What should be the role of the federal government when it comes to a disaster?

The following parties are responsible for dealing with a crisis or disaster: the mayor, the fire brigade, the medical and municipal services and the police. The army may also be deployed.

Mayor

The mayor is responsible at the administrative level for ensuring that the response effort runs smoothly. He/she convenes the representatives of the various public services who make up the disaster management team. In view of the mayor's administrative responsibility, the municipal council may call him/her to account for the overall management of the response effort.

Fire service

The fire service is the linchpin of the disaster response. The fire chief is charged with the operational management of the response effort. Everything that occurs in the disaster area falls under his/her authority. As a member of the disaster management team, the fire chief puts the team's decisions into practice. He/she also coordinates the work of the emergency services. In the disaster area, the fire service's first duty is to save people and animals. Firefighters also put out fires, of course, and conduct tests to find out whether any hazardous substances have been released.

Regional accident and disaster medical teams

Anyone injured in a disaster will require medical assistance as soon as possible. Ambulance paramedics will usually provide first aid and stabilise the injured so that they can be taken to hospital.

Police services

The police will ensure that the fire and ambulance services can do their job. They will cordon off the disaster area, direct traffic and sometimes set up a safety zone around the disaster area. If victims are difficult to identify, the police will deploy the disaster identification team, consisting of experts convened on an ad hoc basis. This team of specialists perform their work in consultation with one another.

Armed forces

The Ministry of Defence can deploy military personnel to respond to a disaster. Their duties include evacuating people.

Municipal services

The municipality is responsible for the residents' immediate welfare. Municipal services will assist in other practical ways, such as providing food and temporary shelter; they may also offer psychological care. In addition, the municipality will register the victims and may help them attend to uninsured damage.

"The Role of Government During Natural Disasters" is a cross-post from the IAFF Frontline Blog by Rich Duffy of the Fire Fighters (IAFF).

The devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy across the mid-Atlantic and Northeast is a great example of why we need a centralized federal government that can respond to states and communities in need of disaster relief. Hurricane Sandy also underscores a very important issue for Americans, and that is what role the federal government should play in during a disaster (man-made or natural).

President Obama clearly understands the critical role the federal government plays in bolstering state and local disaster response; while Mitt Romney has said that states and the private sector should be in charge of emergency management in responding to storms and other natural disasters in their jurisdictions.

For the past two years, first responders have suffered the consequences – including layoffs, reduced staffing , wage freezes and reductions -- of those in political power who believe government should play a limited role in people’s lives, including funding for federal grants like the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant program that keeps fire fighters in the firehouse ready to respond to disasters like Hurricane Sandy.

Currently, the role of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is to coordinate the federal government’s support of our nation’s citizens and first responders in the time of domestic disasters. However, some politicians still seek to eliminate or privatize FEMA.

FEMA’s current efforts, as well as the response by the Departments of Health and Humans Services, Department of Defense, Department of Labor and other federal agencies, during Hurricane Sandy showcase why the federal government is needed when it’s prepared and funded.

We know the excellent work IAFF members do every single day to protect their communities, but it seems that others only acknowledge the work fire fighters and emergency medical responders do in the time of a crisis. It is unfortunate that it is through the tragic event of a hurricane that these issues come to light.

We don’t know if first responders and other public employees will continue to be the target for attacks on the wages, benefits and retirement security that IAFF members have worked long and hard to earn. However, we do know that IAFF members will continue to put their lives on the line every day to save others, as witnessed with Hurricane Sandy -- even while they themselves have suffered tragic personal losses, too.

What is the role of the government when there is a disaster?

What is the role of the federal government in emergency preparedness quizlet?