FIRE ARCHIVES
The Detection Triage – A Systematic Approach to Identification
Glen Rudner
March 21, 2012
Success in any field of human endeavor usually requires not only education and training but also having at hand the best “tools” available to do the job – no matter what that job entails. In hazmat or CBRNE incidents, the tools used by emergency responders include a broad array of
Narrowing the Search for the Best Detection Devices
Thomas Norstrand
March 21, 2012
Even the best trained and most highly motivated responders can be no better than their equipment. This means that the search for and purchase of the best equipment available must always be a top priority for senior management with critical decision-making responsibilities.
Equipment Standardization – A New-Old Approach
Jordan Nelms
March 21, 2012
The so-called “standardization” of equipment is intended to lower costs, simplify procurement decisions, and also improve training and operational capabilities – theoretically, at least. When the standards previously approved are not followed, though, or are simply ignored, new and complex difficulties follow in short order. When those difficulties complicate CBRNE
Hospital Preparedness for ‘Chemical/Detergent’ Suicides
Craig DeAtley
March 7, 2012
The Hospital Accreditation Standards established by The Joint Commission, and followed by almost all of the nation’s healthcare facilities, mandate that U.S. hospitals should be prepared to decontaminate patients who have been exposed to hazardous materials. However, although thousands of incidents involving hazardous materials occur annually in the United
Emergency Responses to CDLs: The Hidden Dangers
Christina Spoons
February 29, 2012
Meth labs are another clear and present danger not only to individual users and the nation as a whole, but also to the lab workers, innocent “civilians” living in the same neighborhood, and – most of all, perhaps – firefighters and other first responders who are risking their own lives
Addiction in Emergency Services: Coworkers Help, Denial Hurts
Victor Welzant
February 22, 2012
Major stress and constant pressure are all part of the job for emergency-services personnel and other responders. A less obvious but greater danger is caused by drug and alcohol addictions. Professional help is available, but not always wanted. What is most needed, and in the long term most effective, is
NIMS/ICS and Drug-Enforcement Operations – Yes and No
Stephen Grainer
February 15, 2012
Drug trafficking throughout the United States has become such an omnipresent danger that it can be diminished and eventually defeated only by the combined efforts of law-enforcement and intelligence agencies at all levels of government – local, state, and federal. Here, with the names of specific sources necessarily withheld, is
PTSD: The Front Lines of a New Conflict
Kate Rosenblatt
February 8, 2012
The “save rate” of military personnel wounded in battle used to be extremely low. Now it is much higher, thanks in large part to better medicine and improved medical transport (ambulances and helicopters, primarily). However, one unanticipated result has been a huge increase in the survival of personnel suffering from
Lessons Learned: The Mass Shootings in Tucson
Sophia Paros
February 1, 2012
In the violent world of the 21st century, there is no way to absolutely guarantee the safety of any one individual – for example, a Congresswoman holding a press conference at a Safeway without security. But, if nothing else, the senseless shooting last year of U.S. Representative Gabriel Giffords and
Narcan: The Spray That Saves
Joseph Cahill
February 1, 2012
First question: Should “everyday citizens” – however that term is defined – be given access to potentially harmful medications, including antidotes to dangerous narcotics? Well, perhaps. Second question: What if the medication also saves lives? Now the answer is a much more emphatic “perhaps”. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is working
Surviving the End of the World
Joseph Cahill
January 25, 2012
In almost all dangerous events and incidents, the highest priority of the first responders on the scene is to save lives. The parallel obligation of emergency managers and other senior officials, therefore, is to do as much as possible to save and protect the lives of the lifesavers themselves.
‘Route PM’: Building a Better Evacuation Plan
Geoff Brown
January 18, 2012
One of the most difficult tasks facing emergency planners today involves traffic management – more specifically, getting as many people out of town just as fast as possible in times of crisis. That job is much more difficult when thousands of local residents head south instead of north – which
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