Emergency Management
Introduction Catastrophes are not average, they are great exceptions. Disaster planning must deal with the unknown. There is no where on earth that is risk free, so we must find cost effective ways to minimize destructive events to the best of our ability. This paper will lay out a rudimentary training plan that will assist Emergency Managers in planning for events. This will not detail the event, but lay a framework that can be used in any form.
1. Discussion All emergency management must contain some basic principles. The most basic, is a chain of command. There must be one designated person that is overall in charge of each and every event to establish effective command and control. A command center needs to be established and this can be a vehicle and building or any space that can be obtained in a safe zone close to the disaster. Communications must be established in any event, so training on any system must be done and as frequently as possible. Standard reports and returns to be established and issued. Dependant on the size and nature of the event, the team will expand as required. In the case of both Chernobyl, and Bhopal, large teams would have been required due to both the size and the level of the events. Upon arrival or notification of either of these events, the first step is always to gather as much information as possible to determine, is anyone left inside? What is the perimeter that must be secured? What is the safety zone that has to be established? We must educate ourselves on the outside before we can be of any benefit to the inside. It would be ludicrous to send in rescue workers without the proper Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) to any event. In order to this, we must ensure that we have valid information to issue the appropriate PPE. After the initial cordon and information gathering, we then look at rescue operations from inside facilities if necessary. Concurrent with these events, it is critical that all
1. Discussion All emergency management must contain some basic principles. The most basic, is a chain of command. There must be one designated person that is overall in charge of each and every event to establish effective command and control. A command center needs to be established and this can be a vehicle and building or any space that can be obtained in a safe zone close to the disaster. Communications must be established in any event, so training on any system must be done and as frequently as possible. Standard reports and returns to be established and issued. Dependant on the size and nature of the event, the team will expand as required. In the case of both Chernobyl, and Bhopal, large teams would have been required due to both the size and the level of the events. Upon arrival or notification of either of these events, the first step is always to gather as much information as possible to determine, is anyone left inside? What is the perimeter that must be secured? What is the safety zone that has to be established? We must educate ourselves on the outside before we can be of any benefit to the inside. It would be ludicrous to send in rescue workers without the proper Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) to any event. In order to this, we must ensure that we have valid information to issue the appropriate PPE. After the initial cordon and information gathering, we then look at rescue operations from inside facilities if necessary. Concurrent with these events, it is critical that all
Bibliography: 1. Drabek TE & Hoetmer GJ (1991), “emergency Management: Principles & Practice for Local Government”. 2. McEntire DA (2007), “Disaster Response and Recovery, “ Wiley Interscience, A John Wiley & Sons Inc. Publication.