an incident that have not yet checked-in with the Incident Communications Center.
ALS (Advanced Life Support): Allowable procedures and techniques utilized by EMT-P and EMT-Int personnel to stabilize critically sick and injured patient(s) which exceed Basic Life Support procedures.
Approved: Acceptable to the authority having jurisdiction.
APRS: Automatic Position Reporting System. The interface of Global Positioning Systems with a wireless data transmitter, using either amateur or public safety radio, enabling location monitoring of equipment or personnel without human intervention.
Area Command: Area Command is an expansion of the incident command function primarily designed to manage a very large incident that has multiple incident management teams assigned. However, an Area Command can be established at any time that incidents are close enough that oversight direction is required among incident management teams to ensure conflicts do not arise.
ARES: Amateur Radio Emergency Service, public service component of the field organization of the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) serves private entities such as the Red Cross and Salvation Army during disasters and provides communications for local public service events.
ARRL: American Radio Relay League
Assigned Resources: Resources checked in and assigned work tasks on an incident.
Assistant: Title for subordinates of the Command Staff positions. The title indicates a level of technical capability, qualifications, and responsibility subordinate to the primary positions. Assistants may also be used to supervise unit activities at camps.
Assisting Agency: An agency directly contributing suppression, rescue, support or service resources to another agency.
ASR: Atmosphere Supplying Respirator. A respirator which supplies the user with breathing air independent of the ambient atmosphere. Includes supplied-air respirators (SARs) and self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA).
Assumptions: Basic understandings about unknown disaster situations that the Incident Action Plan (IAP) is based upon.
Auxiliary Communications Service (ACS). the designated volunteer communications reserve of the Arlington County Office of Emergency Management under Emergency Support Function (ESF) 2 - Communications.
Available Resources: Resources assigned to an incident and available for an assignment.
Attraction Search: A search based upon the assumption that the victim is alive, willing to be found, and will, upon hearing or seeing signs of rescue, will make themselves and their position known to rescuers. See Sound Sweep.
Backup Power: Auxiliary electrical power supply, generator, battery, solar, or a combination, to prevent system failure resulting from failure of electric power from the AC mains.
Base: That location at which the primary logistics functions are coordinated and administered. (Incident name or other designator shall be added to the term "Base") The incident command post may be collocated with the base. There is only one base per incident.
Beaufort Scale: The Beaufort Wind Scale. Developed in 1805 by Admiral Sir Francis Beaufort, British Royal Navy, to enable sailors to estimate wind velocity from visual observations on a 0 to 12 point scale. Still used today.
Blast Wave: Sharply defined wave of increased air pressure rapidly propagated from the center of an explosion or nuclear detonation.
BLS (Basic Life Support): Basic non-invasive first-aid procedures and techniques utilized by EMT-P, EMT-Int, EMT-B, and First Responder personnel to stabilize critically sick and injured patients.
B-NICE: Mnemonic of the five categories of terrorist incidents: Biological, Nuclear, Incendiary, Chemical, Explosive.
BOLO: Be On the Look Out. Announcement from the Federal Bureau of Investigation when seeking to locate a wanted individual.
Branch: The organizational level having functional or geographic responsibility for major parts of incident operations. The branch level is organizationally between Section and Division/Group in the Operations Section and between Section and Units in the Logistics Sections. Branches are identified by the use of Roman Numerals of by functional name (e.g., medical, security, etc.).
Camp: A geographical site within the general incident area, separate from the base, equipped and staffed to provide food, water and sanitary services to incident personnel.
CAP: Civil Air Patrol, auxiliary of the United State Air Force, flies 85 percent of all federal inland SAR missions directed by the USAF Rescue Coordination Center at Langley AFB, VA.
CAT: Crisis Action Team. A group of individuals operating as a single resource, that provide a supporting service to the Incident Commander by providing specialized skills and resources to assist in mitigating an incident.
CBRNE: Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear or Explosive. Abbreviation used in referring to generic incidents involving hazardous substances or devices, as used by the Interagency Board (IAB) for Equipment Standardization and Interoperability.
CCP: Casualty Collection Point. An ICS facility to assess, treat, and triage casualties and to coordinate their evacuation from the incident area.
CD: Civil Defense.
CDC: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The National Pharmaceutical Stockpile is a function of the CDC.
CEMP: Comprehensive Emergency Management Program. An integrated approach to the management of emergency programs and activities for all four phases (mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery) for all types of emergency and disasters, for all levels of government.
CERCLA: Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980. “Superfund†amendments, administered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), provides funding for emergency response and remediation of hazardous material releases.
CERT: Community Emergency Response Teams. Teams of citizen volunteers trained in basic emergency rescue skills and techniques, to assist in their communities in times of disaster. CERT training is conducted locally, to national standards which are available from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
CHEMTREC: Chemical Transportation Emergency Center. A public service of the Chemical Manufactures Association.
CISD: Critical Incident Stress Debriefing.
Clear Text: The use of plain English in radio communications transmissions. No Ten Codes or agency specific codes are used when using Clear Text.
Command: The act of directing, ordering and/or controlling resources by virtue of explicit legal, agency of delegated authority. Radio tactical call sign of the Incident Commander or IC.
Command Staff: The Command Staff consists of the Information Officer, Safety Officer and Liaison Officer, who report directly to the Incident Commander.
Company: Any piece of equipment having a full complement of personnel.
Compatibility (HAZMAT): The matching of Personal Protective Equipment to the hazardous materials involved in order to provide the best protection for the worker.
Complex: A complex is two or more individual incidents located in the same general proximity which are assigned a single Incident Commander or Unified Command to facilitate management.
Contamination Reduction Corridor (CRC) (HAZMAT): That area within the Contamination Reduction Zone where the actual decontamination is to take place. Exit from the Exclusion Zone is through the Contamination Reduction Corridor (CRC). The CRC shall become contaminated as people and equipment pass through to the decontamination Process.
Contamination Control Line (CCL) (HAZMAT): The established line around the Contamination Reduction Zone that separates the contamination Reduction Zone from the Support Zone.
Contamination Reduction Zone (CRZ) (HAZMAT): That area between the Exclusion Zone and the Support Zone. This zone contains the Personnel Decontamination Station. This zone may require a lesser degree of personnel protection than the Exclusion Zone. This area separates the contaminated area from the clean area and acts as a buffer to reduce contamination of the clean area.
Control Zones: The geographical areas within the control lines set up at a hazardous materials incident. The three zones most commonly used are the Exclusion Zone, Contamination Reduction Zone and the Support Zone.
Convergence: Areas of higher barometric air pressures which flow towards the center of an area of low barometric pressure, resulting in vertical lift.
Cooperating Agency: An agency supplying assistance other than direct suppression, rescue, support or service functions to the incident control effort (e.g. Red Cross, law enforcement agency (on fires), telephone company, etc.).
Coordination: The process of systematically analyzing a situation, developing relevant information, and informing appropriate command authority (decision making) of viable alternatives for selection of the most effective combination of available resources to meet specific objectives. The coordination process (which can be either inter or interagency) does not in and of itself involve command dispatch actions. However, personnel responsible for coordination MAY perform command or dispatch functions within limits as established by specific agency delegations, procedures, legal authority, etc..
Coordination Center: Term used to describe any facility that is used for the coordination of agency of jurisdictional resources in support of one or more incidents.
Consequence Management: With respect to incidents of terrorism or weapons of mass destruction (WMD) Consequence Management refers to measures to protect public health and safety, restore essential services, and provide emergency relief to governments, businesses and individuals affected by consequences of terrorism. FEMA is the lead agency for terrorism consequence management under the National Response Plan.
Credible Threat: With respect to incidents of terrorism or weapons of mass destruction (WMD) a “credible†threat is based upon oral, written, electronic or human intelligence which has been evaluated by law enforcement.
Crisis Management: With respect to incidents of terrorism or weapons of mass destruction (WMD) Crisis Management includes all measures to identify, acquire and plan use of all resources needed to anticipate, prevent or resolve a threat or act of terrorism. The FBI is the lead agency in coordinating the military / law enforcement response.
Damage Assessment: The process of assessing physical damages resulting from a disaster or emergency, and the resulting recovery time and cost estimates, which serves as the basis for a Governor’s request to the President for a declaration of Emergency or Major Disaster.
DART: Downed Aircraft Rescue Transmitter. Used by Civil Air Patrol and the USAF Rescue Coordination Center.
Decontamination (DECON) (HAZMAT): That action required to physically remove or chemically change the contaminates from personnel and equipment.
Delayed Treatment: Second priority in patient treatment. Triage tag YELLOW. These people require aid, but their injuries are less severe and they do not require immediate treatment.
DEMOB: Demobilization. Used under the Incident Command System to release resources.
Destroyed: Damage assessment classification of a building or item which is a total loss or is damaged to the extent that it is not useable and not economically repairable.
Deputy: A fully qualified individual who, in the absence of a superior, could be delegated the authority to manage a functional operation or perform a specific task. In some cases, a Deputy could act as relief for a superior and therefore must be fully qualified in the position. Deputies can be assigned to the incident commander, General Staff and Branch Directors.
DFO: Disaster Field Office. A temporary office in proximity to a disaster scene for administration of assistance and recovery programs by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, in coordination with the state response team.
Direct Effects: The immediate emissions of a nuclear detonation considered the most hazardous; blast, heat and initial nuclear radiation. Structural damage occurs from blast effect, and fires from heat effect. Initial nuclear radiation includes neutrons which are highly penetrating of most materials and exceedingly dangerous to living tissue. In addition, neutron radiation induces radioactivity in certain elements, causing them to emit hazardous radiation thereafter. Radioactive fallout is an indirect, rather than direct effect.
Disaster: Any loss of life or property resulting from a natural, technological or manmade incident, which exceeds the capability of local resources and presents sufficient impact to a community to result in an inability to provide critical functions for a significant time. See also the Stafford Act (P.L. 43-288 as amended) and Title 46-146.16 Code of Virginia.
Dispatch: The implementation of a command decision to move a resource or resources from one place to another.
Dispatch Center: A facility from which resources are directly assigned to an incident.
Division: That organization level having responsibility for operations within a defined geographic area or with a functional responsibility. The Division level is organizationally between the Strike Team and the Branch.
DMAT: Disaster Medical Assistance Team. A regional group of volunteer medical professionals and support staff under the control of the U.S. Public Health Service, which can rapidly deploy for any type of disaster which requires immediate disaster medical response.
DMORT: Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team. Program of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that responds when requested by municipalities requesting federal assistance during a Mass Fatality Incident.
EAS. Emergency Alert System. The national public warning system for all-hazards emergencies, administered by the Federal Communications Commission in cooperation with the National Weather Service, the Federal Emergency Management Agency commercial broadcast stations and interconnecting facilities authorized by the FCC to operate in a controlled manner during emergencies. Formally the Emergency Broadcast System (EBS).
Emergency Protective Measures: Efforts to protect life and property against anticipated and occurring effects of a disaster which take place after disaster warning (if any) and throughout the incident period. Reference Section 403 of the Stafford Act, 44CFR §206.225.
Emergency Public Information: Information disseminated to the public in anticipation of and during the actual time of an emergency, including but not limited to alerts, warnings, preparedness instructions, evacuation routes, and direct orders.
EMS: Emergency Medical Service. A paramedic or first-responder medical organization.
EMT (Emergency Medical Technician): A level of Emergency Medical Service training in Basic Life Support below that of Paramedic (EMT-P) and above that of First Responder (FR) according to the standards prescribed by the Health and Safety Code and who has a current and valid EMT-Basic certificate.
EMT-P: A Paramedic EMT who has received additional training and certification in Advanced Life Support.
EMT-CC: Emergency Medical Technician Critical Care. Also known as EMT-II or A-EMT.
EOC: Emergency Operations Center.
Exclusion Zone (HAZMAT): That area immediately around the spill. That area where contamination does or could occur. The innermost of the three zones of a hazardous materials site. Special protection is required for all personnel while in this zone.
Expanded Medical Emergency: Any medical emergency which exceeds normal first response capabilities.
Evacuation: The removal of potentially endangered, but not yet exposed, persons from an area threatened by a hazardous materials incident. Entry into the evacuation area should not require special protective equipment.
First Responder (FR): Emergency Medical Service training below the level of an EMT for personnel responsible for initial response to emergencies such as firefighters, police officers, lifeguards, forestry personnel, ambulance attendants or other public employees in states where such persons are required by law to be trained in first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
Front: The transition zone between two parcels of air having different characteristics of temperature and air stability.
FRP: Federal Response Plan. Superceded by the National Response Plan 28 Feb. 2003.
General Staff: The group of incident management personnel comprised of: the Incident Commander, the Operations Section Chief, the Planning Section Chief, the Logistics Section Chief, and the Finance/Administration Section Chief.
GIS: Geographic Information System. A computerized database for the capture, storage, analysis and display of locally defined mapping information.
GPS: Global Positioning System. A worldwide radio-navigation system formed from a constellation of 24 geo-synchronous satellites and their ground stations.
GMT: Greenwich Mean Time. Internationally known as Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) and for the military 24-hour clock as Zulu time.
Hazardous Material (HAZMAT): Any material which is explosive, flammable, poisonous, corrosive, reactive. or radioactive, or any combination, and requires special care in handling because of the hazards it poses to public health, safety, and/or the environment.
Hazardous Materials Incident: Uncontrolled, unlicensed release of hazardous materials during storage or use from a fixed facility or during transport outside a fixed facility that may impact the public health, safety and/or environment.
Hazard Mitigation: The process of alleviating or reducing the risk of hazards by the use of proactive measures. Any sustained action taken to reduce or eliminate the long-term risk to human life or property from hazards.
Helibase: An ICS facility for parking, fueling, maintenance, and loading of helicopters.
Helispot: An ICS facility near an incident site, safe for temporary landing, off-loading, loading and takeoff of helicopters for transportation of supplies, equipment, personnel or casualties.
Homeland Security Advisory System (HSAS): The national, five-level, color coded alert warning system to announce the risk level for terrorist attack.
Hospital Alert System: A communications system between medical facilities and on-incident medical personnel which provides available hospital patient receiving capability and/or medical control.
Hot Zone: The zone of highest contamination. Only personnel in appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) will enter this zone following a dynamic risk assessment.
Hurricane Season: The time of year having highest incidence of hurricanes, in the Atlantic, Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico it is regarded as the period from June 1 through November 30
Immediate Treatment: A patient who requires rapid assessment and medical intervention for survival. Triage tag RED.
Incident Action Plan: The Incident Action Plan, which is initially prepared by Incident Command System Command Staff at their first meeting, contains general control objectives reflecting the overall incident strategy, and specific action plans for the next operational period. When complete, the Incident Action Plans will have a number of attachments.
Incident Commander (IC): The individual charged under the Incident Command System with directing emergency operations on-scene at an incident. Generally the senior fire official or law enforcement officer at the scene, depending upon the needs of the incident.
Incident Command Post (ICP): That location at which the primary command functions are executed and usually collocated with the incident base.
Incident Command System (ICS): A structured, flexible management system for planning, organization and assignment of resources, facilities, equipment, personnel, procedures, and communications operating within a common command structure with responsibility to effectively accomplish stated objectives in response to an incident. Refer also to National Incident Management System (NIMS),
Incident Objectives: Statements of guidance and direction necessary for the selection of appropriate strategy(s), and the tactical direction of resources. Incident objectives are based on realistic expectations of what can be accomplished when all allocated resources have been effectively deployed. Incident objectives must be achievable and measurable, yet flexible enough to allow for strategic and tactical alternatives.
Initial Response: Resources initially committed to an incident.
Inversion: Used to describe a parcel of air in which temperature increases with altitude.
ITU: International Telecommunication Union.
Joint Information Center (JIC): The primary field location for coordination of federal and state media relations, located in or near a Disaster Field Office (DFO).
Jurisdictional Agency: The agency having jurisdiction and responsibility for a specific geographic area.
Local Emergency: Declared by the local governing body when in its judgment the threat or actual occurrence of an emergency or disaster is or threatens to be of sufficient severity or magnitude to warrant coordinated local government action to prevent or alleviate the loss, damage, hardship or suffering caused thereby. See §44-146.16(6) Code of Virginia.
Landing Zone (LZ): A location designated as a safe landing or takeoff area for helicopters.
Limited Consequences: With respect to acts of terrorism or weapons of mass destruction (WMD) limited consequences are the detonation of an explosive device or use of a WMD either with, or without warning, that results in limited injury or death and consequences which are within State and local response capabilities.
Major Consequences: With respect to acts of terrorism or weapons of mass destruction (WMD) major consequences result in substantial injuries or deaths such that the consequences exceed state and local capabilities.
Major Damage: Damage assessment term to categorize an item or building that has been damaged to the extent that it has been damaged to the extent that it is no longer useable and may be returned to service only with extensive repairs.
Mass Care: Temporary housing, feeding and care of populations displaced by a disaster. This duty and obligation of local government may be delegated to VOAD organizations, business, industry and spontaneous volunteer groups.
Mass Fatality: An incident where more deaths occur than can be handled with local resources. See DMORT.
Medical Reserve Corps (MRC): A program of the Department of Health and Human Services which helps communities prepare to respond in the event of a public health emergency.
Message Center: The Message Center is part of the Communications center and either co-located or adjacent to it. It receives, records and routes information about resources reporting to the incident, resource status, administrative and tactical traffic.
Millibar: A unit of barometric pressure. At sea level there are 1,013.2 millibars of barometric pressure, or 29.92 inches of mercury
Mitigation: Any action of long-term, permanent nature that reduces the potential or actual risk of loss of life or property from a hazardous event.
Mobilization Center: An off incident location at which emergency service personnel and equipment are temporarily located pending assignment, release or reassignment.
MTD: Maximum Tolerable Downtime.
MTR: Mean Time to Repair.
MTBF: Mean Time Between Failures.
Mount Weather Emergency Assistance Center (MWEAC): The national hub for emergency response activities of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Located near Bluemont, Virginia, home to eight major FEMA functional groups, and other government agencies with space for offices, training, conferencing, operations and storage.
Multi-Agency Coordination System (MACS): The combination of facilities, equipment, personnel, procedures, and communications integrated into a common system with responsibility for coordination of assisting agency resources and support to agency emergency operations.
Multi-Casualty: The combination of numbers of injured personnel and type of injuries going beyond capability of an entity's normal first response.
Mutual Aid Agreement: A pre-arranged agreement between two or more entities or jurisdictions, public or private, to share resources and render aid when essential resources of one entity are insufficient to meet the needs of a disaster or emergency. See Virginia Emergency Management Assistance Compact §44-126.28:1 Code of Virginia.
National Response Plan (NRP): Supercedes the Federal Response Plan using the Incident Command System with regard to response to domestic incidents, the NRP provides the structure and mechanisms for national policy direction for Federal support to state and local government. See Homeland Security Presidential Directive HSPD-5 dated 28 Feb. 2003.
National Communications System (NCS): Became part of the Department of Homeland Security on March 1, 2003, a consortium of 23 federal departments and organizations responsible for ensuring the availability of national security and emergency preparedness communications.
Net Control Station (NCS): The radio operator temporarily in charge of conducting a directed radio net. Required in ACS-RACES practice when four or more stations are active on the same working frequency. Responsible for maintaining operational security, radio discipline, resource coordination, prioritizing and directing contacts between stations, handling of formal messages and tactical communications. A rotating duty assignment, generally not to exceed 1 hour during active response operations, or 2 hours for drills and exercises.
National Pharmaceutical Stockpile (NPS): A function of the Centers for a Disease Control and Prevention to ensure the availability of life-saving pharmaceuticals, antidotes, medical supplies and equipment necessary to counter the effects of nerve agents, biological pathogens and chemical agents. CDC teams of technical advisors stand ready for immediate deployment concurrent with first shipments.
National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB): An independent Federal agency charged with investigating civil aviation, railroad, marine and pipeline accidents, and issuing safety recommendations to prevent further such accidents. See
http://www.ntsb.gov
Operational Area: An Operational Area consists of a county, and all political subdivisions within the county area working cooperatively to manage emergencies.
Operational Period: The period of time scheduled for execution of a given set of operation actions as specified in the Incident Action Plan.
Operations Coordination Center (OCC): The primary facility of the Multi-Agency Coordination System. It houses the staff and equipment necessary to perform the MACS functions.
OPSEC: Operational Security
Out-of-service Resources: Resources assigned to an incident but unable to respond for mechanical, rest or personnel reasons.
Overhead Personnel: Personnel who are assigned to supervisory roles which include Incident Commander, Command Staff, General Staff, Directors, Supervisors and Unit Leaders.
Planning Meeting: A meeting, held as needed throughout the duration of an incident, to select specific strategies and tactics for incident control operations and for service and support planning.
Positive Pressure Respirator (PPR): OSHA definition of a respirator in which the pressure inside the respiratory inlet opening exceed s the ambient air pressure outside the respirator.
Preparedness: The phase of Emergency Management which refers to activities, programs and systems existing prior to an emergency that are used to support and enhance emergency response.
Probability of Detection (POD): Statistical measure of search pattern effectiveness.
Radio Cache: A cache may consist of a number of portable radios, a base station and in some cases a repeater stored in a predetermined location for dispatch to incident.
Qty: Quantity. Standard abbreviation.
Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES): A volunteer organization of licensed amateur radio operators registered with the Civil Defense organization to provide auxiliary emergency communications on behalf of local, state or federal government under authority granted in 47 CFR, Part 97, subpart E. See FEMA Civil Preparedness Guide CPG 1-15.
Recommended Exposure Limit (REL): The 8-hour or 10-hoiur time-weights average (TWA) or ceiling (C )exposure concentration recommended by NIOSH that is based on an evaluation of health effects data.
Recorder: Person assigned to record information.. May be utilized by any ICS position having need.
Refuge Area. (HAZMAT): An area identified within the Exclusion Zone, if needed, for the assemblage of contaminated individuals in order to reduce the risk of further contamination or injury. The Refuge Area may provide for gross decontamination and triage.
Reinforced Response: Those resources requested in addition to the initial response.
Reporting Locations: Any one of six facilities/locations where incident assigned resources may check in. The locations are: Incident Command Post: Resources Unit, Base, Camp, Staging Area, Helibase or Division/Group Supervisor for direct line assignment. (Check in at one location only.)
Resources: All personnel and major items of equipment available, or potentially available, for assignment to incident tasks on which status is maintained.
Responder Rehabilitation: Also known as "rehab"; resting and treatment of incident personnel who are suffering from the effects of strenuous work and/or extreme conditions.
RESTAT: Resource status, in practice an acronym for Resources Unit under the Incident Command System, part of the Planning section for tracking resources assigned to an incident.
Risk Analysis: The process of quantifying the probability of occurrence and impact of a hazard in terms of damage amount and duration of disruption.
Risk Management: The process of analysis, intervention and mitigation to reduce risk and the threat to life, property and the environment posed by hazards.
SAR: Search and Rescue.
SAR: Supplied Air Respirator. See ASR, SCBA.
Safe Refuge Area (SRA) (HAZMAT): An area within the Contamination Reduction Zone for the assemblage of individuals who are witnesses to the hazardous materials incident or who were on site at the time of the spill. This assemblage will provide for the separation of contaminated persons from non-contaminated persons.
SARA: Title III of Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act, also known as the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act of 1986. Specifies requirements for organizing the planning process of state and local levels for specified extremely hazardous substances and mechanisms for making information about extremely hazardous substances available to citizens. Source 42 USC Annotated, Sec. 11001, et. Seq. – 1986.
SARS: Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome. An atypical pneumonia so-labeled by the World Health Organization.
SBBCCOM: Soldier and Biological Chemical Command. The U.S. Army unit tasked under the Homeland Defense with the mission to enhance the response capabilities of military, federal, state and local emergency responders to attacks involving chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear warfare agents.
SCBA: Self Contained Breathing Apparatus. OSHA definition for an atmosphere-supplying respirator for which the breathing air source is designed to be carried by the user. See also ASR.
Significant Threat: With respect to acts of terrorism or weapons of mass destruction (WMD) a significant threat is the confirmed presence of an explosive device or other WMD, prior to any injury or property loss.
SIP: Shelter In Place. A precaution to be safe from hazardous material releases by remaining indoors rather than evacuating an area and risking contamination.
SITREP: Situation Report.
SOP: Standard Operating Procedure
SOU: Statement of Understanding.
Span of Control: A basic principle of the Incident Command System, management with a reasonable span of control is the responsibility of each supervisor at all levels of ICS. In any emergency response organization one supervisor should have direct supervisory responsibility over no more than five subordinate positions.
Stafford Act: Provides authority for response assistance under the National Response Plan, empowering the President to direct any federal agency to utilize its authorities and resources in support of state and local assistance efforts. 42 USC et seq., Public Law 93-288 As Amended.
Staging Area: That location where incident personnel and equipment are assigned on a three (3) minute available status.
State of Emergency: Declared by the Governor when in his judgment, the threat of actual occurrence of an emergency or disaster in any part of the Commonwealth is of sufficient severity and magnitude to warrant assistance by the Commonwealth to prevent or alleviate the damage, loss, hardship or suffering caused thereby. See §44-146.16(5) Code of Virginia.
Strategy: The general plan or direction selected to accomplish incident objectives.
Strike Team: Specified combinations of the same kind and type of resources, with common communications and a leader.
Support Zone (HAZMAT): The clean area outside the Contamination Control Line. Equipment and personnel are not expected to become contaminated in this area. Special protective clothing is not required. This is the area where resources are assembled to support the hazardous materials operation.
Tactics: Deploying and directing resources on an incident to accomplish the objectives designated by strategy.
Task Force: A group of resources with common communications and a leader that may be pre-established and sent to an incident, or formed at an incident.
T-Card: Under the Incident Command System, a T-shaped, colored card used by RESTAT to record the status of personnel and resources on an incident and to assist in demobilization (DEMOB).
TDS: Acronym for Time-Distance-Shielding, as a reminder of basic personal protective measures against any hazardous exposure: minimize exposure time, distance yourself from the source, and seek substantial barriers as protection.
Technical Specialists: Personnel with special skills who are activated only when needed. Technical Specialists may be needed in the areas of fire behavior, water resources, environmental concerns, resource use, and training areas.
Toxin: Biohazard materials of natural origin produced by a plant, animal or microbe, examples botulinum, SEB, ricin.
Triage: The screening and classification of sick, wounded or injured persons to determine priority needs in order to ensure the efficient use of medical personnel, equipment and facilities.
Unified Command: In ICS, Unified Command is a unified team effort which allows all agencies with responsibility for the incident, either geographical or functional, to manage an incident by establishing a common set of incident objectives and strategies. This is accomplished without losing or abdicating agency authority, responsibility or accountability.
Unit: That organization element having functional responsibility for a specific incident planning, logistic or finance activity.
Urban Search & Rescue (USAR): An incident where technical rescue expertise and equipment are required for safe and effective rescue operations. USAR incidents may be caused by a variety of events such as earthquakes, floods and hurricanes that cause wide spread damage to structures and entrap personnel. USAR incidents can also range from mass transportation accidents to single site events such as trench cave-in and confined space rescue.
USNG: United States National Grid. Geospatial address based upon a universally defined coordinate grid system and common frame of alpha-numeric cross reference that overlays the UTM coordinate system to improve the interoperability of location appliances through a consistent and preferred geospatial reference system. See GPS.
UTC: Coordinated Universal Time. The world is divided into 24 time zones, each referenced to a letter of the alphabet (less the letters “I†and “O†) for easy reference. The “clock†at Greenwich, England located at the Zero meridian is used as the international reference in communications, military, aviation, maritime and other activities which cross time zones and is designated by the letter “Zâ€Â, pronounced “Zulu†in the ITU Phonetic alphabet. See also GMT.
UTM: Universal Transverse Mercator. A map grid appropriate for scales of 1:250,000 and larger. On large-scale maps such as U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) 1:24,000, 7.5 minute quadrangles, commonly used in ground search and rescue. Simple numbers of the UTM grid make plotting precise locations easier than with complex degrees, minutes, and seconds of latitude and longitude and is available as an option on most hand-held GPS receivers.
VAEOC: Virginia Emergency Operations Center.
VOAD: Voluntary Organizations Active In Disaster.
Warning: Dissemination of a message signaling an imminent hazard, which may include advice on protective measures. People should take immediate safety action.
Watch: Announcement by the National Weather Service indicating that conditions are conducive to the occurrence of severe weather. It does not mean with certainty that a severe weather event will occur. Watches are issues for specific geographic areas such as counties, for phenomena such as tornadoes.
WMD: Weapon of Mass Destruction.
X-ray: ITU phonetic alphabet for voicing the letter “X†in radiotelephone communications.
Zulu: ITU phonetic alphabet for voicing the letter “Zâ€Â, also refers to Greenwich Mean Time or UTC.
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Survival and Prep Acronyms
