At a minimum, the emergency plan should outline the respective risks capable of being anticipated along with appropriate procedures for implementing necessary response procedures and resource allocation. The emergency plan must include procedures for ensuring continual communication among responders as well as alternate means of communication; procedures for contacting entities outside the immediate area affected by the emergency; and multiple means of providing essential response to every foreseeable type of emergency and every foreseeable type of malfunction or breakdown of primary processes along with secondary plans for each. Effective emergency response requires training and practice implementing procedures and resources and that practice is also essential for communicating awareness of the plan among first responders. Non-first responders should also be informed of all elements of the plan that pertain to them specifically.

4. What role, if any, should emergency managers play in ensuring emergency medical care for a mass-casualty incident? In other words, what can emergency managers and disaster planners do to facilitate such care? In what ways may public safety agencies or infrastructure agencies (such as the utility companies or public works) play a role in effectively responding to mass casualties?

Emergency managers should fulfill the essential role of coordinating all available resources and manpower necessary to respond to emergencies. That responsibility includes pre-organization of various agency responsibilities, first responder schedules, and the effective communication among all entities expected to play a role in emergency response. Emergency managers can also facilitate the coordination and appropriate assignment of secondary responders such as medical facilities, personnel, and the establishment of morgue facilities if necessary.

Public utility and public works entities must contribute to the emergency plan by maintaining prearranged procedures and protocols for allocating their resources where most needed, for assigning liaisons...

What makes for a good emergency manager or disaster planner? What personal attributes would contribute to the success of such an official? Also, what kind of resources and support must be available to multiply the effectiveness of the emergency management function in an agency or community? To what degree do you think those resources are available to the emergency management profession today?
The most important quality of emergency managers are logistical expertise, the ability to prioritize, intellectual flexibility, and the ability to anticipate situations in advance; thorough familiarity with the technical capabilities of available resources is also crucial. To multiply the effectiveness of emergency management functions within an agency or community, local emergency managers require the authority to administrate interagency collaboration can coordination of all emergency management entities and first responders. Likewise, reliable communication and secondary means of communication and, in general, redundancy of responsibilities and resources are necessary to ensure the success of emergency plans in the event that the emergency incapacitates any element of emergency response directly.

Generally, the extent to which those resources are available to emergency managers today varies considerably from area to area because it is largely determined by the individuals within positions of governmental authority. As is the case in all other areas of human endeavors, ability level and commitment varies substantially from individual to individual. Finally, logistical difficulties common to large localities complicate emergency planning, as exemplified by the continuing reported insufficiency of communications and emergency equipment within the NYFD even more than seven years since the attacks of 9-11.