FEMA has issued a statement to advise stakeholders and partners that the National Response Framework (NRF), successor to the National Response Plan came into effect on Saturday, March 22, 2008.

On January 22, 2008, the NRF was initially released following an extensive process of outreach and coordination between the Department and key stakeholders representing federal, tribal, state and local governments, non-governmental agencies and associations, and the private sector. The NRF was posted in the Federal Register for sixty days, as required by law. Now that the timeframe has passed, the NRF goes officially into effect.

The NRF focuses on response and short-term recovery, articulates the doctrine, principles and architecture by which the US prepares for and responds to all-hazard disasters across all levels of government and all sectors of communities. The NRF also focuses on preparedness and encourages a higher level of readiness across all jurisdictions in a streamlined document that is less bureaucratic and more user-friendly than its predecessor.

During the past sixty days of the initial announcement, FEMA has been conducting outreach and training efforts for emergency managers and federal, state and local officials at all levels of government about the concepts and principles of the NRF. The NRF is intended for senior elected and appointed leaders, such as federal department and agency heads, state governors, mayors, tribal leaders, city managers and the private sector and emergency management practitioners.

The NRF is designed to be scalable, flexible and adaptable, always in effect, and articulates clear roles and responsibilities among local, state, and federal officials. Part of the educational and outreach efforts included the release of an on-line training course.

In addition to the NRF base document going into effect on March 22, 2008, the Emergency Support Function Annexes and Support Annexes are also in effect and can be accessed on-line at the NRF Resource Center (www.fema.gov/nrf). The annexes are a total of 23 individual documents designed to provide concept of operations, procedures and structures for achieving response directives for all partners in fulfilling their roles under the NRF.

•Date: 31st March 2008• Region: US •Type: Article •Topic: Emergency planning
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