Most Commonly Used Emergency & Disaster Acronyms
Emergency management and disaster preparedness fields use an astonishing number of abbreviations to identify organizations, jobs, roles, tasks, events, objects, places – and, of course, paperwork.
To help you navigate the acronym waters, here are definitions for abbreviations you are most likely to encounter. Download our glossary.
Many definitions in this guide are from the FEMA ICS Resource Center, which includes a more detailed glossary and a wealth of other information about disaster preparedness.
A — D
AAR
After Action Report
ADA
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
AES
Animal Emergency Sheltering
APHIS
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
ARES
Amateur Radio Emergency Services
AHJ
Authority Having Jurisdiction: person or agency with delegated authority to determine, mandate, and enforce code requirements established by jurisdictional governing bodies
ARC
American Red Cross
CBRNE
Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear or Explosive
CART
Community/County Animal Response Team
CDC
Centers for Disease Control
CEMP
Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan
CERT
Community Emergency Response Team
CISD
Critical Incident Stress Debriefing
COOP
Continuity of Operations Plan
Comm
Communications
CONOPS
Concept of Operations
CONUS
Continental (or Contiguous) United States
CP
Command Post
CSI
Crime Scene Investigation
DART
Disaster Assistance Response Team
DECON
Decontamination Area, Decontamination Process
DEM
Department (or Division) of Emergency Management (will sometimes have the state initials in front of it): state entity responsible for disaster planning and response; Demobilization, the process of concluding the response to a disaster event
DA
Department of Agriculture
DFO
Disaster Field Office: headquarters for FEMA staff and operations during a disaster
DHS
Department of Homeland Security: unifying core for national network of organizations and institutions involved in the response to threats and hazards in the United States
DMAT
Disaster Medical Assistance Teams
DNR
Department of Natural Resources
DOD
Department of Defense
DOE
Department of Energy
DOH
Department of Health
DOI
Department of the Interior
DOT
Department of Transportation
DRC
Disaster Recovery Center: facility or mobile office where applicants may go for information about FEMA or other disaster assistance programs
DSCA
Defense Support to Civil Authority
E — H
EA
Emergency Assistance
EHS
Environmental Health & Safety, Extremely Hazardous Substance
EMA
Emergency Management Agency
EMAC
Emergency Management Assistance Compact
EMI
Emergency Management Institute: oganization within FEMA that offers courses for people who have emergency management responsibilities
EMS
Emergency Medical System: First response services such as fire, law enforcement, paramedics
EOC
Emergency Operations Center: physical location at which the coordination of information and resources to support incident management activities takes place
EOP
Emergency Operations Plan: plan each jurisdiction has for responding to appropriate hazards
EPA
Environmental Protection Agency
ER
Emergency Relief
ESF
Emergency Support Function: grouping of governmental and certain private sector capabilities into an organizational structure to provide support, resources, program implementation and services to save lives, protect property and the environment, restore essential services and critical infrastructure, and help victims and communities return to normal following domestic incidents
ESF 01
Transportation
ESF 02
Communications
ESF 03
Public Works and Engineering
ESF 04
Firefighting
ESF 05
Emergency Management
ESF 06
Mass Care, Housing and Human Services
ESF 07
Resource Support
ESF 08
Public Health and Medical Services
ESF 09
Urban Search and Rescue
ESF 10
Oil and Hazardous Materials Response
ESF 11
Agriculture and Natural Resources
ESF 12
Energy
ESF 13
Public Safety and Security
ESF 14
Long-term Community Recovery and Mitigation
ESF 15
External Affairs
FIR
ASPCA’s Field Investigations and Response Team
FOG
Field Operation Guidelines
GOHSEP
Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (LA)
GIS
Geographic Information Systems
HAZMAT
Hazardous Material
HHS
Health and Human Services
HUREVAC
Hurricane Evacuation
I — O
IA
Individual Assistance, Inter-local Agreements
IA-TAC
Individual Assistance – Technical Assistance Contractor
IAEM
International Association of Emergency Managers
IAP
Incident Action Plan: written plan that defines response to a specific incident, including objectives, strategy and resources
IC
Incident Commander: person responsible for all incident activities, including strategies, tactics and resources
ICP
Incident Command Post
ICS / IMS
Incident Command System/Incident Management System: standardized on-scene emergency management organization designed to aid in the management of resources during incidents
IEMS
Integrated Emergency Management System
IMAT
Incident Management Assistance Team
JFO
Joint Field Office
JIC
Joint Information Center: facility established to coordinate all incident-related public information activities
JOC
Joint Operations Center
JITT
Just in Time Training
LEPC
Local Emergency Planning Committee
LOGS
Logistics
MA
Mission Assignment
MAA
Mutual Aid Agreement: agreement between organizations that generally defines the roles the organizations will play during a disaster
MACS
Multi-Agency Coordination System: MACS provide the architecture to support coordination for incident prioritization, critical resource allocation, communications systems integration and information coordination
MASH
Mobile Animal/Army Surgical Hospital
MOU
Memorandum of Understanding: disaster-related MOU is an agreement between organizations that very specifically defines the roles each may play during a disaster
MRC
Medical Reserve Corp
MRE
Meal Ready to Eat
MSDS
Material Safety Data Sheet: form that provides workers and emergency personnel with procedures for handling or working with a particular substance in a safe manner
MSPSA
Multi-State Partnership for Security in Agriculture
NARSC
National Animal Rescue and Sheltering Coalition
NASAAEP
National Alliance of State Animal and Agricultural Emergency Programs
NDMS
National Disaster Medical System
NEMA
National Emergency Management Association: NEMA is professional association for state emergency management directors
NFPA
National Fire Protection Association: The NFPA mission is to reduce the worldwide burden of fire and other hazards on the quality of life by developing and advocating consensus codes and standards, research, training and education
NG
National Guard
NGO
Non-Governmental Organization
NIC
NIMS National Integration Center
NIMS
National Incident Management System: federally-mandated management structure used for disasters
NOAA
National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration
NVOAD
National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disasters
NWS
National Weather Service
OEM
Office of Emergency Management: local or state department responsible for the response plan for a locality or state
OEP
Office of Emergency Preparedness
OHSEP
Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Prepardness (LA)
OPS
Operations OSHA Occupational Safety & Health Administration
P — Z
PA
Public Assistance
PETS Act
Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards Act of 2006
PIO
Public Information Officer: member of the Incident Command staff responsible for communicating with the public and media or with other agencies with incident-related information requirements
PKEMRA
Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act
POC
Point of Contact
POD
Point of Distribution: centralized locations where the public picks up life-sustaining commodities following a disaster or emergency
PPE
Personal Protective Equipment
PSA
Public Service Advertising, Public Service Announcement
PST
ASPCA’s Personnel Support Trailer
RACES
Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Services
RRCC
Regional Response Coordination Center
SAADRA
Southern Animal and Agricultural Disaster Response Alliance
SAR/ S&R
Search and Rescue
SART
State Animal Response Team
SitRep
Situation Report: report summarizing the status of the incident and its response
SO
Safety Officer
SOG
Standard Operating Guidelines
SOP
Standard Operating Procedure
SOU
Statement of Understanding
SUA
Shared Use Agreement
TS
Tropical Storm
UC
Unified Command: team of individual representatives of multiple organizations who together have authority and responsibility for incident operations and management
USDA
United States Department of Agriculture
USAR
Urban Search and Rescue
VMAT
Veterinary Medical Assistance Team: VMATs assist the local veterinary community with the care of animals and provide veterinary oversight and advice on animal related issues and public health during a disaster
VRC
Veterinary Reserve Corp
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