Florida ESFs are organized by function rather than agency.

• A. By geography
• B. Randomly
• C. By function
• D. By agency

Answer: (C)

Emergency Support Functions organize response by function rather than by which agency owns the asset. In Florida, ESFs group capabilities such as transportation, mass care, public health, energy, and communications into functional teams that draw on resources from multiple agencies as needed. This arrangement creates a unified, coordinated effort, ensuring the right capabilities are activated and integrated across agencies. For example, mass care coordination brings sheltering, feeding, and medical support together under one ESF, involving health services, NGOs, and local authorities, instead of each agency separately handling shelter. If response were organized by agency, efforts could become siloed, leading to duplication or gaps. Organizing by function therefore enables effective, cross-agency cooperation during emergencies.