“Struck-by” Incidents Continue
(Sources: ERSI and EMS1)
Six years ago, the Emergency Management and Response—Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) reported that “struck-by” incidents were increasing and jeopardizing the safety and operations of emergency responders. Another examination of this issue during the past week substantiated that “struck-by” occurrences nationwide have not abated.
For example, a firefighter was recently killed in Iowa while directing traffic around an accident scene. Also, a Virginia sheriff's deputy was injured after he was hit by a vehicle being driven recklessly. Unfortunately, more current examples can be seen at the “Struck-By” page of the Emergency Responder Safety Institute (ERSI).
The EMS1 senior editor suggests the following minimum strategies to reduce or eliminate these incidents and protect personnel:
- Develop standard operating guidelines for roadway incidents.
- Conduct periodic training on SOPs and safety strategy and tactics.
- Ensure the proper positioning of emergency vehicles to protect the incident work area.
- Provide advanced warning for motorists using whatever tools are available.
- Wear only highly visible personal protective equipment.
- Participate actively in regional traffic incident management committees.
- Execute periodic multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional training on roadway incident management.
Other sources recommend the following actions in addition to the above:
- Maintain constant vigilance of surroundings and never turn your back to traffic.
- Determine immediately a quick way to escape from an approaching vehicle.
- Situate yourself as far away as practical from the travel portion of the road.
- Take extra precautions when road conditions are wet, icy, or snowy.
- Minimize the paperwork completed on the side of the highway.
More information on this matter can be seen at FireRescue1.com.
NIMS Training Program
(Source: National Integration Center)
The National Integration Center (NIC) recently released the National Incident Management System (NIMS) Training Program (PDF, 2 Mb), which supersedes the Fire-Year NIMS Training Plan of February 2008.
When examining the purpose of the National Incident Management System, the Emergency Management and Response—Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) ascertained that it provides a consistent template enabling federal, state, tribal, and local governments, the private sector, and nongovernmental organizations to work together to prepare for, prevent, respond to, recover from, and mitigate the effects of incidents regardless of cause, size, location, or complexity. “This consistency provides the foundation for nationwide use of NIMS for all incidents, ranging from daily occurrences to more complex incidents requiring a coordinated, federal response.”
The NIMS Training Program establishes a common national foundation for NIMS training and qualifying emergency management and incident response personnel. More specifically, the program guides NIMS training activities; supports stakeholder training and planning; and serves as a single-source, regularly updated compilation of training within the NIMS national core curriculum.
NIMS Guideline for Credentialing Personnel
(Source: DHS)
The Emergency Management and Response—Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) confirmed that the National Integration Center (NIC) released in July 2011, the National Incident Management System (NIMS) Guideline for Credentialing of Personnel (PDF, 407 Kb) to describe national credentialing standards and to provide written guidance regarding the use of those standards.
According to the guideline, credentialing is essential to the emergency management community in that it ensures and validates the identity and attributes (e.g., affiliations, skills, or privileges) of individuals or members of response teams through standards. “Having established standards allows the community to plan for, request, and have confidence in resources deployed from other jurisdictions for emergency assistance. Credentialing ensures that personnel resources match requests, and it supports effective management of deployed responders.”
This document describes credentialing and typing processes and identifies tools that federal emergency response officials and emergency managers at all levels of government may use routinely to facilitate multijurisdictional coordinated responses. It also provides information about where emergency response leaders can obtain expertise and technical assistance in using the national standards or in ways they can adapt the standards to department, agency, jurisdiction, or organization needs. Additionally, the guideline applies to incidents such as large-scale terrorist attacks or catastrophic natural disasters where mutual aid and multijurisdictional aid is required.
Establishing Risk-Reduction Priorities
(Source: U.S. Fire Administration)
The U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) issued a “Coffee Break Training” (PDF, 375 Kb) document last week pertaining to “Establishing Risk-Reduction Priorities.” The objective of the USFA paper is to help practitioners identify the levels of priority concerning risks to the community.
According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), risk red uction works to reduce risk to life and property through land use planning, floodplain management, the adoption of sound building practices, and a variety of grant programs that support these activities. “Mitigation projects that reduce risk include elevating, relocating, or acquiring properties located in floodplains and returning them to open space, and the reinforcing of buildings in earthquake-prone areas.”
The Emergency Management and Response—Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) noted that establishing risk-reduction priorities must be based on factual local data and trends. “Experiential information is important, but should be used to supplement data rather than replace them.” The training brief also stressed the necessity to zero in on the highest risk populations. |
