Chapter 5

Implementing the Planned Response

Objectives: Awareness Level Personnel

• Describe how to notify the proper authorities and request additional resources.

• Describe scene control procedures using control zones.

• Describe protective actions, evacuation, and sheltering-in-place.

Objectives: Operations Level Responders (1 of 4)

• Describe the procedures for requesting additional resources.

• Describe scene control procedures using control zones.

• Describe appropriate locations for incident command posts.

• Describe appropriate locations for control zones.

Objectives: Operations Level Responders (2 of 4)

• Describe effective coordinated communication techniques.

• Describe evidence preservation. • Describe the role of the operations level

responder, the incident safety officer, and a hazardous materials branch or group at a hazardous materials incident.

• Describe the role of other agencies that respond to a hazardous materials incident.

Objectives: Operations Level Responders (3 of 4)

• Describe the levels of hazardous materials incidents.

• Describe the incident command system.• Describe the importance of the buddy

system and backup personnel. • Describe protective actions during search

and rescue, evacuation, and sheltering-in-place.

Objectives: Operations Level Responders (4 of 4)

• Describe the safety precautions to be observed, including safety briefings, as well as physical capability requirements, including those for heat and cold stress, when approaching or working in a hazardous materials environment.

• Describe evaluation and communication of the status of the response.

Introduction (1 of 5)

• Scene control is especially important at a hazardous materials incident.

• Size-up: the rapid mental process of evaluating critical visual indicators of the incident, processing that information based on your training and experience, and arriving at a conclusion to form and implement a plan of action.

Introduction (2 of 5)

• Plan sometimes includes aggressive offensive posture; in other cases, a defensive posture.

• Initial steps: Safety, Isolate, and Notify (SIN)

Introduction (3 of 5)

• Safety– Stay upwind, uphill, and out of the problem.– Obtain a briefing from those involved.– Understand the nature of the problem.– Attempt to make a positive identification of the

released substance.

Introduction (4 of 5)

• Isolate – Isolate and deny entry to the scene.– First priority: Separate the people from the

problem.– Establish a command post in a protected area

with access to communications.– Determine your response objectives, choose

a strategy, and formulate an incident action plan.

Introduction (5 of 5)

• Notify– Other responders – Law enforcement agencies– Technical experts

Response Safety Procedures

• Responders should consult the Emergency Response Guidebook (ERG) for guidance on protective actions or as a starting point for gathering information about a released substance.

Establishing Control Zones (1 of 5)

• Control zones are established at a hazardous materials incident based on:– The chemical and physical properties of the

released material– The environmental factors at the time of the

release– The general layout of the scene

Establishing Control Zones (2 of 5)

• If the incident is inside a structure, the best place to control access is at doors.

• As the IC gets more information, the control zones may be changed.– Wind shifts can modify control zones.

Establishing Control Zones (3 of 5)

• Hot zone– The area immediately surrounding the

release; the most contaminated area– Complete, appropriate protective clothing and

equipment– Boundaries should be set.– Access must be limited to only necessary

persons.– All personnel and equipment must be

decontaminated when they leave.

Establishing Control Zones (4 of 5)

• Warm zone– Personnel and equipment transition in and out

of the hot zone– Control points for access to the hot zone– Decontamination corridor– PPE one level lower than that of the PPE

used in the hot zone

Establishing Control Zones (5 of 5)

• Cold zone– Safe area where personnel do not need to

wear protective clothing– Personnel staging – Command post – EMS providers – Area for medical monitoring and treatment

after decontamination

Performing Emergency Decontamination (1 of 2)

• Getting the bulk of contaminants off a person as quickly and completely as possible

• Used in potentially life-threatening situations without the formal establishment of a decontamination corridor

Performing Emergency Decontamination (2 of 2)

• Ensure you have appropriate PPE.• Stay clear of product and avoid physical

contact.• Direct victim out of hazard zone, if possible.• Instruct victim in removing contaminated

clothing. • Rinse victim with copious amounts of water.• Provide or obtain medical treatment for victim

and arrange victim’s transport.

The Buddy System and Backup Personnel

• Buddy system: rule that no fewer than two responders should enter a contaminated area

• Backup team – Backup personnel wearing the same level of

protection as the initial entry team– Could be called upon to remove individuals working in

the hot zone– Should never be more than a minute or so from being

fully dressed and ready for action• Both are required by the OSHA Hazardous

Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER) regulation.

Evacuation (1 of 2)

• Nature and duration of the release• Age, underlying health status, and mobility

of evacuees• Ability to support evacuees with basic

services• Transportation challenges

Evacuation (2 of 2)

• Schools, fairgrounds, and sports arenas can be used as shelters.

• Initial evacuation distances may be derived from the ERG, though the ERGdoes not give complete detailed information for all conditions.

• The IC should use detection and monitoring devices to identify areas of airborne contamination.

Sheltering-in-Place

• Keeping people in an enclosed atmosphere, usually inside structures

• Residents remain indoors with windows and doors closed and ventilation systems off.

• Approach may be best for short-term events or transient vapor clouds.

Search and Rescue

• Emergency response personnel must first recognize and identify released substance and understand hazards.

• Rescue teams wearing proper PPE can enter hot zone for victims.

• Victims are removed to warm zone, decontaminated, and turned over to EMS providers.

Safety Briefings (1 of 3)

• Written site safety plan and verbal safety briefing before actions are taken.– Health hazards that are known or anticipated– Incident objectives– Emergency medical procedures – Radio frequencies and emergency signals– Description of the site– PPE to be worn

Safety Briefings (2 of 3)

• IC may establish predetermined trigger points to evaluate the status of the planned response.

• IC may later decide to abandon current plan of action, withdraw to safe distance, set defensive perimeter, and wait for additional resources.

• Incident communications– Command and tactical channels– Entry teams to communicate on dedicated radio

channel

Safety Briefings (3 of 3)

• Briefings may also include procedures for operating at a crime scene or evidence collection procedures.

• Written safety plan should include information about heat or cold stress.

© Jones & Bartlett Learning. Photographed by Glen E. Ellman

Heat Exhaustion• Mild form of shock; circulatory system begins

to fail because body becomes overheated• Signs and symptoms: dizziness, blurred

vision, acute fatigue, headache, muscle cramps

• Person should be removed from environment immediately, rehydrated with electrolyte solutions, and kept cool.

• Do not pour cold water on or place victim in cold environment; use tepid water for drinking and for cooling skin.

Heat Stroke• Severe and potentially fatal• Early symptom: reduction or cessation of

sweating• Other symptoms: high fever, rapid pulse,

hot, red-looking skin, headache, confusion, unconsciousness, and possibly seizures

• Requires immediate transport to medical facility

Cold-Temperature Exposures• Operating environment (air temperatures or

other weather conditions) • Hazardous materials such as liquefied gases

and cryogenic liquids• Wet clothing extracts heat from the body as

much as 240 times faster than dry clothing.– Can lead to hypothermia: core body temperature

falls below 95°F – Personnel should wear layered clothing and be

able to warm themselves in heated shelters or vehicles.

Physical Capability Requirements

• Pre-entry health screening before wearing chemical protective equipment– Vital signs– Body weight measurements– General health

• Similar post-entry evaluation after decontamination

Incident Command System• Established by

FIRESCOPE• Common technology• Consistent organizational

structure• Consistent position titles• Common incident

facilities

Command• Established when first unit arrives on scene and

maintained until the last unit leaves• Unified command

– When multiple agencies with overlapping jurisdictions or legal responsibilities are involved in the same incident

– Representatives from various agencies cooperate to share command authority

• Incident command post (ICP)– Where incident commander is located– Where coordination, control, and communications are

centralized

Command Staff• Safety officer

– Responsible for safety of the hazardous materials team only

• Liaison officer– Point of contact for cooperating and assisting

agencies on the scene• Public information officer

– Point of contact for the media and other entities seeking information about the incident

General Staff Functions

• When the incident is too large or complex for just the IC to manage, the IC may assign others to oversee parts of the incident.

Operations Section

• Led by operations section chief• Carries out objectives developed by the IC

and is responsible for all tactical operations

• Usually assigned when complex incidents involve more than 20 single resources or when IC cannot be involved in all details of the tactical operation

Planning Section

• Led by planning section chief• Collects information on the situation

status, tracks and logs on-scene resources, and disseminates written incident action plans

Logistics Section

• Led by logistics section chief• Provides facilities, services, and materials

for the incident, including food, sleeping and sanitation facilities, transportation needs, and other resources

Financial/Administrative Section

• Tracks costs related to the incident, handles procurement issues, records time that responders are on the incident for billing purposes, and keeps a running cost of the incident

Summary (1 of 8)

• The acronym SIN—which stands for Safety, Isolate, and Notify—is a good place to start when undertaking a hazardous materials response.

• Awareness level responders should ensure scene safety by setting up a barrier around the scene to keep out bystanders and those who are not properly trained or outfitted to engage in the response.

Summary (2 of 8)

• The three levels of control zones around a hazardous materials incident are the cold zone, the warm zone, and the hot zone. The hot zone is the most contaminated; the cold zone is a safe area.

• At the scene of a hazardous materials incident, OSHA requires the use of the buddy system.

Summary (3 of 8)

• A risk-based method of decision making should be employed before people are told to engage in sheltering in place or to evacuate from the scene of a hazardous materials incident.

• A safety briefing informs all responders about the health hazards that are known or anticipated at the hazardous materials/WMD incident.

Summary (4 of 8)

• It is essential for responders to be aware of the signs and symptoms of excessive-heat exposures such as heat exhaustion, heat stroke, heat stress, and dehydration. Become familiar with the cooling technologies used by your AHJ and your own physical capabilities and requirements.

• Two types of cold-temperature exposures are possible: those caused by the release of a material and those caused by the operating environment.

Summary (5 of 8)

• The incident command system (ICS) has many benefits, including the use of common terminology, consistent organizational structure and position titles, and common incident facilities.

• The ICS can be expanded to handle an incident of any size and complexity.

• The ICS incorporates five main functions: command, operations, planning, logistics, and finance/administration.

Summary (6 of 8)

• The incident commander is the person in charge of the incident site; he or she is responsible for all decisions relating to the management of the incident.

• The command staff consists of the safety officer, the liaison officer, and the public information officer.

• Groups and divisions are established to aggregate single resources and/or crews under one supervisor.

Summary (7 of 8)

• A hazardous materials branch consists of some or all of the following staff, as needed: a hazardous materials safety officer (assistant safety officer), an entry team, a decontamination team, a backup entry team, and a technical reference team.

Summary (8 of 8)

• The operations level responder responds to hazardous materials incidents for the purpose of implementing or supporting actions to protect nearby persons, the environment, or property from the effects of the release.