Emergency Support Functions

ESF 4 - Firefighting

Emergency Support Function (ESF) #4 – Firefighting provides support for the detection and suppression of wildland, rural, and urban fires resulting from, or occurring coincidentally with, an all-hazard incident requiring a coordinated national response for assistance. 

• Firefighting activities on jurisdictional lands

• Resource support to rural and urban firefighting operations

• Firefighting structural, forest, rural and wooded area fires

• Fire investigations

ESF 5 - Information & Planning / Emergency Management

Emergency Support Function (ESF) #5 — Information and Planning collects, analyzes, processes, and disseminates information about a potential or actual incident, and conducts deliberate and crisis action planning activities to facilitate the overall activities in providing assistance to the whole community. 

• Coordination of incident management efforts

• Issuance of mission assignments

• Resource and human capital

• Incident action planning

• Financial management

• EMAC

• Multi-Agency Coordination

• Tribal matters

• Generator support

ESF 6 - Mass Care, Housing, and Human Services

Emergency Support Function (ESF) #6 – Mass Care, Emergency Assistance, Temporary Housing, and Human Services coordinates and provides life-sustaining resources, essential services, and statutory programs when the needs of disaster survivors exceed local, state, tribal, territorial, and insular area government capabilities. 

• Mass care

• Disaster housing

• Human services

• Sheltering operations

• Mass feeding

• Long/short term housing

• DSNAP

• VOAD

ESF 7 - Logistics

Emergency Support Function (ESF) #7 – Logistics integrates whole community logistics, incident planning, and support for timely and efficient delivery of supplies, equipment, services, and facilities. It also facilitates comprehensive logistics planning, technical assistance, training, education, exercise, incident response, and sustainment that leverage the capability and resources of logistics partners, public and private stakeholders, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in support of both responders and disaster survivors. 

• Resource support (facility space, office equipment, contracting services, etc.)

• Points of Distribution (PODS)

• Commodity Distribution

ESF 8 - Health & Medical

Emergency Support Function (ESF) #8 – Public Health and Medical Services provides the mechanism for assistance to supplement local, state, tribal, territorial, and insular area resources in response to a disaster, emergency, or incident that may lead to a public health, medical, behavioral, or human service emergency, including those that have international implications. 

• Public health

• Medical

• Mental health services

• Mortuary services

• Medical and health needs

• Special needs shelters

• Ambulances

• DMAT and DMORT

• Mosquito Abatement

ESF 9 - Search & Rescue

Emergency Support Function (ESF) #9 – Search and Rescue (SAR) deploys SAR resources to provide lifesaving assistance to local, state, tribal, territorial, and insular area authorities, including local SAR Coordinators and Mission Coordinators, when there is an actual or anticipated request for Federal SAR assistance. 

• Life-saving assistance

• Urban search and rescue

• Search and Rescue (SAR)

• Water Rescue

ESF 10 - Oil & HAZMAT

Emergency Support Function (ESF) #10 – Oil and Hazardous Materials Response provides support in response to an actual or potential discharge and/or release of oil or hazardous materials when activated. 

• Oil and hazardous materials response (chemical, biological, radiological, etc.)

• Environmental safety and short- and long-term cleanup

• HAZMAT

• Air quality

ESF 11 - Ag & Natural Resources

Emergency Support Function (ESF) #11 – Agriculture and Natural Resources organizes and coordinates support for the protection of the Nation’s agricultural, natural and cultural resources during national emergencies. ESF #11 works during actual and potential incidents to provide nutrition assistance; respond to animal and agricultural health issues; provide technical expertise, coordination, and support of animal and agricultural emergency management; ensure the safety and defense of the Nation’s supply of meat, poultry, and processed egg products; and ensure the protection of natural and cultural resources and historic properties. 

• Nutrition assistance

• Animal and plant disease and pest response

• Food safety and security

• Natural and cultural resources and historic properties protection and restoration

• Animal Response and Relief

• Pet evacuation and sheltering

• Emergency fuel

• Agricultural needs

ESF 12 - Energy

Emergency Support Function (ESF) #12 – Energy provides support to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) by assisting local, state, tribal, territorial, and Federal government entities, nongovernmental organizations (NGO), and the private sector by coordinating government capabilities, services, technical assistance, and engineering expertise during disasters and incidents that require a coordinated response.  The term “energy” includes producing, storing, refining, transporting, generating, transmitting, conserving, building, distributing, maintaining, and controlling energy systems and system components. 

• Energy infrastructure assessment, repair, and restoration

• Energy industry utilities coordination

• Energy forecast

• Oil and Gas pipelines.

• Utility Services

• Drinking water

ESF 13 - Public Safety & Security

Emergency Support Function (ESF) #13 – Provides public safety and security assistance to local, state, tribal, territorial, and Federal organizations overwhelmed by the results of an actual or anticipated natural/manmade disaster or an act of terrorism. 

• Facility and resource security

• Security planning and technical and resource assistance

• Support to access, traffic, and crowd control

• Security

• Traffic Control

• Public safety and law enforcement

• Prison evacuations

ESF 14 - Cross Sector Business & Infrastructure 

Emergency Support Function (ESF) #14 – Cross Sector Business & Infrastructure supports the coordination of cross-sector operations, including stabilization of key supply chains and Community Lifelines, among infrastructure owners and operators, businesses and their government partners.  

FEMA Standard - ESF 15

Other Emergency Support Functions

Hazard Annexes

Support Annexes