ESF 7 Resource Support Case Study

Responding to a disaster can be a hectic time. A vital mitigation action of this chaos can be achieved by knowing who is leading what segment of the response and what each segment’s roles and responsibilities are. Therefore, it is wise that the emergency management team delegate Emergency Support Functions (ESFs) into the Emergency Operation Plan (EOP) for their jurisdiction. While it is not a recognized requirement to list and identify ESFs, but including them into the EOP allows all personnel involved in the Emergency Management (EM) team to understand what is expected of the functions, identifies resource management and therefore eases communication. The support functions are akin to a house of cards, removing any one of the support functions and the capabilities of the remaining functions be hindered, or will result in a failed EOP response. This paper will be addressing the role of ESF 7 Resource Support, commonly referred to as logistics.
The logistic management of ESF 7 is designed to provide the planning, management, and sustainment capability that harnesses the varied resources of Federal logistics partners, key public and private stakeholders and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to assist the victims of the disaster and the responders (FEMA 2010). The supply chain established by ESF 7 serves as the framework for Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the General Services Administration (GSA) to jointly manage, and provide relief supplies, facility space, office equipment and supplies, transportation, personnel that are required to support immediate response activities and other mission critical resources (FEMA