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According to the U.S. Fire Administration, home fires occur more often in winter. Space heaters cause about one-third of the heating fires and 4 out of 5 heating fire deaths. Be fire smart this winter by following these safety heating tips.
When using heaters that require fuel, make sure you have a carbon monoxide detector. Carbon monoxide is called the “invisible killer” because it's a colorless, odorless, poisonous gas. The detector will sound when the carbon monoxide levels begin rising.
If you are using a portable heater:
- Only use portable heaters from a recognized testing laboratory.
- Make sure the heater has an automatic shut-off so if it tips over, it shuts off.
- Keep anything that can burn such as bedding, clothing, and curtains at least 3 feet away from the heater.
- Plug portable heaters directly into outlets and never into an extension cord or power strip.
- Turn heaters off when you go to bed or leave the room.
If you are using a fireplace:
- Keep a glass or metal screen in front of the fireplace to prevent embers or sparks from jumping out and igniting.
- Do not burn paper in your fireplace.
- Before you go to sleep or leave your home put the fire out completely.
- Put ashes in a metal container with a lid; store the container outside at least 3 feet from your home.
If you are using a wood stove:
- Have your chimney inspected and cleaned each year by a professional.
- Place your wood stove at least 3 feet from anything that can burn.
- Do not burn paper in your wood stove.
- Before you go to sleep or leave your home put the fire out completely.
Find out more from the U.S. Fire Administration about heating and carbon monoxide.
FEMA released the National Planning System with the intent of building capability and integrating national planning efforts across the whole community, including all levels of government, the private sector, and with non-governmental organizations. The National Planning System provides a unified approach and common terminology to plan for all threats and hazards across the five national preparedness system mission areas which are prevention, protection, mitigation, response and recovery.
The National Planning System is applicable to the whole community – those supporting, overseeing, and governing planning efforts, as well as those learning the concepts and skills inherent in the planning discipline. The benefit of this unified approach is a more informed, shared understanding of risks, needs, and capabilities across the whole community and, a more secure and resilient nation.
There are three types of plans in the National Planning System that allow for the whole community to participate in the planning process. These are:
- Strategic-level plans are very broad and all-hazards focused, such as the National Planning Frameworks and State Homeland Security Strategies.
- Operational plans are also all-hazards focused, but in addition, they are risk-based and organized by capability. Examples of operational plans include emergency operations plans, federal interagency operational plans, functional or hazard-specific annexes, as well as individual or family plans.
- Tactical plans are incident based or objective based and designed to have a limited period of operation. Plans for specific events (e.g. parades, major sporting events) and Incident Action Plans are examples of tactical plans.
The National Planning System enables a consistent approach to planning across multiple organizations, facilitating better collaboration, situational awareness, and unity of effort while remaining adaptable to changing conditions.
On February 2, FEMA Administrator Craig
Fugate, along with U.S. Fire Administrator Ernest Mitchell, Jr., and U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Office of Manufactured
Housing Administrator Pamela Danner, unveiled a new FEMA manufactured housing
unit (MHU) model equipped with residential fire sprinklers. The senior
officials opened the event by discussing the importance of sprinklers in MHUs
and FEMA’s partnership with HUD, followed by a guided walk through of a new
unit at FEMA headquarters in Washington, DC.
The FEMA Administrator cited the fire safety benefits of
residential sprinkler units in the next-generation of units that will be
designed to support the real-world, longer-term needs of survivors after a
disaster. The new MHUs are equipped with features designed to promote safety
and accessibility, including residential sprinklers as well as features for
survivors with access and functional needs. The FEMA Administrator
highlighted the continued partnership between HUD and FEMA, and how proud he is
that FEMA took forward thinking initiative to address fire safety in its MHUs.
The
FEMA Administrator thanks the Federal Advisory Committee of FEMA’s 20-member
Technical Mapping Advisory Council (TMAC) for their hard work and dedication
over the past year. As required in authorizing language in the
Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012 and the Homeowner Flood
Insurance Affordability Act of 2014, the TMAC will deliver two reports with
recommendations for the National Flood Mapping Program for consideration by the
FEMA Administrator and publication on FEMA.gov/tmac.
In
October 2015, the TMAC delivered two interim reports to the FEMA Administrator
with recommendations for the national flood mapping program. The interim reports contained the final recommendations and
other supporting information, without narrative:
– TMAC 2015 Annual Report - Interim with recommendations as to how to
improve specific elements of the flood mapping program such as the mapping
products, program performance metrics, standards, guidelines, map
maintenance, delegation, and interagency and intergovernmental
coordination.
– TMAC 2015 Future Conditions Risk
Assessment and Modeling Report – Interim with recommendations to help FEMA ensure Flood
Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) incorporate the best available climate science
to assess flood risks and ensure that FEMA may use the best available
methodology to consider the impact of the rise in sea level and future
development on flood risk.
In January 2016, the TMAC delivered the final 2015 reports to the FEMA
Administrator including narrative and discussion around the
recommendations to the national flood mapping program:
– TMAC
2015 Annual Report including recommendations as to how to improve specific elements of the
flood mapping program such as the mapping products, program performance
metrics, standards, guidelines, map maintenance, delegation, and interagency
and intergovernmental coordination. The recommendations in this report are the same as in the TMAC 2015
Annual Report – Interim.
– TMAC
2015 Future Conditions Risk Assessment and Modeling Report, with recommendations to help FEMA ensure Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs)
incorporate the best available climate science to assess flood risks and ensure
that FEMA may use the best available methodology to consider the impact of the
rise in sea level and future development on flood risk. The
recommendations in this report are the same
as in the TMAC 2015 Future Conditions Risk Assessment and Modeling Report –
Interim.
F
or more information, on the TMAC, its Federal Advisory Act (FACA) compliant public meetings, reports and recommendations, and planned next steps, visit FEMA.gov/tmac.
FEMA’s Emergency Management Institute (EMI) Virtual Tabletop Exercise (VTTX) program will offer a flood scenario March 22 – 24, 2016. The VTTX was designed to help communities specifically looking at flood response and recovery efforts.
The VTTX involves key personnel discussing simulated scenarios in an informal setting, and can be used to assess plans, policies, training, and procedures.
EMI conducts a monthly series of VTTXs using a teleconference platform to reach community-based training audiences around the country providing a virtual forum for disaster training. The design of the VTTX is for a group of 10 or more representatives from state and local Emergency Management Community of Practice. Participants must have an appropriate site equipped with video teleconference capability.
The goals of the VTTX are to test the participants’ knowledge, skills, and abilities to conduct all-hazards emergency response and recovery effectively. The VTTXs also enable coordination response operations with counterparts from Federal agencies, state and local governments, private sector organizations, non-governmental agencies, and other whole community partners. The VTTX occurs 12:00 p.m.– 4 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. The deadline for registration is Friday, February 21.
To participate in a VTTX, submit an email request to Doug Kahn at douglas.kahn@fema.dhs.gov or call 301-447-7645. Send a copy of your email request to the Integrated Emergency Management Branch at FEMA-EMI-IEMB@fema.dhs.gov or call 301-447-1381.
EMI will conduct the following VTTXs this spring. The deadline for applying to a VTTX is four weeks prior to the start date. Additional information is available at EMI Training.
- April 5, 6, 7: Hurricane (register by Friday, March 4)
- April 12, 13, 14: Hurricane (register by Friday, March 11)
- April 21: Public Health, Pandemic Flu (register by Friday, March 18)
FEMA's Emergency Management Institute (EMI) will conduct a course to assist Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) with either establishing or enhancing their emergency management curricula. This course addresses issues unique to HBCUs and begins the process of identifying and overcoming institutional roadblocks of emergency management-related offerings.
The target audience includes department chairs in disciplines such as sociology, geography, public administration, and psychology from minority and minority-serving institutions of higher education. A goal of the training is to achieve a more diverse population of emergency management professionals who reflect the communities in which they live and work. Enrollment is limited to the first 20 applicants. For more information, contact Lillian Virgil at Lillian.Virgil@fema.dhs.gov.
Dates: April 11-12, 2016
Location: EMI, National Emergency Training Center (NETC), Emmitsburg, Maryland
Registration deadline: Submit an application no later than Friday, February 19, 2016
To apply: Complete a FEMA Form 119-25-1, General Admissions Application, with student signature and signature of supervisor or sponsoring agency official. Mail, scan, or fax the application to:
NETC, Admissions Office Room I-216
16825 South Seton Avenue, Emmitsburg, MD 21727-8998
Phone: (301) 447-1035 Fax: (301) 447-1658
Email: netcadmissions@fema.dhs.gov
Link to the course description: “Integrating Emergency Management into Your Institutions”
FEMA's Emergency Management Institute (EMI) will present a webinar titled "Understanding the Basic Relationship between Public Information Officers and Journalists" on February 24 from 1:30-2:30 p.m. EST.
This webinar provides college-level emergency management and homeland security educators with a basic understanding of the relationship between public information officers and journalists.
This webinar discusses how to find public information professionals in government, non-governmental agencies, and hospitals.
Participants will gain an appreciation for the importance of colleges and universities offering emergency management, homeland security, and related programs that integrate risk communication and highlight the dynamics of the public information officers' roles.
To participate, register in advance. Closed captioning is available.
FEMA is seeking applicants for its Youth Preparedness Council formed in 2012 to bring together leaders from across the country engaged in advocating youth preparedness.
Council members are selected based on their dedication to public service, efforts in making a difference in their communities, and potential to expand their impact as national advocates for youth preparedness.
All applications and supporting materials must be received no later than March 1, 2016, 11:59 p.m. PST in order to be eligible. New Youth Preparedness Council members will be announced in May 2016. For more information and to access the application materials, visit Youth Preparedness Council.
Over the past several years Members of Congress, the Government Accountability Office (GAO), and the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) have asked FEMA to look at how the federal government supports states following disasters and the associated costs. In response, FEMA is exploring the concept of a disaster deductible.
The Agency believes that such an approach has the potential to incentivize mitigation strategies and promote risk-informed decision-making to build resilience, including to catastrophic events; reduce the costs of future events for both states and the federal government; and facilitate state and local government planning and budgeting for enhanced disaster response and recovery capability through greater transparency.
This concept would include the establishment of a predetermined level of state disaster funding or investment in resilience before FEMA would begin to provide additional assistance through the Public Assistance program following a disaster declaration. The deductible concept would include how to calculate the deductible, the scope of the deductible, how to satisfy the deductible, how this concept could influence change, implementation considerations and an estimated impact.
FEMA is seeking public comments on all aspects of this concept until March 21, 2016 which may be submitted through Regulations.gov under docket ID FEMA-2016-003. This is a significant change, so FEMA is seeking early public feedback through an advance notice of proposed rulemaking.
In early January, FEMA entered the next phase of tribal consultation for the Stafford Act disaster declaration process for tribal governments. The draft guidance is posted to the Federal Register and will be available for comment until April 7, 2016. Additional information regarding the consultation process may be found at Second Draft Tribal Declaration Pilot Guidance.
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