Homeland Safety

Assisting Firefighters By means of Grants – FEMA’s Function For the duration of Wildfires

April 13, 2013 by NASTTPO Editor Leave a Comment

Posted by: Lars Anderson, Director, Public Affairs, FEMA

Over the past few weeks firefighters from local, state, and federal agencies have been tirelessly operating to battle a number of large fires across the country. Most importantly, we want to recognize their sacrifice and determination to protect lives and house. Thousands of very first responders from all levels of government have come collectively to bravely fight the blazes on the front lines.

FEMA continues to coordinate closely with our state, nearby, and tribal partners as the fire fight continues. In ten instances considering that June 1, FEMA has made economic help offered to support the firefighting efforts for fires in Montana, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico. This assistance is offered by way of Fire Management Help Grants (FMAGs).

FMAGs provide economic help so firefighters and 1st responders can concentrate all their efforts on decreasing the negative impacts of the fire. An FMAG authorization makes FEMA funding offered to pay 75 percent of the state’s eligible firefighting fees, beneath an authorized grant structure.

Products eligible for FMAGs can contain expenses for field camps equipment use, repair and replacement mobilization and demobilization activities and tools, supplies and supplies.

In case you are interested in the specifics, the program allows for the “mitigation, management, and control” of fires burning on publicly or privately owned forest or grasslands which threaten such destruction as would constitute a major disaster. FMAGs are provided via the President’s Disaster Relief Fund and produced accessible by FEMA to assist in fighting fires that threaten to trigger a significant disaster.

A note on FMAGs: These grants do not provide assistance to individual property or business owners and do not cover other infrastructure harm triggered by the fire.

Other federal partners, such as the U.S. Forest Service and Division of Interior, are operating by way of the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) to provide the required assets such as fire engines, helicopters, air tankers and military support to assist suppress the fires. You can find a lot more about the federal government’s part at inciweb.org.

Due to summer season temperatures and dry conditions, the threat of wildfires will probably continue in the coming weeks and months. If you’re in an area that may possibly be impacted by wildfires, keep in mind these safety suggestions:

Generate a emergency kit and plan to ensure your home, family members, or enterprise is prepared for wildfires.
Listen to and stick to the guidance of state and regional officials. If authorities order an evacuation, leave immediately, adhere to evacuation routes announced by regional officials.
Produce an location of “defensible space” around your house. Clear things that will burn from around the property, which includes wood piles, lawn furnishings, barbecue grills, tarp coverings, and so on.
If you’re caught in the open in the course of a wildfire, the ideal temporary shelter is in a sparse fuel location. Clear fuel away from the area although the fire is approaching and then lie face down in the depression and cover your self. Remain down till following the fire passes.

For a lot more suggestions on staying protected before, throughout and after a wildfire, check out Prepared.gov/wildfires and our mobile website (m.fema.gov).

The Blog @ Homeland Safety

Demonstrating the Require for the Cybersecurity Legislation

March 15, 2012 by NASTTPO Editor Leave a Comment

Posted by Secretary Janet Napolitano

Combating cyber threats is a shared responsibility that requires broad engagement – from government and law enforcement to the private sector and most importantly, members of the public. No nation, sector, neighborhood or individual is immune to cyber dangers. DHS plays a crucial function in this work, the two in guarding federal networks and assisting owners and operators of crucial infrastructure to secure their networks by way of chance evaluation, mitigation, and incident response capabilities.

Above the past numerous weeks, we have mentioned the Administration’s cybersecurity legislative proposal and how the recently launched bill by Senators Lieberman, Collins, Rockefeller and Feinstein would provide the comprehensive resources we need to have to successfully deal with the total assortment of cyber threats facing our nation, whilst preserving privacy and civil liberties and respecting freedom, openness, and innovation.

This week, I participated in a cyber demonstration for senators hosted by Majority Leader Harry Reid to display how the federal government would respond to a main cyber incident and how legislative reform would increase that response. Together with leaders from across the federal government, I discussed how a cyber attack on America’s critical infrastructure could have broad impacts by disrupting crucial resources, resulting in billions of dollars in economic loss and even potential reduction of life.

This Administration believes in the innovation and experience of the private sector. We will function with critical infrastructure owners and operators to make certain the adoption of cybersecurity practices and technologies that function best on their networks in order to achieve a baseline level of cybersecurity. As component of this proposed legislation, DHS will conduct targeted risk assessments in consultation with the private sector and others to establish which techniques and assets are topic to the best and most immediate cyber threats. We will collaboratively define cybersecurity overall performance needs for these nationwide security, economically important, or life-sustaining services.

This week’s cyber demonstration also illustrated how a more powerful legal framework paired with stiffer penalties for cyber crimes and the removal of legal barriers to sharing information will guard the American public and the American financial system.

All sides agree that federal and private networks ought to be much better protected, and that details really should be shared much more easily, however nevertheless securely. Each the Administration’s proposal and the Cybersecurity Act of 2012 (S. 2105) would supply DHS with clear statutory authority commensurate with our cybersecurity responsibilities, although getting rid of legal barriers to the sharing of information. As the Secretary of Homeland Security, I strongly support S. 2105 since it addresses the need to have, the urgency, and the methodology for guarding our nation’s crucial infrastructure.

The time to act is now: we ought to improve cybersecurity coordination, strengthen our cybersecurity posture, and safe all components of our economic climate against this severe and growing threat, even though guarding privacy, confidentiality, and civil liberties. We appear forward to continuing our engagement with Congress in the days ahead to attain agreement on a bill that will move the Nation forward.

Examine about how the Cybersecurity Act of 2012 would enhance protections for the American public, advance government network security, and boost protection of crucial infrastructure.

The Weblog @ Homeland Security

Securing our Southwest Border

February 28, 2012 by NASTTPO Editor Leave a Comment

Posted by Secretary Napolitano

Earlier this week, I traveled to Arizona and Texas with U.S. Customs and Border Safety (CBP) Acting Commissioner David Aguilar to see DHS operations at the Southwest Border.

We visited the Port of Hidalgo, Pharr Bridge, CBP’s Air and Marine Branch, and the Border Patrol Forward Operating Base near Falcon Heights where we noticed firsthand some of CBP’s abilities along the Southwest border and latest investments in personnel, technologies, and infrastructure. I had the privilege of hearing from and personally thanking some of the dedicated males and females on the front lines. They function hard each and every day, at great personalized threat, to maintain the communities along the border and our whole nation safe and sound.

Guarding communities along on our borders is crucial to our homeland safety, as nicely as to our economic prosperity. More than the previous three many years, the Obama Administration has deployed substantial resources and worked closely with partners at all levels—including other federal companies, state, neighborhood, tribal and territorial law enforcement, the private sector and the government of Mexico- to safe our border.

This perform is making a true distinction. Nationwide, illegal immigration attempts, as measured by Border Patrol apprehensions, have reduced 53 percent in the previous three many years, and are less than 20 percent of what they had been at their peak. Seizures of illegal drugs, currency, and weapons are all up, even though violent crime in some of our greatest border cities and communities has remained flat or fallen over the previous decade.

As we move forward, we’ll continue to work to guarantee our borders are secure and safe, while facilitating the genuine trade and travel that is so essential to our economy.

The Weblog @ Homeland Security