Security, Fire, and Emergency Management (B-1)

Title

Security, Fire, and Emergency Management (B-1)

Description

"I can assure you, public service is a stimulating, proud and lively enterprise. It is not just a way of life; it is a way to live fully. Its greatest attraction is the sheer challenge of it – struggling to find solutions to the great issues of the day. It can fulfill your highest aspirations. The call to service is one of the highest callings you will hear and your country can make"

Lee H. Hamilton, Chairman of 9/11 Commission.

The main goal of security, fire and emergency management is to keep the United States safe. Tasks range from aviation and border security to emergency response.  With the advent of modern information and communications technologies, cybersecurity analysis has become a significant role in security management. Crises, disasters and catastrophes resulting from natural and terrorist events also command a lot of the attention of The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), whose mission it is to protect the nation and to ensure its resilience against terrorism and other potential threats that it might face. When it was created in 2002, DHS combined 22 different federal departments and agencies to form one integrated agency. Among the agencies combined are:  border protection, customs, national immigration service, plans and animal inspection, the U.S. Coast Guard, and U.S. Secret Service.

Those employed in security, fire and emergency management work in education, fire science, occupational and traffic safety, risk management, and emergency management services. Some have administrative roles and others work on the front line as first responders. 

In the additional resources section to the right is a collection of related public service narratives "Ask me why I care,"under "Tell your story." They were curated by the University of Nebraska at Omaha College of Public Affairs and Community Service in a Public Service Stories Project. Project Co-Directors are Dr. Mary Hamilton and Ms. Rita Paskowitz. The collection comprises videos and Suggested Assignments for Students.

Collection Items

U.S. Federal Aviation Administration
The modern age of powered flight began in 1903 when Orville Wright made the first sustained, powered flight on December 17 in a plane he and his brother Wilbur built. This twelve-second flight led to the development of the first practical airplane in…

Consumer Product Safety Commission: Fireworks Information Center
Fireworks are synonymous with our celebration of Independence Day. Yet, the thrill of fireworks can also bring pain. 240 people on average go the emergency room every day with fireworks-related injuries in the month around the July 4th holiday.

Engine Company No. 5
I can think of no more stirring symbol of man's humanity to man than a fire engine. by Kurt Vonnegut In 1736 Benjamin Franklin established the Union Fire Company in Philadelphia. George Washington was a volunteer firefighter in Alexandria, Virginia.…

Battling Blaze on Deepwater Horizon Oilrig
Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's need, but not every man's greed.
Mohandas K. Gandhi, quoted in Small is Beautiful by E. F. Schumacher
It was the turning point for the worst oil spill in our nation's history. On July 15, 2010, a 75-ton…

Tired Search Dog
There is nothing that can replace the precision of a dog's nose -- and absolutely nothing that can replace the steadfast nature of a dog's heart.
Bob Sessions, FEMA rescue worker
The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty…

American La France Motorized Fire Engine
"An old fire engine used in Burlington. It was the first of its kind to be motorized.

Motorized fire engines didn’t hit the streets until 1910, allowing firefighters to get where they needed to be at a much faster pace. They were easier to repair…

Ground Zero Spirit
On September 11, 2001, in New York City the World Trade Center (WTC) was attacked by terrorists. Flight 11 and flight 175 were hijacked and flown into the twin towers. At ground zero, amid all of the chaos, three New York City firefighters raised the…

Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina was one of the deadliest hurricanes ever to hit the United States. An estimated 1,836 people died in the hurricane and the flooding that followed in late August 2005, and millions of others were left homeless along the Gulf Coast…

Federal Emergency Management Agency
"The Federal Emergency Management Agency is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from and mitigate…

United States Coast Guard
The U.S. Coast Guard is one of the five armed forces of the United States and the only military organization within the Department of Homeland Security. Since 1790 the Coast Guard has safeguarded our Nation's maritime interests and environment around…
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