The Emergency Support Function (ESF) annexes to the Emergency Operations Plan organize the applicable college positions, departments, and outside support agencies into groups according to their roles in strategic response to a campus emergency or disaster. Outside agencies may include: governmental, non-governmental, private sector, and other volunteer resources. The ESF annex provides basic information on available internal and external departments and agencies that might be needed for an incident that affects Dallas College. Each ESF has at least one lead position or department within the College that will lead the specific response, one or more supporting departments within the College that will provide response support, and one or more external supporting departments from the surrounding communities, and neighboring jurisdictions.
ESFs will normally be activated at the direction of the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) Director in response to activation level 3 or greater emergencies as outlined in the EOP. Designated department and agency resources may be requested to respond or recover from emergency incidents that affect the College. Normally, the response and recovery actions will be coordinated from the EOC as Incident or Unified Command will use the resources at the incident scene.
The primary position/department/office(s) will normally be responsible for coordinating specific requirements associated with the emergency support function. Support position/department/office(s) may be contacted to provide expertise and assistance, as needed. Finally, external departments/agencies may be needed if internal resources are overwhelmed or where College capabilities do not exist (such as emergency medical or fire services.) In all cases, prior memorandums of understanding, mutual aid agreements, or funding issues would need to be addressed prior to requesting assistance.
Purpose
The purpose of ESF 9 is to identify the internal and external departments responsible for search and rescue actions that may take place in an emergency. This ESF provides and coordinate resources (personnel, equipment, facilities, materials and supplies) to support law enforcement, public safety, security, and evacuation needs during an emergency or disaster.
Scope
Emergency Support Function 9:
- Provides coordination of search and rescue.
- Locates distressed personnel.
- Coordinates and executes rescue operations, including extraction and/or evacuation.
- Provides medical assistance and civilian services by use of public and private resources to assist persons and property in potential or actual distress.
- May be activated to respond to incidents that overwhelm normal Incident Command response actions.
Situation
Dallas College is exposed to many hazards, all of which have the potential for disrupting the community, causing casualties, and damaging or destroying public or private property. Potential emergencies and disasters include both natural and human-caused incidents.
See the EOP Hazard Summary for the potential emergencies that may impact Dallas College.
The College DOES NOT operate its own search and rescue service and has minimal internal response capability for this ESF.
Assumptions
The College makes the following planning assumptions:
- College resources will be quickly overwhelmed.
- Communication systems may fail during a major incident.
- Backup systems will be available, but may take time to activate.
- Shortfalls can be expected in both support personnel and equipment.
- Local, state, and federal assistance may not be immediately available.
- During large-scale emergencies and major disasters, law enforcement agencies may be required to expand their operations and undertake certain tasks that are not performed on a day-to-day basis.
- During large-scale emergency situations, some normal law enforcement activities may be temporarily reduced in order to provide resources to respond to the emergency situation.