FIRE ARCHIVES
FIPS 201 Compliance for State and Local Agencies
Joseph Watson
January 17, 2007
NIMS has spoken, and must be obeyed: A new “common identification standard” for federal employees and contractors is now required. State and local agencies would be well advised to adopt the same standard.
The Whys and Wherefores of NIMS-Compliant Training
Stephen Grainer
January 3, 2007
The National Incident Management System training guidelines provide an unprecedented opportunity to improve and expand first-responder and emergency-responder capabilities – but some confusion continues about exactly what is required.
Decontamination Considerations in Dealing With A Chemical Agent Mass-Casualty Incident
Theodore Jarboe
December 13, 2006
Decontamination operations are a business-as-usual task for most hazmat teams and other first responders. But not when there are hundreds or perhaps thousands of victims and the responders themselves are in danger of being contaminated.
Imperatives for the Training of Medical Staff
Michael Allswede
December 13, 2006
The U.S. private-sector health care system is probably the best in the world. But it is not prepared to deal with mass-casualty incidents, lacks the funding needed to expand beyond current capacity, and suffers from certain shortages.
Behind the Mask: EMS, Influenza, and Respiratory Protection
James Mason
December 6, 2006
A high-efficiency mask, a procedure mask, an SCBA, or a PAPR – which shall it be? The correct answer determines whether the wearer is part of the solution, or becomes another part of the problem.
The National Information Exchange Model
Thomas O'Reilly
November 21, 2006
The new NIEM standard provides a much-needed solution to the problems caused when many agencies at all levels of government respond to the same incident, but do not speak the same language.
Can U.S. Defeat the Suicide/Homicide-Bomber Threat?
Joseph Steger
November 15, 2006
U.S. law-enforcement agencies at all levels of government are gearing up to deal with a possibly nationwide outbreak of terrorist attacks similar to those that have already terrified London, Madrid, Bali, Mumbai, and – most of all – Baghdad.
Pro and Con, Yea and Nay – Experts’ Dialogue on the New HICS Guidebook
Michael Allswede and Jerry Mothershead
November 8, 2006
A Point-Counterpoint discussion of California’s new Hospital Incident Command System Guidebook, its strengths and weaknesses, its applicability to the “business” of medicine in the United States, and how it can be used to deal with real-life scenarios.
CBRNE Incidents – The Role of the Firefighter
Theodore Jarboe
November 1, 2006
From Nero’s time to the present, the firefighter’s primary mission has been to put out the fire. When weapons of mass destruction are added to the matrix, that mission becomes much more difficult and, not incidentally, much more lethal as well.
Forensics and Disaster Recovery – A Delicate Balance
J. Michael Barrett
October 18, 2006
Establishment, at the national level, of a new ICS (Incident Command System) protocol gives first responders the opportunity not to change their crime-scene priorities, but to keep them in better balance.
Detection Plus Inspection Equals Protection
Martin D. Masiuk and Domestic Preparedness
October 18, 2006
The race is not always to the swiftest, but in the field of WMD weapons it usually is on the side of nations willing to invest their time and talents to detect, deter, and eventually defeat WMD attacks launched by other nations.
HazMat Instruction: A Lethal Curriculum
Robert (Bob) Stephan
October 4, 2006
Local and regional hazmat teams now serve at the forward edge of the homeland-defense forces responding to incidents involving the use or potential presence of toxic agents. How are these front-line heroes trained – and who trains them?
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