86
Independent operators
United States
Response staged against FEMA-declared emergencies.
ERNA tracks Presidential emergency and major disaster declarations across the United States and stages equipment and crews against them — with the option to draw on partner capacity from Canada or Mexico when a US-side request exceeds what's staged domestically.
Start here
Find your section.
I'm a government agency
Declaration triggers, key federal agencies, and how to request equipment.
I'm a service provider
Coverage needs, the sourcing model, and how to list equipment.
I need help right now
Call 911. ERNA coordinates logistics behind the scenes — it isn't a direct emergency response line.
Declaration system
How a US response is triggered.
FEMA coordinates federal emergency management under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, with declarations made by the President at a governor's request.
| Trigger | Scope | ERNA role |
|---|---|---|
| Presidential major disaster declaration | State or territory | Monitor, flag affected jurisdictions, open request intake |
| Presidential emergency declaration | State or territory, narrower scope | Same monitoring and intake process |
| State-level activation ahead of a federal declaration | State | Standing-account agencies can pre-request based on forecasted events |
Key agencies
Who ERNA's US response is built around.
FEMA leads overall coordination, but several other federal agencies own specific hazard types under the National Response Framework's Emergency Support Function (ESF) structure. These are the ones ERNA stages equipment against most often.
Agency
FEMA
May respond to
- Declares and coordinates federal response to major disasters and emergencies under the Stafford Act
- Flood, hurricane, earthquake, and nuclear/biological coordination across all ESFs
Agency
USACE
May respond to
- Leads ESF #3 (Public Works & Engineering) — emergency power, debris removal, infrastructure repair
- Flood, hurricane, critical infrastructure, and engineering support during nuclear response
Agency
DHS / CISA
May respond to
- Leads critical infrastructure protection and cyber-physical incident coordination
- Critical infrastructure/cyber, and broader coordination on explosive device incidents
Agency
EPA
May respond to
- Leads hazardous-materials and chemical release response
- Co-leads environmental monitoring during radiological incidents
Agency
HHS / CDC
May respond to
- Leads public health and medical response to disease outbreaks and biological events
- Coordinates medical surge capacity with state health departments
Agency
DOE / NRC
May respond to
- Technical authority for nuclear reactor safety and radiological incidents
- Provides monitoring and technical assessment during nuclear declarations
Agency
FBI / ATF
May respond to
- Lead federal law enforcement response to explosive devices and mass-casualty attacks
- Coordinates scene security ahead of search-and-rescue and medical response
Agency
NIFC
May respond to
- Coordinates federal wildland firefighting resources across agencies
- Works alongside the US Forest Service and state fire agencies on wildfire response
Agencies listed are examples of who may be involved in a given scenario, not a guarantee of jurisdiction or activation for any specific event — ERNA is a private logistics network and does not represent, direct, or speak for any of these agencies.
Coverage explorer
See where partner capacity exists.
A live look at capability coverage across the US, filterable by hazard type. Useful whether you're checking what's available before a request, or seeing where your own equipment would fit in.
SAMPLE DATA — ILLUSTRATIVE
24
Partner companies
212
Ambulances listed
Generators listed340 units
Combined transport capacity~180 patients per surge cycle
Shelter-kit capacity~8,400 people (FEMA P-361, 5 sq ft/person)
Common certificationsALS/BLS, CDL, Hazmat Endorsement, ICS-100/200
Cross-border licensed31 of 86 independent operators also licensed to operate in Canada and/or Mexico
Illustrative sample data, not live counts.
Map data adapted from Simple World Map (Al MacDonald / Fritz Lekschas), CC BY-SA 3.0.
Emergency scenario
Select an emergency scenario above to see regulatory options.
Regulatory scenario
Select an agency above to see its coverage area.
Coverage area
If it coordinates differently than FEMA's regions (like NIFC or DOE/NRC), its own boundaries appear here instead.
Standard 10 federal regionsthe 10-region structure administered by FEMA and also used by EPA, DHS/CISA, and HHS. NIFC, FBI, DOE/NRC, and USACE each run their own structure instead (select one to see it).
NIFC's 10 Geographic Area Coordination Centersused instead of the standard 10 regions for wildfire response
NRC's 4 regionsused instead of the standard 10 for nuclear regulatory matters
FBI organizes by 56 individual field offices covering specific counties, not by regional zones — the regions above are a general reference, not FBI's actual structure.
USACE organizes into 8–9 divisions defined by watershed boundaries, not state lines — they don't align with the regions above, which are a general reference, not USACE's actual structure.
Sample counties/municipios in Region I (illustrative)
Sample counties/municipios in Region II (illustrative)
Sample counties/municipios in Region III (illustrative)
Sample counties/municipios in Region IV (illustrative)
Sample counties/municipios in Region V (illustrative)
Sample counties/municipios in Region VI (illustrative)
Sample counties/municipios in Region VII (illustrative)
Sample counties/municipios in Region VIII (illustrative)
Sample counties/municipios in Region IX (illustrative)
Sample counties/municipios in Region X (illustrative)
Select a coverage area above to see response scenario options.
Response scenario
A grouped view of the same categories used on the home page — Medical maps to Public Health & Medical, Engineering to Public Works & Energy, Mass Care to Mass Care & Housing, and Search & Rescue and Hazmat carry across directly. Selections made here mean the same thing there.
Select any combination of locations, hazards, response types, or agencies above — or tap a marker on the map — to see what's active in United States.
Coverage shown here is illustrative of the network structure, not a live partner count — actual matches depend on your account and the specific request. Agencies listed are examples of who may be involved, not a guarantee of jurisdiction or activation for any specific event — ERNA is a private logistics network and does not represent, direct, or speak for any of these agencies.
How we source
Small operators first, large partners at scale.
ERNA doesn't lock a requesting agency into one size of partner. As a US response moves from immediate impact to a sustained emergency, the network shifts who it draws equipment and crews from — giving the agency more dynamic control and a better cost profile at every stage.
Immediate response
Independent operators / small businessesLarger partner companies
Nearest capacity wins. Local independent operators closest to the declared area activate first, regardless of size.
Lower mobilization cost. Small operators typically carry lower minimum commitments than large fleet contracts — which matters before the true scope of the event is known.
Dynamic control. The requesting agency can scale the request up or down hour by hour without breaking a large standing contract.
The agency's request is matched to the nearest independent operator, whose crew and equipment reach the people affected directly — often within the first response window.
Stabilizing response
Independent operators / small businessesLarger partner companies
Blended sourcing. As the scale of the event becomes clear, larger partner companies are brought in alongside the independent operators already deployed.
Capacity without losing flexibility. Independent operators keep filling local gaps while partner companies cover the growing baseline demand.
Cross-border option. If domestic capacity is tapped, the network can draw on Canadian or Mexican operators near the border.
Dispatch operations rebalance which responders — independent or partner — are actively serving which part of the affected population as the picture develops.
Sustained response
Independent operators / small businessesLarger partner companies
Large partner companies carry the base load. Standing contracts provide the fleet size and crew rotation a multi-month nuclear or biological response needs.
Predictable, negotiated cost. Longer commitments unlock the per-unit pricing that only makes sense once duration is certain.
Independent operators stay in the mix. Smaller local operators keep covering region-specific gaps the larger fleets aren't positioned for.
The agency's standing allocation keeps equipment rotating to the affected population for as long as the emergency runs — without renegotiating the request from scratch.
The sourcing mix shown is illustrative of the model, not a live allocation — actual sourcing depends on the specific request, available capacity, and the requesting agency's own procurement rules.
Want to see this in numbers instead? The Impact Calculator sizes ambulances, shelter space, and crew to a hypothetical scenario.
Open calculatorCoverage
Short and long-term response, domestically staged.
US-based staging covers the short-onset events that make up most declarations, plus the sustained equipment demand of long-term emergencies.
Short-term
Flood, hurricane, wildfire
Equipment staged regionally for fast deployment when a forecastable or fast-onset event triggers a declaration.
Long-term
Nuclear & biological
Sustained equipment supply for radiological incidents and biological emergencies, coordinated over a multi-month response.
Cross-border
Border-region combination
Near the northern or southern border, US requests can draw on Canadian or Mexican partner capacity when it's faster than domestic staging.
US dashboards
What the app looks like for this region.
US agencies and US-based partners each get a dashboard scoped to FEMA's declaration structure and domestic + cross-border inventory.
Customer / agency dashboard
2
Open requests
9
Assets en route
1
Cross-border asset
DeclarationMajor disaster — Gulf Coast
TypeHurricane — short-term
Ambulances requested6 (5 domestic, 1 from MX)
Generators allocated10
Partner dashboard
6
Equipment listed
1
Active deployment
$—
Earnings this month
Partner typePartner company
CompanyExample: Cascade Mobile Medical Co.
CertificationsALS, Hazmat Endorsement
License scopeUS + Mexico
Generator, 20kW (x3)Listed
Ambulance, BLS-equipped (x1)Deployed
New offerGulf Coast · ALS kits x8