Important awareness level guidelines for first responders

When responders are arriving at the scene of an emergency it is imperative that the recognition phase start immediately upon approach and arrival. If the responders observe any of the clues to lead to a belief of a more sinister incident, the responders should take immediate protective actions for themselves and those bystanders around the scene.

This means their awareness of the situation must be very keen and clear of any emotional, physical, or mental impairment so they can adapt their training to the incident at hand.  Whether you are in a densely populated metropolis or a quiet rural setting, there are potential targets for terrorism. The targets may differ but the intent is the same no matter where you are.

The targets can be anything and anyone.  Responders need to recognize those potential events, locations, and high impact areas that yield a high probability of attack.  The target may be small and tactically aimed such as one person or place, or the attack may be broad and strategic in nature, aimed at a large group of people or places.  Another possibility is that the target is  YOU!!.  There is a great deal of media attention when the target is the first responder to an incident.  Be very observant and learn to make rapid recognition of the incident at hand.

Since recognition is the single most important thing you can do, the next logical step after recognition is to formulate a special response to that suspect event.  In all occupations there are different ways we approach and handle situations.  An example might be a motor vehicle accident. The special response to the motor vehicle accident would be to protect the scene with the trucks and to approach from a safe direction to be able to further process any recognizable dangers upon approach.  This would differ from a response to a life threatening medical emergency. While the life threatening medical emergency may be a result of a hazardous situation (gunman) and responders should be vigilantly looking for anything that would give recognition of any threats to the response effort.

Most would agree that a routine fire emergency is non-existent in the world because of so many different variables on each run. With that in mind, we will take a house fire run and look at how this would give the baseline for response to a WMD event.  When we get the call, we equip ourselves for the run we are going on.  Fire Responders will use firefighter protective clothing as their personal protective equipment as well as Self Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) as increased airway protection.  While enroute to the scene of the fire run information is continually relayed from the communications center to the response commander. That commander takes all of the communicated information and starts to devise a plan for when they arrive at the scene. Upon arrival of the Fire Responders, the commander will report to the communications center whether there are RECOGNIZABLE signs of fire on the structure.  The commander may radio “no signs of fire, will be investigating.” This tells the communications center the intensity of the run and whether other resources are needed.

If we change the run now to a potential WMD event, the response effort will change to meet the special needs for a safe response to the event. An example would be a report of an explosion at the Friday night football game. The Fire Responders would initially put on their firefighter protective clothing and ready their SCBA’s in a response to a fire explosion. While enroute the commander receives information from first responders, that the explosion was by the bleachers and there is no damage to any structures.  At this point, the commanding officer of the Fire Response effort should be suspecting a dissemination device and preparing his specialized response efforts accordingly.  The firefighter protective clothing while in route changes to chemical protective clothing and no personnel without respiratory protection  are be permitted to enter the area of the scene until the investigatory team can dispel the suspicion of a dissemination device.  At the same time, the additional support services will need to be summoned and readied.  It is essential to remember to protect yourself and ready your mind for wide-eyed attention to detail approach to recognize threats or causal factors keeps the response effort adaptable and ready for change because of the intelligence gathered while responding.

It is very important for the Emergency Medical Services to be able to recognize signs and symptoms of exposures to WMD materials.  In the about example of the device that exploded with no damage to any structure. The fire investigation may yield no recognition of a WMD device. The EMS personnel may however see a large influx of ill people that were in the proximity of the dispersion. This information immediately relayed to the incident commander and corrective actions implemented immediately.  EMS personnel should know common signs and symptoms of likely WMD materials. A close review of Units 5, 6 7, of this module would give the EMS responder a huge insight for recognizing signs and symptoms.  In addition to recognizing the signs and symptoms and starting the appropriate treatment for the ailment the victim is suffering, the EMS personnel MUST FOLLOW EMERGENCY MEDICAL PROTOCOLS OF THEIR DEPARTMENT FOR TREATING THESE VICTIMS.  There are some typical indicators responders should be aware of when making an assessment of whether the response could be a potential WMD related event.

First responders should also be a ware when to call for a quarantine of a incident scene that is to dangerous or unstable to enter or is still actively unfolding where personnel would be added to casualty or injured.  In this cases Unified command structure calls for voluntary entry by specialist teams only.

First responders at in tandem with law enforcing agencies and Create Joint operation  CIM teams and operations centers the awareness of the first responder also must be when to immediately request additional assistance.