Incident Command Systems Essay
A large-scale incident that seriously impacts any part of our infrastructure is a frightening one, but considering our heavy reliance on an electrical system that utilizes antiquated and/or obsolete technology, restoring electrical service after massive disruptions (by natural or man-made causes) requires special consideration.
In order to maintain effective emergency management after a major power disruption (blackout), it would be wise to utilize an organized structure such as the Incident Command System (ICS) process. Although a power utility’s needs might be different from the standard ICS emergency and governmental response structure, the organizational components and advantages should be the same. Those advantages include: offering …show more content…
The greatest of these incidents is also one of the least reported. On April 16, 2013, snipers executed a planned and coordinated attack by opening fire for nineteen minutes on a San Jose, CA electrical substation, knocking out 17 transformers that were used to help power Silicon Valley. Although no one has been arrested to date, this was no ordinary act of vandalism. Roughly thirty minutes prior to the shooting, the snipers cut telecommunications (both phone and internet) cables in two separate underground vaults. Investigators believe that small piles of rocks found at the firing sites (identified by the fingerprint-free shell casings scattered about) may have been left by an advance scout to signify the best vantage points for the shooters. A surveillance camera pointed along a chain-link fence around the substation recorded a waved flashlight signal, at which time the snipers began firing systematically at the cooling systems, discharging more than 100 rounds. After another apparent flashlight signal caught on camera, the firing ceased and the gunmen disappeared into the dead of night (Smith, 2014). Quick-acting utility personnel were able to avert a blackout by rerouting power around the damaged electrical substation, and other local substations increased electrical output to offset the loss. However, damages to the substation
In order to maintain effective emergency management after a major power disruption (blackout), it would be wise to utilize an organized structure such as the Incident Command System (ICS) process. Although a power utility’s needs might be different from the standard ICS emergency and governmental response structure, the organizational components and advantages should be the same. Those advantages include: offering …show more content…
The greatest of these incidents is also one of the least reported. On April 16, 2013, snipers executed a planned and coordinated attack by opening fire for nineteen minutes on a San Jose, CA electrical substation, knocking out 17 transformers that were used to help power Silicon Valley. Although no one has been arrested to date, this was no ordinary act of vandalism. Roughly thirty minutes prior to the shooting, the snipers cut telecommunications (both phone and internet) cables in two separate underground vaults. Investigators believe that small piles of rocks found at the firing sites (identified by the fingerprint-free shell casings scattered about) may have been left by an advance scout to signify the best vantage points for the shooters. A surveillance camera pointed along a chain-link fence around the substation recorded a waved flashlight signal, at which time the snipers began firing systematically at the cooling systems, discharging more than 100 rounds. After another apparent flashlight signal caught on camera, the firing ceased and the gunmen disappeared into the dead of night (Smith, 2014). Quick-acting utility personnel were able to avert a blackout by rerouting power around the damaged electrical substation, and other local substations increased electrical output to offset the loss. However, damages to the substation