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• On-Site Assistance: A Guide for Surveying, Developing, and Maintaining Community Disaster Readiness

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  "This revised guidance is issued for all involved in DCPA-sponsored On-Site Assistance (OSA), and provides instructions concerning procedures to be followed in conducting OSA projects for local jurisdictions. It reflects experience since the original publication in May 1972 and contains the substance of subsequent guidance issued by various means. The importance of the use of DCPA Standards for Local Civil Preparedness in OSA is also emphasized. The appended material (in a separate document, MP-63-l) furnishes examples of OSA documents and procedures, such as preliminary hazard analysis format; detailed survey questions; and sample action plans and checklists to aid in the OSA process. The first task in OSA is to ascertain: 'What is the real status of local emergency operational readiness?' This question can be answered by measuring the 'success' communities have had in responding to actual disasters, or by investigating the situation by surveying and evaluating local emergency operational readiness on an individual on-site basis. Once it is fully understood what actual capabilities currently exist, then measures can be taken either to develop operational capabilities where deficiencies exist or to maintain existing capabilities and proficiencies."

  United States. Defense Civil Preparedness Agency

  1974-09
• DCPA Attack Environment Manual

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  This document contains the complete U.S. Defense Civil Preparedness Agency Attack Environment Manual which was first published in June 1973. The pdf file contains all eight chapters which include an introduction to nuclear emergency operations, and what the emergency planner needs to know about blast and shock, fire ignition and spread, electromagnetic pulse, nuclear radiation, the shelter environment, and the post-shelter environment. These digitized chapters have been downloaded from the FEMA Emergency Management Institute's website as individual chapters and compiled into one complete document by Homeland Security Digital Library staff.

  United States. Defense Civil Preparedness Agency

  1973-06
• Disaster Operations: A Handbook for Local Governments

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  "This handbook can serve as a planning and operations guide for officials of local government who may be confronted with various types of peacetime as well as attack-caused emergencies. The handbook may also serve as a guide for local leaders who are not members of local governments, such as labor leaders, industrial plant superintendents, and Red Cross Chapter officials. 'This handbook is intended primarily for smaller municipalities and counties, and includes checklists pertaining to a number of specific types of emergencies and disasters that could confront such communities. It should be recognized, however, that the checklists are not aired at professionals. For example, the forest-fire checklist is not for professional foresters or firefighters, but is rather intended for mayors and other officials of smaller communities that could be threatened by a forest fire. While the primary audience for this handbook is the smaller city or county, the checklists contain material that can be useful to civil defense directors and other officials in larger communities in developing the more complex plans that are needed in the larger jurisdiction. The guidance in this handbook is basic and brief. The purpose is to assist local officials in preparing their own flexible plan for actions to be taken by government and by citizens when disaster threatens or strikes. A community prepared to cope with peacetime disasters is that much better prepared to cope with the effects of enemy attack."

  United States. Defense Civil Preparedness Agency

  1972-07
• Introduction to Civil Preparedness

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  "Since the beginning of time, man has sought protection from the dangers of a hostile environment. The cave, the forest, even hollow logs provided refuge for many of our forebears. Where the shelter and the actions taken were suitable to meet the emergency conditions, man survived. History contains countless references to individual, group, and community actions for protection from famine, flood, fire, and the effects of war. It was not, however, until the onset of World War II, with the threat of large-scale aerial attacks on cities and industrial centers, that civil defense planning gained impetus. Added impetus resulted from the advent of atomic and thermonuclear weapons and advanced delivery systems. […] The origin of civil defense preparedness in the United States may be traced to August 1916, when Congress established the Council of National Defense to coordinate 'industries and resources for the national security and welfare, and to create relations which will render possible, in time of need, the immediate concentration and utilization of the resources of the Nation'. The Council consisted of the Secretaries of War, Navy, Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, and Labor. In December 1918, this Council was dissolved, and from that time until 1940, civil defense in a formal sense did not exist in the United States. On May 28, 1940, President Roosevelt established the National Defense Advisory Commission, which included the Division of State and Local Cooperation. In May 1941, a Presidential Executive Order replaced the Division of State and Local Cooperation with the Office of Civilian Defense."

  United States. Defense Civil Preparedness Agency

  1975-07
• On-Site Assistance: A Guide for Surveying, Developing, and Maintaining Community Disaster Readiness: Appendices

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  Appendices to the guide that "is intended to provide an explanation of the goals and objectives of the On-Site Assistance (OSA) effort and to present suggested and proven methods and techniques for achieving these goals and objectives. The following chapters are directed toward developing a sound understanding of the OSA concept and attendant community readiness survey methods for determining the current status of operational readiness for a local community. The importance of each step in the process is explained from selection of communities, scheduling OSA activities, through the actual conduct of followup assistance. The types of followup assistance likely to be needed are described and the determination of local exercise requirements is discussed. Possibly one of the most important elements necessary to the success of the OSA effort is the need for adopting the proper attitude toward the task. Although OSA is essentially complementary to the various DCPA local readiness support programs, there are also significant differences. An initially and understandable reaction to OSA by some Federal and State civil preparedness professionals was, 'I've been doing these things all along; there's nothing new here,;' or 'I don't need someone to tell me how to do my job!' However, most of these civil preparedness personnel later indicated, after having participated, that OSA involves a considerably different approach to operational readiness."

  United States. Defense Civil Preparedness Agency

  1974-09
• Blast Upgrading of Existing Structures: Final Report

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  "A major facet of preparedness is the upgrading of structures to provide shelter from nuclear weapons effects. This report describes some upgrading concepts, develops practical techniques for predicting structural failure, and verifies the failure prediction methodology by comparing the analysis with structural failure test data developed under this program and available in the literature."

  United States. Defense Civil Preparedness Agency

  Cuzner, G.; Lindskog, Robert, 1948-; Gabrielsen, B.L.

  1979-01
• Mandate for Readiness: U.S. Defense Civil Preparedness Agency Annual Report 1974

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  "The mind rebels against thinking about disaster. Disasters are never pleasant events-they can't always be averted-but with advance planning, their effects can be mitigated. Preparing for disaster is the major concern of the Defense Civil Preparedness Agency (DCPA). The Congress thought about it nearly 25 years ago-to the extent that legislation was passed, called 'The Federal Civil Defense Act of 1950'. That is how modern-day civil defense, now broadened to 'civil preparedness', came into being. Their concern at the time was the threat of largescale aerial attacks on cities and industrial centers. That concern remains today, as it applies to the more powerful and more extensive effects which can be generated by nuclear weapons. Much has been accomplished on the international scene, and work continues, to assure a peaceful world. But the possibility of attack on this country always exists, and disasters are a daily occurrence in peacetime. That is why DCPA guidance and support is provided to State and local governments to help them establish and improve their emergency operations capabilities. And that is why DCPA assistance is aimed at developing a dual-use capability-a capability for use of personnel, facilities, equipment, and systems to meet the needs of a nuclear-caused disaster and the day-today requirements of peacetime disasters as well."

  United States. Department of Defense; United States. Defense Civil Preparedness Agency

  1974
• Taking Measure: U.S. Defense Civil Preparedness Agency Annual Report 1975

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  "Over the past years, the Defense Civil Preparedness Agency (DCPA) pursued various means of fulfilling joint obligations with the State and local governments in developing and maintaining nationwide civil preparedness. At State and local level the prime objective was the same-but ideas and methods for reaching the always-elusive goal sometimes didn't mesh with Federal concepts and programs. […] A few years ago, a new idea in management began to take hold; its name-participatory management. The concept wasn't really new, but as managers both in and out of government looked around, they were surprised to see how little 'participation' there was by everyone concerned in various systems. DCPA encouraged participatory management in civil preparedness-and took a good hard look at its own programming and management system. DCPA's system was functional but it was cast in the old mold; it was top heavy in superstructure, designed around national objectives; and weak at the foundations, with funds trickling down to communities in thinly sliced allotments based on those national objectives; and with little hard data and other information on which to determine total local needs. After a full year of development, DCPA now has an 'objectives oriented' system, based on a good, firm foundation of finding out local needs in relation to the overall objectives of the national program."

  United States. Department of Defense; United States. Defense Civil Preparedness Agency

  1975
• Standards for Local Civil Defense and Disaster Preparedness

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  "These Standards for Civil Defense and Disaster Preparedness have been developed jointly by local, State, and Federal civil defense professionals. They are provided as an aid in implementing the major new emphasis of civil defense and disaster preparedness for the 1970's. This new emphasis aims at improving the ability of local governments to act swiftly and effectively to save life and preserve property if the community is threatened or hit by any kind of emergency or disaster-whether a peacetime emergency or enemy attack upon the United States. This requires making effective, coordinated use of all assets available to the community, from the executive talents of its top officials; to its police, fire and other forces; to its ambulances, hospitals, and medical professionals; to shelters to protect its citizens. This in turn requires a new emphasis on people and training. These Standards should be used in training new local CD Directors or Coordinators at special workshops, in providing additional training for experienced Directors, and in on-site assistance or conferences at the community level. The Standards are also intended for use by local Directors in analyzing the level of readiness of their community, as a basis for making improvements. Each State should also bring the Standards to the attention of county commissioners, mayors, and city managers-both individually and at meetings of their associations. It should be stressed that both the Department of Defense and the States are doing everything they can to help local governments to improve their readiness for emergencies-but that success depends, in the last analysis, on the support given by local chief executives."

  United States. Department of Defense; United States. Defense Civil Preparedness Agency

  1972-06
• Foresight: U.S. Defense Civil Preparedness Agency Annual Report 1973

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  "In keeping with President Nixon's desire to make the Federal Government more responsive to the needs of State and local governments, the Defense Civil Preparedness Agency (DCPA) program takes into account all of the hazards and dangers which confront the Nation's population today. Local government is the keystone of civil preparedness. The Federal and State governments provide guidance and assistance to municipal and county governments in this readiness effort. The objective at all levels is to develop the capability to protect life and property in any type of disaster. In furthering that objective, the 'dual-use' concept long advocated by the Defense Civil Preparedness Agency is applied wherever possible. This is the concept of developing emergency systems useful both in the everyday routine of government as well as during emergencies; and of being useful both during peacetime or in event of war. Current program changes include: Enhancement of State and local capability to cope with attacks and other disasters, reorientation of the program to emphasize, wherever possible, available protection from nuclear weapon effects and natural disasters, and shifting of some ongoing programs to systems that would only be implemented in a crisis in order to reduce peacetime costs and avoid rapid obsolescence."

  United States. Department of Defense; United States. Defense Civil Preparedness Agency

  1973
• Standards for Local Civil Preparedness

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  "These Standards for Civil Preparedness have been developed jointly by local, State, and Federal civil preparedness professionals. They are provided as an aid in implementing the major emphasis of civil preparedness. This emphasis aims at improving the ability of local governments to act swiftly and effectively to save life and preserve property if the community is threatened or hit by any kind of emergency or disaster-whether a peacetime emergency or enemy attack upon the United States. This requires making effective, coordinated use of all assets available to the community, from the executive talents of its top officials; to its police, fire and other forces; to its ambulances, hospitals, and medical professionals; to shelters to protect its citizens. This in turn requires emphasis on people and training them to work together. These Standards should be used in training new and experienced local Civil Preparedness Directors/Coordinators at Federally conducted or sponsored training activities, and in on-site assistance or conferences at the community level. The Standards are also intended for use by local Directors in analyzing the level of readiness of their community, as a basis for making improvements."

  United States. Department of Defense; United States. Defense Civil Preparedness Agency

  1978-04
• Civil Preparedness: A New Dual Mission: U.S. Defense Civil Preparedness Agency Annual Report 1972

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  "In the late 1950's and early 1960's, 'civil defense' became a household term. To nearly everyone it meant preparation to cope with the effects of attack. For a long time it brought to mind hardhats and CD armbands. The image was World War II vintage. Civil defense has come a long way since then. Today, 'civil defense' really is preparedness to meet a full range of emergencies and disasters in peacetime as well as providing preparedness against the effects of nuclear attack. Today, we face a new world-with new needs and new responsibilities for the public safety. In the complex world of today, civil preparedness must become more and more an essential element of our society. It must be useful every day, and not just a standby program, to be used in the event of an enemy attack. The way toward readiness for any eventuality is to prepare every U.S. community as fully as possible to meet the dangers of peacetime disasters. This also lays the solid foundation for emergency operations in event of an enemy attack. In time, 'civil preparedness' is expected to become a household term-replacing 'civil defense' in the American consciousness as a more meaningful and tangible expression of the responsibility of Federal, State, and local government for the safety and protection of the public. In recognition of the greater need for preparedness to meet the full spectrum of disaster, the President's Office of Emergency Preparedness and the Office of Civil Defense (now the Defense Civil Preparedness Agency) agreed in early 1972 to an expanded role for the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) in assisting local governments plan and prepare for peacetime disasters, and act when they occur."

  United States. Government Printing Office; United States. Defense Civil Preparedness Agency

  1972