Proactive Standards Development for Emergency Responders
Diana Hopkins
April 23, 2008
Anything worth doing is worth doing well – and in accordance with established standards not only acceptable to experienced professionals but also recognized by the community at large as both valid and necessary.
Mass-Fatality Management Planning - A Hospital Perspective
Craig DeAtley
April 23, 2008
Most U.S. hospitals & other healthcare facilities focus their efforts on saving lives & helping those who are seriously injured. The handling of the dead, sometimes a large number at the same time, is a different but almost equally important skill.
U.S. Fire Administration and National Volunteer Fire Council Release Report on Emerging Health and Safety Issues in the Volunteer Fire Service
Domestic Preparedness
April 22, 2008
This report, Emerging Health and Safety Issues in the Volunteer Fire Service, provides information on initiatives, programs, and strategies for reducing fatalities among volunteer firefighters. http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/downloads/pdf/publications/fa_317.pdf
The Myth of the Cordon Sanitaire
Michael Allswede
April 16, 2008
The operational as well as theoretical concept of the “cordon sanitaire” – a French phrase literally translated as “quarantine line” – is one of containment. Originally, cordon sanitaire referred to the segregation of persons suffering from communicable and untreatable diseases from their healthy fellow citizens through use of a physical demarcation of some type – a wall or fence, for example.
Debris Recycling - Transforming Disasters Into Opportunities
Kirby McCrary
April 16, 2008
After the storm comes the rainbow. Supposedly. After a disaster comes the debris – and the problem
of what to do with it. Surprisingly, perhaps, there are some profitable solutions that should be
considered.
The United States Fire Administration Releases a Series of Topical Fire Risk Reports
Domestic Preparedness
April 14, 2008
The reports, which explore factors that influence risk, are based on 2004 data from the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS), the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), and the
Public Health Emergency Response: A Guide for Leaders and Responders - a Report from the Department of Health and Human Services
Domestic Preparedness
April 14, 2008
A guide on public-health responses to emergencies that is specifically tailored for public officials (e.g., mayors, governors, county executives, emergency managers) and first responders (e.g., policemen, firefighters, EMS technicians). http://www.hhs.gov/disasters/press/newsroom/leadersguide/
Crowd-Control Challenges in Pandemic Emergencies
Joseph Steger
April 9, 2008
The widespread outbreak of an infectious disease poses tremendous challenges for all disciplines in the emergency-services community. Pandemic emergencies are generally regarded as a significant public-health problem, but it is
Resource-Typing Implications for EMS and Emergency Management
Joseph Cahill
April 9, 2008
Attention to detail is frequently the principal difference between the success, or failure, of any human endeavor. That is particularly true in times of sudden disaster, when “mere words” – precisely expressed – may have life-or-death implications.
Rescue 21 Update: Advanced Comm Capabilities for the New Century
Joseph DiRenzo III and Christopher Doane
April 2, 2008
Mayday! Mayday! The internationally recognized distress call for mariners and aviators; however, if no one hears the call, help will not be dispatched. The U.S. Coast Guard has been taking