This book provides background information and educational materials to help state officials promote the adoption and enforcement of state and local model building codes that contain the latest seismic provisions. These codes can reduce the damage that will inevitably occur when future earthquakes strike at-risk parts of the country. This book is intended for state officials, especially for earthquake program managers and hazard mitigation officers in the emergency management agencies of the states and territories prone to earthquakes. It is designed to help you convince your state and local governments that codes are effective, inexpensive, and a good investment for the future of our communities. Chapters 2 and 3 of this book contain background material on the purpose, function, and effectiveness of building codes in general and seismic codes in particular. Chapters 3,4, and 5 describe step-by-step processes for adopting state or local codes and for administering codes. Several appendices contain: the history and principles of seismic design, current seismic design practices in the United States, examples of state building code requirements, examples of state legislation, examples of local code Administration, the services of the three model code organizations in the United States, sources of further information and addresses, recommended readings, educational material for making local presentations, sample press releases for the media, sample brochures aimed at local audiences, a glossary of relevant terms.

In 2003, the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) announced a goal to reduce firefighter fatalities by 25 percent within 5 years and 50 percent within 10 years. It also committed to doing research that would support that goal. The consistently high annual percentage of fatalities related to fire department response and roadway scene operations prompted the USFA to look at several aspects related to these collisions in an effort to improve responder safety. Firefighters who are killed in privately owned vehicles (POVs) during the course of their duties account for the largest percentage of vehicle-related deaths. These are typically volunteer firefighters who are responding to or returning from emergency calls. However, career firefighters are also occasionally killed in POVs while performing their duties. The original edition of this "Traffic Incident Management Systems" (TIMS) report was released in 2008 as part of a cooperative agreement between the UFSA and the International Fire Service Training Association (IFSTA) at Oklahoma State University (OSU). The project was funded by the DOT Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). This latest edition of TIMS was developed in response to the release of the 2009 edition of the DOT/FHWA's Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways (MUTCD). It becomes evident that injuries and deaths that occur at roadway emergency scenes are a major concern to emergency responders. The purpose of this report is to focus on the causes of firefighter injuries and deaths when working on roadway incidents. This report will focus on the causes of these incidents and provide strategies for mitigating them in the future. The occurrence and severity of these incidents can be reduced through proper roadway incident scene tactics and incident management, information which will be covered in the remaining chapters of this document.

Whether you believe an economic collapse is imminent, the power grid is doomed to fail or you preparing because you see how unsustainable this system really is we need to be prepared for anything. We can't afford to get blindsided by something because we were looking in a totally different direction. Preparedness should be a mindset, not a fad. To become a seasoned prepper we need to start from ground zero and work our way up, and we need to do it in a way that doesn't put us in the poor house. Preparing is also very personalized, there is no one way to build your food storage and no one way to build your bug out bag. All of our situations are different and we need to plan accordingly. This is not your typical prepping book; you will not find a list for items you need in the event of a disaster. What you will find is the information you need to build your supplies evenly over time, what to expect from others who are not prepared, form a plan based on our personal situation and do it in a way that helps you become more self-reliant over time. This is more than just another book because we are going to take this a step further and give you full access to the Survivalist Prepper Academy for 60 days. In the academy we have a list of downloadable files, survival courses, prepping courses, spreadsheets and other members only content.

As traffic volume increases and the highway and interstate system becomes more complex, emergency responders face a growing risk to their personal safety while managing and working at highway incidents. The purpose of this report is to identify practices that have the potential to decrease that risk, as well as to reduce the number of injuries and deaths that occur while responding to and returning from incidents. The consistently high annual percentage of emergency worker fatalities related to response prompted the Fire Service Emergency Vehicle Safety Initiative (EVSI), a partnership effort among the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA), the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT)/NHTSA, and the DOT/Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Joint Program Office. One of the primary functions of the EVSI was to sponsor the National Forum on Emergency Vehicle Safety, which brought together representatives of major national-level fire and emergency service associations and other individuals and organizations with an interest and expertise in emergency vehicle safety. These representatives met to: identify the major issues related to firefighter fatalities that occur while responding to or returning from alarms and while operating on highway emergency scenes; develop and prioritize recommendations to reduce firefighter response and highway scene fatalities; identify organizations that had made progress in improving firefighter/responder safety in these areas based on mitigation techniques and technologies; and review and approve the findings of the research done for this report.

Over the past decade, numerous law enforcement officers, firefighters, and emergency medical services (EMS) workers were injured or killed along roadways throughout the United States. In 2008, as with the prior 10 years, more law enforcement officers died in traffic-related incidents than from any other cause; National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial (NLEOM, 2008) over the past 12 years, an average of one officer per month was struck and killed by a vehicle in the United States. (FBI, 2007) Preliminary firefighter fatality statistics for 2008 reflect 29 of 114 firefighters killed on duty perished in motor vehicle crashes, (USFA, 2009a) similar to figures posted in previous years. According to a 2002 study that aggregated data from several independent sources, at least 67 EMS providers were killed in ground transportation-related events over the 6 years from 1992 to 1997. These sobering facts clearly demonstrate the importance of addressing vehicle characteristics and human factors for reducing the morbidity and mortality of public safety personnel operating along the Nation's highways and byways. Studies conducted in the United States and elsewhere suggest that increasing emergency vehicle visibility and conspicuity holds promise for enhancing first responders' safety when exposed to traffic both inside and outside their response vehicles (e.g., patrol cars, motorcycles, fire apparatus, and ambulances). This report, produced in partnership between the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) and the International Fire Service Training Association (IFSTA), with support from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), National Institute of Justice (NIJ), analyzes emergency vehicle visibility and conspicuity with an eye toward expanding efforts in these areas to improve vehicle and roadway operations safety for all emergency responders. Emphasis in this report is placed on passive visibility/conspicuity treatments; additional studies are underway on active technologies such as emergency vehicle warning lighting systems. A number of key findings were developed from the examination performed for this report. Principal among these findings is the salient need for additional research on emergency vehicle visibility and conspicuity in the United States. Despite meaningful limitations, the existing visibility/conspicuity research, combined with passenger vehicle lighting and human factors, evokes several potential opportunities for improving the safety of emergency vehicles in the United States using readily available products.

Fires started by lighted tobacco products, principally cigarettes, constitute the leading cause of residential fire deaths. The U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) has partnered with the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) "to research what types of behaviors cause smoking fire fatalities and develop sound recommendations for behavioral mitigation strategies to reduce smoking fire fatalities in the United States...." The scope of the study included all lighted tobacco products, but cigarettes account for nearly all consumption and fires. Lighting implements such as matches and lighters were not included. Most fires involving these objects occur during incendiarism or fireplay. An extensive literature review on behaviors related to smoking, or to fires or fatalities due to smoking-material fires was conducted to provide the broadest possible fact base for recommendations. In addition, data were collected from: analysis of the 1980 to 2001 U.S. smoking-material fire problem, using The National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) national estimates; analysis of several hundred 1997 to 1998 fatal smoking-material fires, not necessarily representative but documented in greater detail in NFPA's major fires database called the Fire Incident Data Organization (FIDO); analysis of other risk factors correlated with smoking, based on the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Behavioral Risk Factor database for 2002.

The National Incident Management System (NIMS) provides a systematic, proactive approach to guide departments and agencies at all levels of government, nongovernmental organizations, and the private sector to work seamlessly to prevent, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate the effects of incidents, regardless of cause, size, location, or complexity, in order to reduce the loss of life and property and harm to the environment. NIMS works hand in hand with the National Response Framework (NRF). NIMS provides the template for the management of incidents, while the NRF provides the structure and mechanisms for national-level policy for incident management. On February 28, 2003, the President issued Homeland Security Presidential Directive 5 (HSPD-5), "Management of Domestic Incidents," which directed the Secretary of Homeland Security to develop and administer a National Incident Management System (NIMS). This system provides a consistent nationwide template to enable Federal, State, tribal, and local governments, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and the private sector to work together to prevent, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate the effects of incidents, regardless of cause, size, location, or complexity. This consistency provides the foundation for utilization of NIMS for all incidents, ranging from daily occurrences to incidents requiring a coordinated Federal response. NIMS represents a core set of doctrines, concepts, principles, terminology, and organizational processes that enables effective, efficient, and collaborative incident management. HSPD-5 requires all Federal departments and agencies to adopt NIMS and to use it in their individual incident management programs and activities, as well as in support of all actions taken to assist State, tribal, and local governments. The directive requires Federal departments and agencies to make adoption of NIMS by State, tribal, and local organizations a condition for Federal preparedness assistance (through grants, contracts, and other activities). NIMS recognizes the role that NGOs and the private sector have in preparedness and activities to prevent, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate the effects of incidents. Building on the foundation provided by existing emergency management and incident response systems used by jurisdictions, organizations, and functional disciplines at all levels, NIMS integrates best practices into a comprehensive framework for use nationwide by emergency management/response personnel in an all-hazards context. These best practices lay the groundwork for the components of NIMS and provide the mechanisms for the further development and refinement of supporting national standards, guidelines, protocols, systems, and technologies. NIMS fosters the development of specialized technologies that facilitate emergency management and incident response activities, and allows for the adoption of new approaches that will enable continuous refinement of the system over time. The Secretary of Homeland Security, through the National Integration Center (NIC), Incident Management Systems Integration Division (formerly known as the NIMS Integration Center), publishes the standards, guidelines, and compliance protocols for determining whether a Federal, State, tribal, or local government has implemented NIMS.Additionally, the Secretary, through the NIC, manages publication and collaboratively, with other departments and agencies, develops standards, guidelines, compliance procedures, and protocols for all aspects of NIMS. This document was developed through a collaborative intergovernmental partnership with significant input from the incident management functional disciplines, NGOs, and the private sector.

Fires resulting from cooking continue to be the most common type of fire experienced by U.S. households. This is true for fires reported to fire departments and those handled by private individuals. Cooking fires are also the leading cause of home fire injuries. As a result, the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) has partnered with the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) "to research the types of behaviors and sequences of events that lead to cooking fires and develop sound recommendations for behavioral mitigation strategies that will reduce such fires and their resultant injuries and fatalities." This study of the causes of cooking fires and cooking injuries and the effectiveness of strategies to prevent them also considers as part of its scope cooking burns of all types from all types of products involved in preparing and serving food or drink. Although many cooking injuries result from knives or broken glass and many people are made ill by improperly handled food, these other issues are beyond the scope of this project.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) developed this Risk Assessment, A How-To Guide to Mitigate Potential Terrorist Attacks Against Buildings, to provide a clear, flexible, and comprehensive methodology to prepare a risk assessment. The intended audience includes the building sciences community of architects and engineers working for private institutions, building owners/operators/managers, and State and local government officials working in the building sciences community. The objective of this How-To Guide is to outline methods for identifying the critical assets and functions within buildings, determining the threats to those assets, and assessing the vulnerabilities associated with those threats. Based on those considerations, the methods presented in this How-To Guide provide a means to assess the risk to the assets and to make risk-based decisions on how to mitigate those risks. The scope of the methods includes reducing physical damage to structural and non-structural components of buildings and related infrastructure, and reducing resultant casualties during conventional bomb attacks, as well as chemical, biological, and radiological (CBR) agents. This document is written as a How-To Guide. It presents five steps and multiple tasks within each step that will lead you through a process for conducting a risk assessment and selecting mitigation options. It discusses what information is required to conduct a risk assessment, how and where to obtain it, and how to use it to calculate a risk score against each selected threat. This is one of a series of publications that address security issues in high-population, private sector buildings. This document is a companion to the Reference Manual to Mitigate Potential Terrorist Attacks Against Buildings (FEMA 426) and the Building Design for Homeland Security Training Course (FEMA E155). This document also leverages information contained within the Primer for Design of Commercial Buildings to Mitigate Terrorist Attacks (FEMA 427). The primary use of this risk assessment methodology is for buildings, although it could be adapted for other types of critical infrastructure. The foundation of the risk assessment methodology presented in this document is based on the approach that was developed for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) through the National Institute for Building Sciences (NIBS). Over 150 buildings have been successfully assessed using this technique. The risk assessment methodology presented in this publication has been refined by FEMA for this audience. The purpose of this How-To Guide is to provide a methodology for risk assessment to the building sciences community working for private institutions. It is up to the decision-makers to decide which types of threats they wish to protect against and which mitigation options are feasible and cost-effective. This How-To Guide views as critical that a team created to assess a particular building will be composed of professionals capable of evaluating different parts of the building. They should be senior individuals who have a breadth and depth of experience in the areas of civil, electrical, and mechanical engineering; architecture; site planning and security engineering; and how security and antiterrorism considerations affect site and building design.

The National Disaster Housing Strategy (the Strategy) serves two purposes. First, it describes how we as a Nation currently provide housing to those affected by disasters. It summarizes, for the first time in a single document, the many sheltering and housing efforts we have in the United States and the broad array of organizations that are involved in managing these programs. The Strategy also outlines the key principles and policies that guide the disaster housing process. Second, and more importantly, the Strategy charts the new direction that our disaster housing efforts must take if we are to better meet the emergent needs of disaster victims and communities. Today we face a wider range of hazards and potentially catastrophic events than we have ever faced before. These include terrorist attacks and major natural disasters that could destroy large sections of the Nation's infrastructure. This new direction must address the disaster housing implications of all these risks and hazards and, at the same time, guide development of essential, baseline capabilities to overcome existing limitations. The new direction for disaster housing must leverage emerging technologies and new approaches in building design to provide an array of housing options. It must also be cost effective and draw on lessons learned and best practices. Above all, this new direction must institutionalize genuine collaboration and cooperation among the various local, State, tribal, and Federal partners, nongovernmental organizations, and the private sector to meet the needs of all disaster victims. Current practices in disaster housing vary based on the nature and scope of a disaster and can range from providing short-term shelters to arranging temporary and, in some cases, permanent housing. Establishing emergency shelters is generally a well-choreographed effort that unfolds smoothly at the local level as emergency management officials and nongovernmental organizations execute their emergency plans. The challenges increase when disaster victims are displaced from their homes for longer periods of time and temporary housing must be provided. The process of meeting individual and household needs becomes more challenging, and the responsibilities and roles of those involved must be absolutely clear. States monitor and support local government efforts and activate their capabilities as needed to augment local capabilities. The Federal Government stands alongside the States as an engaged partner, maintaining disaster housing resources and ready to deploy those resources, if required, to fill any emerging gap. While this process generally works very well, it broke down in August 2005 when Hurricane Katrina struck the coast of Louisiana and Mississippi and overwhelmed the capabilities of responders at all jurisdictional levels. And now, more than 3 years after Hurricane Katrina, we are still wrestling with many technical and policy issues related to disaster housing that Katrina brought to light. This Strategy outlines a vision, supported by specific goals, that will point the Nation in a new direction to meet the disaster housing needs of individuals and communities.

This document describes baseline and additional EMS criteria for the National Emergency Response Credentialing System. The EMS Working Group determined the job titles listed herein to be the most commonly requested EMS personnel in a state-to-state, mutual aid-based response. Considering existing, nationally-accepted standards and/guidelines, the EMS Working Group extracted relevant education, training, experience, physical/medical fitness, certification, and licensing criteria to define the baseline criteria for each job title listed. These baseline criteria represent the minimum requirements for EMS personnel to participate in the Incident Management Integration Systems Division's National Emergency Responder Credentialing System. The EMS Working Group identified additional recommended criteria relating to education, training, certification, experience, and physical/medical fitness where it believed such standards and baseline criteria might enhance job performance. These criteria are not required and represent the EMS Working Group's recommendations for EMS personnel to participate in the Incident Management Systems Integration Division's Emergency Responder Credentialing System. Many nationally recognized clinically-based certification/verification courses such as Advanced Cardiac Life Support are appropriate and essential resources for field personnel.

Our society places great importance on the education system and its schools, and has a tremendous investment in current and future schools. Nearly 50 million students were expected to attend approximately 99,000 public elementary and secondary schools in the fall of 2009, with an additional 5.8 million expected to attend private schools. The sizes of these school facilities range from one-room rural schoolhouses to citywide and mega schools that house 5,000 or more students. The school is both a place of learning and an important community resource and center. This publication is concerned with the protection of schools and their occupants against natural hazards. Architects and engineers deal with natural hazards in building design and construction and building codes have provisions for protection against natural hazards. This manual addresses two core concepts: multi-hazard design and performance-based design. Multi-hazard design recognizes the fundamental characteristics of hazards and how they interact, so that design for protection becomes integrated with all the other design demands; and Performance-based design suggests conducting a systematic investigation to ensure that the specific concerns of building owners and occupants are addressed, rather than relying on only the minimum requirements of the building code for protection against hazards. Building codes focus on providing life safety, while property protection is secondary. Performance-based design provides additional levels of protection that cover property damage and functional interruption within a financially-feasible context. This publication stresses that the identification of hazards and their frequency and careful consideration of design to resist these hazards must be integrated with all other design issues, and be included from the inception of the site selection and building design process. Although the basic issues to be considered in planning a school construction program are more or less common to all school districts, the specific processes differ greatly because each school district has its own approach. Districts vary in size, from a rural district responsible for only a few schools, to a city district or statewide system overseeing a complex program of all school types and sizes. Any of these districts may be responsible for new design and construction, renovations, and additions. While one district may have a long-term program of school construction and be familiar with programming, financing, hiring designers, bidding procedures, contract administration, and commissioning a new building, another district may not have constructed a new school for decades, and have no staff members familiar with the process. This publication is intended to provide design guidance for the protection of school buildings and their occupants against natural hazards. It focuses on the design of elementary and secondary schools (K-12), as well as repair, renovation, and additions to existing schools. It is one of a series of publications in which multi-hazard and performance-based design are addressed (FEMA 577, Design Guide for Improving Hospital Safety in Earthquakes, Floods, and High Winds, and FEMA 543, Design Guide for Improving Critical Facility Safety from Flooding and High Winds). This publication considers the safety of school buildings to occupants, and the economic losses and social disruption caused by building damage and destruction. The volume covers three natural hazards that have the potential to result in unacceptable risk and loss: earthquakes, floods and high winds. A companion volume, FEMA 428, Primer to Design Safe School Projects in Case of Terrorist Attacks, covers the manmade hazards of physical, chemical, biological, and radiological attacks. This publication is intended to assist design professionals and school officials involved in the technical and financial decisions related to school construction, repair, and renovations.

The purpose of this primer is to provide the design community and school administrators with the basic principles and techniques to make a school that is safe from terrorist attacks and at the same time is functional, aesthetically pleasing, and meets the needs of the students, staff, administration, and general public. Protecting a school building and grounds from physical attack is a significant challenge because the ability to design, construct, renovate, operate, and maintain the facility is spread across numerous building users, infrastructure systems, and many building design codes. There is a strong interest in the United States (U.S.) in ensuring the safety of students, faculty, and staff in our schools. Schools are integral parts of their communities. Many schools are used as shelters, command centers, or meeting places in times of crisis. Schools are also used widely for polling and voting functions. In some communities, schools are places of health care delivery. Schools may or may not be the targets of terrorism, but they are certain to be affected by terrorism, whether directly or indirectly. On September 11, 2001, four elementary schools and three high schools located within 6 blocks of the World Trade Center were just beginning classes when the first plane hit the north tower. Thousands of children were exposed to the dust clouds from the collapsing buildings. Even those children not in the immediate vicinity experienced a great deal of anxiety. Children in at least three states (New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut) had parents working in or around the World Trade Center that day. In the Washington, DC, area, schools faced similar situations after the Pentagon was attacked. Many Americans feel that schools should be the safest place our children can be, perhaps at times even safer than the homes in which they live. Security is not a standalone capability; it is a critical design consideration that should be constantly reviewed and scrutinized from the design phase through construction or rehabilitation and onto building use. The focus of this primer will be on the threats posed by potential physical attacks on a school by terrorists. Attacking schools and school children could be a highly emotional and high profile event. At the time of publication of this primer, there have been no direct terrorist threats against a school known to the public; however, schools could be indirectly threatened by collateral damage from a terrorist attack directed at nearby facilities. Protecting a school against terrorist attack is a challenging task. A school may have considerable vulnerabilities, because of its well defined periods of use, designated access points, storage of sensitive personal information, minimal security forces, and numerous avenues of penetration and escape for attackers. This primer should be used in conjunction with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) 426, Reference Manual to Mitigate Potential Terrorist Attacks Against Buildings, and FEMA 427, Primer for Design of Commercial Buildings to Mitigate Terrorist Attacks. This primer presents an approach to protecting schools at risk from terrorist attacks. The information presented is intended primarily for architects and engineers, or school administrators with a technical background. This publication is designed to meet the needs of all schools, including those with serious security concerns. Because security concerns of individual schools vary greatly, some users with modest security concerns may feel beleaguered by the amount of information and technical approach presented. They should feel free to select the methods and measures that best meet their individual situations while gaining a general appreciation of security concerns and risk management.

On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina caused extensive damage to the coast along the Gulf of Mexico, resulting in an unprecedented relief, recovery, and reconstruction effort. This reconstruction presents a unique opportunity to rebuild the communities and public infrastructure using the latest hazard mitigation techniques proven to be more protective of lives and property. Critical facilities comprise all public and private facilities deemed by a community to be essential for the delivery of vital services, protection of special populations, and the provision of other services of importance for that community. This manual concentrates on a smaller group of facilities that are crucial for protecting the health and safety of the population: health care, educational, and emergency response facilities. The Design Guide for Improving Critical Facility Safety from Flooding and High Winds (FEMA 543) was developed with the support of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Region IV in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. This manual recommends incorporating hazard mitigation measures into all stages and at all levels of critical facility planning and design, for both new construction and the reconstruction and rehabilitation of existing facilities. It provides building professionals and decision makers with information and guidelines for implementing a variety of mitigation measures to reduce the vulnerability to damage and disruption of operations during severe flooding and high-wind events. The underlying theme of this manual is that by building more robust critical facilities that will remain operational during and after a major disaster, people's lives and the community's vitality can be better preserved and protected. The poor performance of many critical facilities in the affected areas was not unique to Hurricane Katrina. It was observed in numerous hurricanes dating back more than three decades. Several reasons may explain this kind of performance. In many cases the damaged facilities were quite old and were constructed well before the introduction of modern codes and standards. Some of the older facilities were damaged because building components had deteriorated as a result of inadequate maintenance. Many fa-cilities occupy unsuitable buildings that were never intended for this type of use. Some newer facilities suffered damage as a result of deficiencies in design and construction or the application of inappropriate design criteria and standards. The primary objective of this manual is to assist the building design community and local officials and decision makers in adopting and implementing sound mitigation measures that will decrease the vulnerability of critical facilities to major disasters. The goals of this manual are to: Present and recommend the use of building design features and building materials and methods that can improve the performance of critical facilities in hazard-prone areas during and after flooding and high-wind events. m Introduce and provide guidelines for implementing flooding and high-wind mitigation best practices into the process of design, construction, and operation and maintenance of critical facilities; and To aid in the reconstruction of the Gulf Coast in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, this manual presents an overview of the principal planning and design considerations for improving the performance of critical facilities during, and in the aftermath of, flooding and high-wind events. It provides design guidance and practical recommendations for protecting critical facilities and their occupants against these natural hazards. It presents incremental approaches that can be implemented over time to decrease the vulnerability of buildings, but emphasizes the importance of incorporating the requirements for mitigation against flooding and high winds into the planning and design of critical facilities from the very beginning of the process.

For the first time, the truth about who blew "Pan AM 103" out of the sky over Lockerbie Scotland, is revealed by the man who risks all to tell. Find out how and why the United States, Great Britain and Scotland have conspired to cover-up the true identities of those responsible for one of the most heinous terrorist attacks against innocent civilians. Dr. Chasey was contracted to normalize relations between the United States and Libya. He tells about his secret meeting with two of the world's most wanted men. He introduces us to the two Libyan intelligence officers accused of blowing up "Pan AM 103". He details his meeting with Col. Muammar Qadhafi, the man Time Magazine called, "the most dangerous man in the world". Chasey names the terrorists actually responsible for the Lockerbie bombing. This book is packed with political intrigue and reveals an FBI sting operation designed to destroy Chasey's reputation and life. Learn why Dr. Chasey says, "I love my country, but I fear my government".

This publication helps to develop a comprehensive juvenile firesetter prevention training workshop for the various agency professionals who work with juvenile firesetters. Juveniles are responsible for a significant proportion of both the accidental and intentional fires that occur each year in the United States. Since the mid-1970's, national, state, and local officials have been turning more attention to the problem of juvenile firesetting and have experimented with various approaches to reducing it. Nonetheless, many experts believe that there are significant gaps in our knowledge and practice. In response to these concerns, in 1987 the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) and the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) began a new research and development program intended to conceptualize, design, develop, and evaluate a variety of community-based approaches to prevent and control juvenile firesetting. The initiative was known as the National Juvenile Firesetter/Arson Control and Prevention Program (NJF/ACP). This Users' Guide is designed to accompany The Juvenile Firesetter/Arson Control and Prevention Program (JFACPP) Program Materials. The Users' Guide is intended to accomplish the following objectives: 1. To provide a summary of how to plan and implement a juvenile firesetter/arson control and prevention program. This is achieved by outlining critical decision points in building each component of the juvenile firesetter/arson program. The result is a cookbook format that guides the reader from the planning to the execution of an effective community program. 2. To highlight the key information contained in The JFACPP Guidelines for Implementation.

The residential portion of the fire problem continues to account for the vast majority of civilian casualties. National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) estimates show that, while residential structure fires account for only 25 percent of fires nationwide, they account for a disproportionate share of losses: 83 percent of fire deaths, 77 percent of fire injuries, and 64 percent of direct dollar losses. Analyses of the residential structure fire problem were published formerly as a chapter in each edition of Fire in the United States. The most recent edition of Fire in the United States, the fourteenth edition published in August 2007, featured an abbreviated chapter on residential structures. This full report is the most current snapshot of the residential fire problem as reflected in the 2005 National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) data and the 2005 NFPA survey data. In this report, as in previous chapters in Fire in the United States, an attempt has been made to keep the data presentation and analysis as straightforward as possible. It is also the desire of the United States Fire Administration (USFA) to make the report widely accessible to many different users, so it avoids unnecessarily complex methodology.

This report compiles the best practices and common problems of fire protection and criminal justice agencies in identifying, investigating, prosecuting, and preventing arson. Commonly, the crime of arson is motivated by spite and revenge. Perpetrators strike with fire at buildings where people live, work, or socialize-causing injury, property loss, and death. Civilians and firefighters alike die in arson fires every year. Thirty years ago, arson captured media attention because so-called arson-for-profit rings were burning down decaying urban neighborhoods that had ceased to be profitable, and then rebuilding them at a substantial profit. Other high-profile cases involved arsonists who were connected to gangs and drug lords, and who set fires to intimidate their rivals or as retribution for deals gone bad. Some of the most publicized cases occurred in the cities of New York, Boston, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Baltimore, and others. There even were situations where neighborhood vigilantes, who were frustrated with crime and run-down buildings, took it upon themselves to torch structures to rid the neighborhood of vagrants, prostitutes, and drug dealers. Insurance companies were perceived as the main victims from intentional fires. As a crime com-mitted against property, the economics of arson played center stage to the less well-defined statistics on injuries and deaths. Since arson fires do, on average, cause proportionately higher losses than fires from other causes, insurance companies committed many resources toward investigation and control. From establishing tip reward programs, training accelerant detection canines (ADC's), supporting arson reporting immunity legislation, and establishing the property insurance loss register (PILR), the insurance industry was a strong partner at that time. There is a dichotomy between arson as a property crime and arson as a crime against people, and that lies at the heart of today's challenges with cases of arson. As a crime, arson's long-standing definition as the willful and malicious burning of property does not do justice to the fact that today arson is usually a personal crime that is directed intentionally against specific victims. It is time for arson to be dealt with as a violent crime against persons, not just a crime against property. Today, spite and revenge dominate as the motives in intentional property fires, especially where there are casualties. Revenge-minded arsonists torch nightclubs, occupied residences, hotels, and other settings where their intended victims, and often other innocent people, are injured and killed. First responders get injured or die battling these blazes and trying to save others. Even though a portion of incendiary fires are motivated by other reasons (e.g., excitement, economic relief, peer pressure, a cry for help, and so forth) most set fires happen because someone wanted to inflict harm on another person using fire as the weapon of choice. Fire investigation units from The U.S. Fire Administration's (USFA's) project indicated that spite and revenge were the most common motives behind incendiary fires. Among project sites from the past 5 years, spite and revenge ranked as the highest leading motives, when investigation units were queried about prevailing motives.

This Wildfire Prevention Guide is a project of the National Wildfire Coordinating Group. This is one in a series designed to provide information and guidance for personnel who have interests and/or responsibilities in fire prevention. Each guide in the series addresses an individual component of a fire prevention program. In addition to providing insight and useful information, each guide suggests implementation strategies and examples for utilizing this information. Each Wildfire Prevention Guide has been developed by Fire Prevention Specialists and subject-matter experts in the appropriate area. The goal of this series is to improve and enhance wildfire prevention programs and to facilitate the achievement of NWCG program goals.

Families trust schools to keep their children safe during the day. Thanks to the efforts of millions of teachers, principals, and staff across America, the majority of schools remain safe havens for our nation's youth. The unfortunate reality is, however, that school districts in this country may be touched either directly or indirectly by a crisis of some kind at any time. Natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes, fires, and tornadoes can strike a community with little or no warning. An influenza pandemic, or other infectious disease, can spread from person-to-person causing serious illness across the country, or around the globe, in a very short time. School shootings, threatened or actual, are extremely rare but are horrific and chilling when they occur. The harrowing events of September 11 and subsequent anthrax scares have ushered in a new age of terrorism. Communities across the country are struggling to understand and avert acts of terror. Children and youth rely on and find great comfort in the adults who protect them. Teachers and staff must know how to help their students through a crisis and return them home safely. Knowing what to do when faced with a crisis can be the difference between calm and chaos, between courage and fear, between life and death. There are thousands of fires in schools every year, yet there is minimal damage to life and property because staff and students are prepared. This preparedness needs to be extended to all risks schools face. Schools and districts need to be ready to handle crises, large and small, to keep our children and staff out of harm's way and ready to learn and teach. Taking action now can save lives, prevent injury, and minimize property damage in the moments of a crisis. The importance of reviewing and revising school and district plans cannot be underscored enough, and Practical Information on Crisis Planning: A Guide for Schools and Communities is designed to help you navigate this process. The Guide is intended to give schools, districts, and communities the critical concepts and components of good crisis planning, stimulate thinking about the crisis preparedness process, and provide examples of promising practices. This document does not provide a cookbook approach to crisis preparedness. Each community has its own history, culture, and way of doing business. Schools and districts are at risk for different types of crises and have their own definitions of what constitutes a crisis. Crisis plans need to be customized to communities, districts, and schools to meet the unique needs of local residents and students. Crisis plans also need to address state and local school safety laws. Experts recommend against cutting and pasting plans from other schools and districts. Other plans can serve as useful models, but what is effective for a large innercity school district where the population is concentrated may be ineffective for a rural community where schools and first responders are far apart.

The 2005 Fire Service Needs Assessment Survey was conducted as a stratified random sample survey. The NFPA used its own list of local fire departments as the mailing list and sampling frame of all fire departments in the US that report on fire incidents attended. In all, 15,545 fire departments - just over half the total in NFPA Fire Service Inventory (FSI) database, including all departments protecting communities of at least 50,000 population - were mailed survey forms, and 4,709 responded, for a 30% response rate. Because of time constraints, this second survey limited its second mailing to larger departments and states with unusually low response rates, whereas the first survey in 2001 had included a second mailing to all first-mailing non-respondents. This response rate is similar to the response rate in the 2001 survey's first mailing and is sufficient for reliable results at the national and state levels, overall and by community size. The second mailing to small states with low response rates had minimal impact on national estimates. The content of the survey was developed by NFPA in the 2001 survey, in collaboration with an ad hoc technical advisory group consisting of representatives of the full spectrum of national organizations and related disciplines associated with the management of fire and related hazards and risks in the U.S. The survey form was used without modification in order to maximize comparability of results and development of valid timelines.