CRISIS | RESPONSE CRISIS RESPONSE V O L : 8 | I S S U E : 4 | WWW.CRISIS-RESPONSE.COM J O U R N A L Darwinian terrorism; Azerbaijan; Typhoon Bopha; Waco explosion; bombs; Security in Pakistan; Police training Rwanda; Cyber security; CBRN; Supply Chains; Nepal

New: Greenline battery pump SPU 16 BC

The fi rst pump you can use anywhere, for any rescue operation.

Emission-free • Can be used in confi ned spaces like tunnels • No health risk

Next generation LiFePO4 battery technology • Long running time, 90 minutes vehicle extrication • Can be used at high altitudes

Lowest sound level and ECO whisper mode • Less stressful for victims, improves communication

All weather proof • Same excellent performance in the rain or freezing cold CITY RESILIENCE You can count on us, for life Sustainable urban safety and security CBRN CRIME CYBER SAFETY Changing attitudes Police & terrorism Simple steps to take

PLUS N Focus on Azerbaijan N Boston bomb attacks N Police training in Rwanda N Supply chain lessons in Iran

Holmatro Rescue World V O L : 8 N Interview with Nicholas You N Civil-military response in Austria & UK | I S U E : 4 N Emergency management in China Holmatro | Rescue equipment N Airport safety in Nepal T +31 (0)162 58 92 00 | [email protected] | www.holmatro.com US: Terrorist attacks, Boston

Herman B ‘Dutch’ Leonard and Arnold M Howitt say that 12 to 15 years ago, Boston would not have handled the Marathon bombings as effectively as it did this April, and that internal institutional preparedness and ability to integrate effort with other agencies are far superior today bombing response ne of the greatest deficiencies on the importance of joint planning. Boston line shows that blast waves pushed spectators of large-scale, emergency response stages many large-scale events, some annual, away from the impact zone, but within seconds O– notably revealed in the US in the some unique – from a New Year’s Eve First they began to run back to render help. The response to both 9/11 in New York City and Night celebration, the July 4 Esplanade high density of the crowd contributed to the Hurricane Katrina – is the weak co-ordination concert and the arrival of Tall Ships, to parades large number of injuries – but it also meant of multiple first-response organisations and honouring national championship baseball, that there were many people immediately supporting agencies in the midst of crisis. football, basketball and hockey teams. available to render aid. The number of people But more than a decade of work to prepare A strong pattern of collaborative planning who climbed over barricades or tore them responders for major operations has begun to for such events has become routine, down to allow others to enter, and provided pay off. The Boston Marathon bombing and the reinforced by formal and informal efforts to aid with whatever means were available, massive effort to identify and apprehend the train responders for co-ordinated action, to shows a city and a society at its best – people terrorists this April, while not as massive a crisis exercise across agencies, jurisdictions, and spontaneously helping each other without as either 9/11 or Katrina, stands as a notable levels of government, and to build strong regard to culture, ethnicity, or nationality (the example of effective, co-operative first-response professional and personal relationships among bravery of responders at the scene ran contrary operations, as well as political collaboration. It commanders of law enforcement, firefighting, to training to beware of secondary attacks). demonstrates that at least some jurisdictions and emergency medical organisations. The medical response was also immediate in the US have made important progress in While planning and preparedness had and skilled. Trained responders at the scene, overcoming the difficulties of multi-institution been directed by senior management, the working with members of the public, placed co-ordination during large-scale operations. implementation of emergency actions did not tourniquets, held pressure, and transported The centralised planning for this event drew depend on centralised leadership. Significantly, survivors to medical tents and on to ambulances on a strong culture of preparing for large ‘fixed’ during the crisis in Boston, the response beyond. Then teams of doctors, nurses, and clinical staff at hospitals took over. A large As terrible as this attack was, we need to number of the grievous wounds from the recognise that it was nonetheless small- blast and shrapnel would, in almost any other circumstances have proved fatal, but it appears scale – by no means the largest mass-casualty that every person who was alive when definitive event that we may be called upon to address medical help was applied – in most cases, within minutes of the blast – is still alive today. events (for which time and location are known exhibited major elements of self-organising That success stems from several factors. well in advance) across multiple professional collaboration by small teams rather than Hundreds of medically-trained personnel disciplines (police, fire, EMS, National Guard). top-down command. This resulted from the were at the scene of the blast, the result of Although it took root earlier, this culture became structuring of response in common emergency detailed central planning and learning from much sturdier in the aftermath of 9/11. operating methods through the National Incident previous Boston Marathons and other events. When Boston faced the challenge of preparing Management System (NIMS), as well as Boston EMS and other local government for a National Special Security Event – the 2004 systematic development of organisational and and private emergency medical services Democratic Party’s National Convention – it personal ties among the diverse responders. had intensively trained and exercised, formed a multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional, Collaborative event planning, training, including with other responders, and had multi-level planning group that worked for exercising, and deployment at many large public frequently deployed to special events. more than a year developing security plans. events that have not suffered emergencies, In an ordinary Marathon year, thousands Many lessons for future collaboration were laid the groundwork for performance in crisis. of runners come off the course needing care learned from this, along with an emphasis Footage of the explosions near the finish for blisters, heatstroke or possible cardiac

18 CRISIS | RESPONSE+ VOL 8 ISSUE 4 s 19 VOL 8 ISSUE 4 + RESPONSE

|

In recent years, these medical facilities The surge of patients facing hospitals in this Notably, in the moments of crisis, the Fortunately, the bomb blasts did not directly cant changesMoreover, in treatment signifi of Resourcefulness Boston has an extremely high concentration of the nation’s leading tertiary medical facilities, each with an emergency room, trauma unit, and advanced speciality medical services. Five of these six facilities are located within two miles of the bomb blast. This permitted nitive in-hospital defi care for critically-injured patients in less than a half hour – saving many who otherwise might have perished. had extensively planned, practised, and trained for mass casualty events. While most preparation did not spotlight casualties from a bomb attack, Massachusetts General Hospital had recently consulted with experts from about how to handle a sudden ow of blast and shrapnel survivors.fl incident, however, was beyond their experience, planning and normal capacity. Instead of being overwhelmed, they met the surge of patients with resourcefulness, clearing space occupied by less needy patients and improvising to accommodate unprecedented demands. response by medical personnel, both at the site of the blast and in the hospitals, was handled nearly completely without central direction. andEMTs physicians at the scene, following pre-established protocols and improvising as necessary, were largely self-directed in caring for the injured. Doctors and nurses with relevant skills converged on emergency rooms without having to be called. problems. cally to While not deployed specifi aid bomb victims, medical personnel stationed nishline were skilled and nearadaptablethe fi and could stabilise bomb survivors, who were then triagedand dispatched to medical facilities which, real-time communication indicated, had the capacity to handle their injuries. degrade medical personnel and equipment positioned nish nearline – by the Marathon fi contrast with the extensive loss in the Haiti earthquake This of 2010. suggests that future event planners should ensure that crucial resources are not concentrated in a single position and thus left vulnerable to attack. blast and shrapnel trauma victims, developed elds in Iraq andon battlefi Afghanistan, had made their way into home-front trauma response. In particular, tourniquets, proven to staunch blood loss from major injuries to extremities, were deployed in the equipment of EMSpersonnel at the Marathon. CRISIS RexFeatures incident analysis incident Blastpushed waves spectators from away theimpact butwithin zone, seconds ranthey helpback othersto whohadbeen injured Law enforcement agencies, for example, The rapid movement towards identification The end game leading to the capture sifted massive amounts of photographic evidence from public and private surveillance cameras, news media, and spectators to identify the principal suspects. This required both considerable labour and advanced technologies. By publicising images of the suspects, the public could be enlisted in identifying them. seems to have contributed to the perpetrators’ flight and ultimate capture. The police pursuit, gunfight, public lockdown, and house-to-house search – notwithstanding rough edges – also demonstrated the capacity of law enforcement agencies to work together. This improvement stems both from the experiences of planning numerous, major fixed events in past years, as discussed above, and from extensive co- operation specific to law enforcement as part of national defence against terrorism within the US. of the second principal suspect, involved deployment of officers from many agencies’ tactical teams, as well as robotic and heat- sensing technology. This suggests the Theterrorists, perhaps spooked anemail by to Butthedriver escaped and called 911, morning,Veryearly Friday gunon battle a Theterrorists hadbeenidentified as Hundredsofficers of beganassemble,to while website,setting hours frenzied of offaction. 24 friend a oneaskingfrom whether himwas itthein photos,left their apartment Cambridge,in killed anMIT campuspoliceman aninunsuccessful effort takehis to firearm, then hijacked a Mercedes sedan and its driver getfunds to usedtheytheirfor escape. whose ATM reportingthat thecarjackers hadclaimed they theBoston were Marathon bombers. the Tracking vehicle navigationMercedes’ nearbysystem to Watertown,police theterrorists.convergedon denselyensued a in populated butusually quiet neighbourhoodsuburbanin Watertown. Morethan 200explosivefired, rounds and were devices were hurledatpolice. Theolder wounded,terrorist, charged police andknocked was the ground. Theyounger, to alsowounded, downruntheofficers tried to thein buthijackedinstead theolder whoranover one, auto; subsequentlydied. Thefleeing terrorist abandoned hiscar severalblocks and away escaped foot.on brothers,26 and DzhokharTamerlan Tsarnaev, immigrants yearsrespectively, old, andof19 Chechenheritage fromtheUS whohad come to DagestanRussiain about decade a earlier. thoseatthescene sought stanch to thebleeding of ranphotos two of ‘bag NYPost On Thursday, April 18, President Barack April OnThursday, Obama 18, Meanwhilelawenforcement Thursday, on leaders The FBI and stateThe FBI and local police collected video CNN mistakenly OnWednesday, reported that arrests men’ it incorrectlyit impliedmen’ thebombers, were and social mediaerroneously speculated about specific individuals. joinedlocal leaders national a in broadcast servicehonouring thedead and wounded, as wellthefirstas responders who provided aid and searching were theforterrorist suspects. debatedwhether release theto suspects’images thepublic. to thisflightWould putthem to sendor themunderground? Orwould someone know and identifyEarlyThursday posted them? evening,theFBI photographsthetwo of suspected terrorists itson theirgovernmentalown domains and connected withfederal agencies and prosecutors. Senior electedleaders and lawenforcement officials from allheldregularlevels joint pressconferences over thepublicthe next keep severaldays to informed. TheBoston Police and other agencies also used Facebookprovide publicto and Twitter updates. surveillancetapes publicfrom and commercial sourcesand putoutan appeal photosfor taken atthe severaldays, For law enforcement scenethat day. agenciesscrutinised hundreds thousands of images, of eventuallyzeroingtwo onin suspects; butefforts to matchtheir government faces to databases failed. hadbeenmade, the In past operations, lack of co-operation ordinated very effectively in responding to this incident. They pieced together the nature of the attack; identified the two perpetrators’ images; responded to the perpetrators’ flight and engaged in a dramatic, but chaotic that killed one; and apprehended the survivor after a massive manhunt. Considerable progress Considerable While certainly not perfect, only a massively collaborative effort could have orchestrated the skills, databases, intelligence, technology, operational capabilities, and personnel needed to accomplish the many law enforcement tasks involved. No single agency had the operational range, manpower, or combination of technical assets and boots on the ground to manage the entire process. and weak integration of effort have frequently hampered performance. The Marathon aftermath demonstrated that considerable progress has been made in establishing the relationships and organisational infrastructure that allow agencies to work effectively together. VOL 8 ISSUE 4 + RESPONSE

|

CRISIS

MassachusettsGovernor and Boston Lawenforcement officers many from local, state and Withinseconds theblasts, of medical personnel and Thoseexplosions began hours about drama of 100 At 14:50 hrs,powerful a improvised explosive device At14:50 Although the full story is not yet on As the surgical teams worked, commanders Several emergency room ‘incident As ambulances delivered patients to MayorThomas Menino provided support law to enforcementand medical professionals, co-ordinated federal agencies converged to secure a 12-block area federalagencies 12-block secure a convergedto aroundthesearchscene, additionalfor IEDs,and begin gather to evidence that might identify theperpetrators. manyspectators leaped providevictims aidto to atthe triaged and transported EMTs scene. injuredtheseverely hospitals,area to surgicalwhere teams mobilised and openedoperating suites immediatefor dozens care to whohadlost limbs sufferedor life-threatening injuries. thattheattentionriveted thenation of and left thelocal publicshaken Thisbutproud. account describes these eventsthefactsas seematthis still early timewriting. of detonatedwithout warning among theonlookers, secondsmorepowerful anlatereven by followed 12 Both scattered nearby. IED nails, ball bearings and metalshards intended kill to and maim. Three people died,and morethan 260others needed hospital care, manyhaving lost limbs sufferingor horrific wounds. On April 15, a few thousand few a spectators OnApril 15, were tightly-packed117th atthefinish line the of BostonMarathon cheer runnerson to who, nearlyfour hours after thestarter’s pistol shot, hadconquered the26.2 mile course.

20 The Boston Marathon Bombing Bombing Marathon Boston The the public record, well over a dozen law enforcement agencies from a range of municipalities and universities, as well as the state and federal governments, co- became co-ordinators, helping to move scarce resources where they were most needed, dealing with the big picture, while providing support to the direct care teams. commanders’ commented that they had to give few instructions. One said: “Everybody spontaneously knew their dance moves.” Mass casualty training and drills provided a structure for action within which improvisation to meet special problems was possible. hospitals, groups of clinicians self-organised into trauma teams. In one emergency room, people whowere not needed to provide direct care realised that there was a congestion problem. They organised themselves in a side room from which they could be called as their particular skills were needed. s incident analysis utility of some of the investment made in multiple agencies, levels of government, and played a salutary role throughout the week. equipment, training and technology to equip jurisdictions visually presented an image of Some 12 to 15 years ago, Boston would law enforcement with advanced capabilities. unity of purpose and co-ordination in action. not have handled the Marathon bombings as Much of the federal funding for drills, This refl ected and encouraged the teamwork effectively as it did in April. EMS and hospital- exercises, and law enforcement training in evident among the many organisations involved. based emergency departments would have the last decade has required that exercises be The briefi ngs were factual, avoided been challenged by the number of wounded regional and multi-agency, so the process of speculation, and emphasised both what was victims arriving simultaneously. Similarly, collaboration has been practised regularly. known and unknown. They were presented law enforcement co-operation would not have Starting only hours after the blast, the directly, succinctly, and calmly. Amid public been possible to the degree evidenced, and the public was kept informed through joint press anxiety, emotional turmoil and uncertainty, broad-based political leadership co-operation evident in the press briefi ngs might well have Self-organised teams, often improvising their been impossible. Today, internal institutional response, provided on-scene medical attention, preparedness and ability to integrate effort with other agencies is far superior. facilitated hospital trauma care, and led to the Notably, as events broke swiftly, collaboration ultimate apprehension of the surviving terrorist frequently formed bottom-up rather than by direction from above. Self-organised teams, briefi ngs by a collection of public offi cials. these briefi ngs could not assuage all fears or often improvising their response, provided These were led by the Massachusetts provide all desired answers; but they were, on-scene medical attention, facilitated Governor and Boston Mayor, and typically nonetheless, a generally calming and grounding hospital trauma care, and led to the ultimate included the Boston Police Commissioner, the infl uence, helping the community develop a apprehension of the surviving terrorist. Massachusetts State Police Superintendent, broader, consistent, more accurate view of But this was self-organised, not disorganised the FBI’s Boston Offi ce Special-Agent-in- events. One exception was a period of intensifi ed teamwork. Though it responded to unpredictable Charge, the US Attorney for Massachusetts, anxiety on Wednesday as an expected events, it occurred within a framework of and the ATF Boston Field Division Special- press conference was delayed many times, action and a culture created over a decade and Agent-in-Charge. As events evolved, other heightening apprehensions. But for the most more through training, exercising, planning offi cials, when relevant, participated. part, the careful orchestration of the joint and and inculcation of the principles of the NIMS. The collaborative presentations by collaborative presentation of factual information Importantly, it was improvisation within a structured system, not undisciplined action. In conclusion, even as we appreciate how the an offi cer, severely wounded, possibly by friendly fi re. Throughout Friday, the local and some national media medical system and law enforcement managed He was soon taken by ambulance to a hospital where he maintained continuous on-scene video coverage. For to handle the needs of blast survivors and remained in critical condition for many days – but survived. the fi rst time in a major terrorist incident in the US, apprehend the perpetrators of the bombing, By dawn on Friday morning, law enforcement launched an social media also played a large part. Twitter, Facebook, we need to recognise that a larger attack could extraordinary manhunt. Police had cordoned off a 20-block and others danced with posts of opinion and have produced enough additional casualties area in Watertown, while hundreds of offi cers commenced a ‘fact’ – both on-the-money accurate and mistakenly or to overstretch even the expanded capacities of deliberate, house-to-house search for the younger Tsarnaev, maliciously wrong – from those at or near the scene or the medical system. Two apparently amateur who was assumed (incorrectly) still to be armed. In case from monitoring police radio or media broadcasts. terrorists turned a major metropolitan area he had eluded pursuers, key offi cials decided in the early Shortly after 17:00 hrs on Friday, the Governor, the upside down on the day of the crisis. hours before the morning commute to shut down the entire Mayor of Boston and senior police offi cials held a televised As terrible as this attack was, we need to public transportation system of the Boston metro area – joint press briefi ng to lift the metro-area lock-down, even recognise that it was nonetheless small-scale buses, subways, light rail and commuter rail. In addition, the though remained at large. They said – by no means the largest mass-casualty Governor of Massachusetts declared a voluntary ‘shelter- the search would continue in Watertown and elsewhere, event that we may be called upon to address. in-place’ order to residents, and a lock-down request to recommending that residents remain cautious. The advances in institutional capability and businesses, in a half-dozen towns bordering Watertown. Within minutes, however, a Watertown resident who co-ordination that the Marathon emergency That order was soon extended to the city of Boston, lived near the edge of the search perimeter, reported response refl ected cannot be seen as an end covering in total about one million people in the metro area. in a 911 call that as he had gone outside for fresh air, point in the development of crisis management Streets were deserted, businesses shuttered, and most he had seen something askew on a boat in his yard, skill, organisation, and capacity. citizens were glued to television sets, radios, or internet sites. looked inside, and saw blood and a man lying there. Law enforcement personnel from many local, state, and Public compliance was very high – remarkably Authors so, it seemed to some observers – even though the federal agencies converged on the house. Fearing further herman B ‘dutch’ Leonard is lock-down lasted until after 17:00 hrs. Hundreds of gunfi re or explosive devices, police cautiously but rapidly Professor of Public Management police from dozens of agencies fruitlessly searched evacuated nearby residents. Helicopters hovered above the at HKS and Professor of Business the 20-block area of Watertown. At the same time, boat, using thermal imaging to monitor movements of the Administration at Harvard authorities worked to secure the brothers’ Cambridge fi gure inside. At one point, police guns fi red a major volley. Business School. apartment, which they feared was wired with explosives. An FBI tried to coax Tsarnaev out arnold M howitt is Executive Director of the Ash Center for Democratic As the search proceeded, residents in Watertown of hiding. When he didn’t move, they rushed the boat and Governance at Harvard Kennedy School and the brothers’ neighbourhood were subdued him. Badly wounded and having lost much blood, (HKS). Together they are Faculty Co- evacuated from their homes with little warning. he was soon under arrest and transported to hospital. Directors of the HKS Program on Crisis Leadership

CRISIS | RESPONSE+ VOL 8 ISSUE 4 21