Emergency Action Levels



	Emergency Action Levels Contents LOG Purpose of Action Levels: Provides short-hand method for mobilizing emergency response forces. A responder to an emergency scene estimates the level and notifies the emergency management system. See example at the bottom of this page. (Lowest) (Highest)

	Level 1	Level 2	Level 3	Level 4
Scope of emergency	Specific location	Local area affected	Wide area disaster	Wide area disaster
Resources Needed	Local	Regional or Local	State	Federal
Possible emergency event	Examples: Serious fire or accident, multi-agency response needed	Examples: Loss of telephone communications, multi-agency response, hazardous chemical release	Examples: Wind damage, flash floods, prolonged utilities loss	Examples: Earthquake, dam failure, nuclear attack
Hazardous Materials*	Spills, leaks, or fires of small amounts of fuel, oil or other materials that can be managed using equipment available to first responder operations level, such as SCBA and/or SFPC.	Hazardous chemicals that requires the use of any kind of specialized protective equipment beyond use of Self-contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) and/or Structural Firefighter=s Protective Clothing (SFPC), special tools or knowledge beyond the normal scope of a first responders
Jurisdictions	One	One or Two	Two or more	Two or more
Evacuation	No	Possible, Limited Area	Possible, Large Area	Yes, Wide- Scale Area
Multiple sites	No	Possible	Yes	Yes
Mass Care	No	Possible	Possible	Yes
Local EOC activated	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Local warnings	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Mass warnings	No	No	Yes	Yes
State EOC activated	No	No	Yes	Yes
Federal EOC activated	No	No	No	Yes


	Example: What actions should occur when a responder estimates a Level 2 emergency? 1. EOC Activates. 2. EOC analyzes the situation to confirm the estimated Action Level of the emergency. 3. EOC mobilizes resources by a) anticipating & alerting potential resources according to Action Level and b) alerting potential evacuation & mass care resources. If HAZMAT is suspected to be beyond Level 1, contact the State. See Next Page * For more detailed definition of hazardous materials action levels, see Annex A, Tab i. Examples of Emergency Action Levelstc \l3 "Examples of Emergency Action Levels Level Four. This is the worst case scenario for a disaster. All local, regional, state and federal response and management resources are needed to handle a disaster. Wide area evacuation and mass care activities characterize this level. Hazardous materials may be involved. Emergency Operations Centers at all government level are coordinating resources. Incidents involving hazardous chemicals are the same as Level Two. Level Three. State response and management resources may be needed to assist local and regional response. Local area evacuation and mass care activities characterize this level. Hazardous materials may be involved. Emergency Operations Centers at state and local level are coordinating resources. Incidents involving hazardous chemicals are the same as Level Two. Level Two. Resources that are immediately available to Incident Commander are exhausted. Local Emergency Operations Center (EOC) is activated to manage and coordinate related, multiple, low level emergencies in different locations. Some precautionary evacuation may be necessary. Incidents involving hazardous chemicals require the use of any kind of specialized protective equipment beyond use of Self Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) and/or Structural Firefighter=s Protective Clothing (SFPC), special tools or knowledge beyond the normal scope of first responders. Level One. Incident Command System is necessary to direct and control emergency response forces at an incident site. Incident Command Post and staging areas established. Incident Commander able to control emergency without additional assistance or Emergency Operations Centers (EOC). Incidents involving spills, leaks, or fires of small amounts of fuel, oil or other materials that can be managed using equipment available to first responder operations level, such as SCBA and/or SFPC.

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