Weapons and First Responders First Responder Personnel

Weapons and First Responders

First responder personnel encounter scene management challenges while responding to disasters suspected to have been occasioned by chemical, biological and radiological weapons. This occurs as a result of uncontrolled access to and from the incident scene, uncontrolled movement of contaminated victims and lack of safe working methods for the first responders (NATO, 2007). The first responders also find it extremely difficult to contain the release of any substances. To mitigate this challenge, the scene should be isolated to mitigate consequences. Effective scene management is imperative to control access to and from the incident scene. Movement of contaminated victims should also be controlled (Shea, 2004). Authorities should provide safe working methods for responders and contain the release of any substances. First responders are also faced with the challenge of saving and protecting lives. Saving lives is the top priority of all responding agencies. Contamination of victims and casualties should be considered the part of initial assessment and effective methods of rescue, decontamination and medical treatment must be provided. It is imperative that the public are given timely warnings and if appropriate be evacuated. This contributes to saving of lives by reducing the risk of exposure (NATO, 2007). If need be, specialist advice should be sought to assist with consequence management.

It is critical to have a national inventory of critical infrastructure so that at the times of emergency protection of such infrastructure can be enhanced and emergency response expedited. Think of the Hurricane Katrina incident when a myriad of factors combined to negatively impact the speed and efficiency of the Federal response. Physical destruction, devastation and disruption of such infrastructure by natural disasters or terrorist activities can severely restrict geographic access to core parts where rescue missions should be conducted (Federal Emergency Management Agency, 2013). Talking of terrorist activities, keeping inventory of major installations like the rail transport, the airports, the road networks can help like the Department of Homeland Security enhance security in such locations so that emergency response teams like the FEMA reach affected parts of the country without delay (Federal Emergency Management Agency, 2013). Enhancing security at such installations may also reduce casualties incase of a terrorist attack. Keeping inventory of critical infrastructure also helps in fast-tracking response and rescue missions which are at times impeded security and law enforcement environment. It helps in establishing a robust Joint Field Office that serves as the hub of Federal incident management coordination at the local level (Federal Emergency Management Agency, 2013). This enables integrated interaction with key state and local officials as well as other Federal Departments and agencies with considerable resources to assist in the response. Keeping inventory of critical infrastructure makes it easy to have in place a unified command that brings together senior representatives from each agency involved in incident response. This unified command is critical with regard to making informed and collective decisions, resource allocation and coordinated multiagency operations (Federal Emergency Management Agency, 2013). Keeping inventory of critical infrastructure is also very important in the sense that it helps in ensuring that information would flow from areas where incidents have happened to the DHS headquarters so that assets can be dispatched to such locations. The DHS HSOC would find it very easy to communicate with relevant authorities in states like New Orleans or Louisiana when communication lines are not cut by natural calamities or terrorists. It is very important to know which facilities are located in what location and their safety.