Editing Civil defense (section)

=== Response ===
Response consists first of warning civilians so they can enter [[fallout shelter]]s and protect assets.

Staffing a response is always full of problems in a civil defense emergency. After an attack, conventional full-time emergency services are dramatically overloaded, with conventional fire fighting response times often exceeding several days. Some capability is maintained by local and state agencies, and an emergency reserve is provided by specialized military units, especially [[Civil Affairs|civil affairs]], [[Military Police]], [[Judge Advocate]]s and [[combat engineer]]s.

However, the traditional response to massed attack on civilian population centers is to maintain a mass-trained force of volunteer emergency workers. Studies in [[World War II]] showed that lightly trained (40 hours or less) civilians in organised teams can perform up to 95% of emergency activities when trained, liaised and supported by local government. In this plan, the populace rescues itself from most situations, and provides information to a central office to prioritize professional emergency services.

In the 1990s, this concept was revived by the [[Los Angeles Fire Department]] to cope with civil emergencies such as [[earthquake]]s. The program was widely adopted, providing standard terms for organization. In the U.S., this is now official federal policy, and it is implemented by [[community emergency response team]]s, under the Department of Homeland Security, which certifies training programs by local governments, and registers "certified disaster service workers" who complete such training.