ture, actions are motivated as a reaction to incidents from the immediate scene. Good coordination in civilian structures is better motivated by fostering common understanding and this is accomplished by creating a common operating global view that lays out the commander’s intent and strategies. Efficient communication is an essential ingredient in the development and spread of common understanding and buy-in. A supervisory structure such as EOC deals with more strategic issues and works with a global picture, leveraging external resources to help on-site response. The actions of the EOC emanate based on a more reflective and proactive posture and the EOC commanders typically operate with a large time window. We have therefore classified such coordination efforts as “Many-Second Coordination Cycle.” This concept (see Figure 2) is an adaptation from the work by Lewandowski et al. [ 7] in the area of survivable autonomic response architecture.

effected, to learn from the incident so as to positively impact the building of resiliency to better deal with future incidents. It is also a time to replenish the consumable supplies and to return the response capacity back to readiness against new incidents in the future. Unless properly coordinated, the recovery may introduce new “disasters” for the incident victims and tangibly impact the budget.

Framework. In Table 2, we present a framework to analyze the coordination effort for managing response to an emergency. We apply the framework to all the three phases of the emergency life cycle.

 

APPLICATION OF FRAMEWORK

Here, we demonstrate the real-world application of the coordination framework presented in the previous section to the “during incident” management of an actual incident.

 

To support fast response during complex incidents, responders must
make rapid coordination decisions, which pose constraints on their capabilities to
analyze coordination problems and explore the solution domain.

 

The concepts of mini-second and many-second coordination cycle relate to distinct coordination tasks (operation- vs. managerial-level); constraints (small vs. large time window, information/intelligence and capability); and outcome quality (poor vs. good). Mini-second coordination addresses immediate response coordination needs while many-second coordination oversees and supports the former, for instance with resources and information.

This division of coordination tasks and responsibility allows better matches between coordinator expertise and task requirements [ 1, 10]. Frontline response teams are trained to excel on domain-specific tasks (like firefighting and rescue) and the coordination of these tasks. Remote commanders focus on global issues such as inter-agency coordination, overall logistics, and regulation compliance.

Coordination in Post-Incident Response. Effective response and recovery is vital to the economic health of the affected region and also to the mental health of its citizens. Recovery focuses on the return to normalcy of the impacted region and people. It is also a phase for debriefing and pondering the details of the response

At 3:07 P.M. on Wednesday, July 18, 2001, a CSX Transportation train derailed in the Howard Street Tunnel under the streets of downtown Baltimore, MD (see www.usfa.dhs.gov/downloads/pdf/publi- cations/tr-140.pdf). The train was carrying a variety of freight and hazardous materials, with three locomotives pulling 60 cars. Complicating the scenario was the subsequent rupture of a 40-inch water main that ran directly above the tunnel. The flooding hampered extinguishing efforts, caused several city streets to collapse, knocked out electricity to approximately 1,200 customers, and flooded nearby buildings. The derailment also interrupted a major communications line associated with the Internet and an MCI fiber-optic telephone cable.

During the two-day response, five alarms were requested with 17 engines, eight trucks, and three battalions, in addition to the HazMat, EMS, and rescue teams; 150 firefighters were on the scene, working to extinguish the fire. The fire-extinguishing operations were performed from both ends of the tunnel as well as through manholes located at Howard and Lombard Streets. The city of Baltimore