Ch. 40 Incident Management Flashcards
Bills of lading
The shipping papers used for transport of chemicals over roads and highways; also referred to as freight bills.
Bulk storage containers
Any container other than nonbulk storage containers, such as fixed tanks, highway cargo tanks, rail tank cars, totes, and intermodal tanks. These are typically found in manufacturing facilities and are often surrounded by a secondary containment system to help control an accidental release.
Carboys
Glass, plastic, or steel containers, ranging in volume from 5 to 15 gallons (19 to 57L).
Casualty collection area
An area set up by physicians, nurses, and other hospital staff near a major disaster scene where patients can receive further triage and medical care.
Chemical Transporation Emergency Center (CHEMTREC)
An agency that assists emergency responders in identifying and handling hazardous materials transport incidents.
Closed incident
An incident that is contained; all casualties are accounted for.
Cold zone
A safe area at a hazardous materials incident for the agenciesinvolved in the operations. The incident command post, EMS providers, and other support functions necessary to control the incident should be located in this zone. Also referred to as the clean zone or the support zone.
Command
In incident command, The position that oversees the incident, establishes the objectives and priorities, and develops a response plan.
Command post
The designated field command center where the indicent commander and support staff are located.
Container
Any vessel or receptacle that holds material, including storage vessels, pipelines, and packaging.
Control zones
Areas at a hazardous materials incident that are designated as hot, warm, or cold, based on safety issues and the degree of hazard found there.
Cylinders
Portable, compressed gas containers used to hold liquids and gases such as nitrogen, argon, helium, and oxygen. They have a range of sizes and internal pressures.
Decontamination
The proces of removing or neutralizing and properly disposing of hazardous materials from equipment, patients, and responders.
Decontamination area
The designated area in a hazardous materials incident where all patients and responders must be decontaminated before going to another area.
Demobilization
The process of directing responders to return to their facilities when work at a disaster or mass-casualty incident has finished, at least for those particular responders.
Disaster
A widespread event that disrupts community resources and functions, in turn threatening public safety, citizens’ lives, and property.
Drums
Barrel-like containers used to store a wide variety of substances, including food-grade materials, corrosives, flammable liquids, and grease. May be constructed of low-carbon steel, polyethylene, cardboard, stainless steel, nickel, or other materials.
Emergency Response Guidebook (ERG)
A preliminary action guide for first responders operating at a hazardous materials incident in coordination with the US Department of Transportation’s labels and placards marking system. Jointly developed by the DOT, the Secretariat of Communications and Transportation of Mexico, and Transport Canada.
Extrication supervisor
In incident command, the person appointed to determine the type of equipment and resources needed for a situation involving extrication or special rescue; also called the rescue officer.
Finance/administration
In incident command, the position in an incident responsible for accounting for all expenditures.
Freelancing
When individual units or different organizations make independent and often inefficient decisions about the next appropriate action.
Freight bills
The shipping papers used for transport of chemicals along roads and highways; also referred to as bills of loading.
Hazardous material
Any substance that is toxic, poisonous, radioactive, flammable, or explosive and causes injury or death with exposure
Hazardous materials (hazmat) incident
An incident in which a hazardous material is no longer properly contained and isolated.
Hot zone
The area immediately surrounding a hazardous materials spill or incident site that endangers life and health. all responders working in this zone must wear appropriate protective clothing and equipment. Entry requires approval by the incident commander or other designated officer.
Incident action plan
An oral or written plan stating general objectives reflecting the overall strategy for managing an incident
Incident commander (IC)
The overall leader of the incident command system to whom commanders or leaders of incident command system divisions report.
Incident command system (ICS)
A system implemented to manage disasters and mass casualty incidents in which section chiefs, including finance/administration, logistics, operations, and planning, report to the incident commander.
Intermodal tanks
Shipping and storage vessels that can be either pressurized or nonpressurized.
Joint information center (JIC)
An area designated by the incident commander, or a designee, in which public information officers from multiple agencies distribute information about the incident.
JumpSTART triage
A sorting system for pediatric patients younger than 8 years old or weighing less than 100lbs (45kg). There is a minor adaptation for infants because they cannot ambulate on their own.
Liaison officer
In incident command, the person who relays information, concerns, and requests among responding agencies.
Logistics
In incident command, the position that helps procure and stockpile equipment and supplies during an incident.
Mass casualty incident (MCI)
An emergency situation involving three or more patients or that can place great demand on the equipment or personnel of the EMS system or has the potential to produce multiple casualties.
Material safety data sheet (MSDS)
A form, provided by manufacturers and compounders (blenders) of chemicals, containing information about chemical composition, physical and chemical properties, health and safety hazards, a specific material; and waste disposal of a specific material; also known as safety data sheet (SDS).
Morgue supervisor
In incident command, the person who works with area medical examiners, coroners, and law enforcement agencies to coordinate the disposition of dead victims.
Mutual aid response
An agreement between neighboring EMS systems to respond to mass casualty incidents or disasters in each others region when local resources are insufficient to handle the response.
National Incident Management System (NIMS)
A Department of Homeland Security system designed to enable federal, state, and local governments and private-sector and nongovernmental organizations to effectively and efficiently prepare for, prevent, respond to, and recover from domestic incidents, regardless of the cause, size, or complexity, including acts of catastrophic terrorism.
Nonbulk storage vessels
Any container other than bulk storage containers, such as drums, bags, compressed gas cylinders, and cryogenic containers. These hold commonly used commercial and industrial chemicals such as solvents, industrial cleaners, and compounds.
Open incident
An incident that is not yet contained; there may be patients to be located and the situation may be ongoing, producing more patients
Operations
In incident command, the position that carries out the orders of incident commander to help resolve the incident.
Personal protective equipment (PPE) levels
Indicates the amount and type of protective equipment that an individual needs to avoid injury during contact with a hazardous material.
Placards
Signage required to be placed on all four sides of highway transport vehicles, railroad tank cars, and other forms of hazardous materials transportation; the sign identifies the hazardous contents of the vehicle, using a standardization system with diamond-shaped indicaors.
Planning
In incident command, the position that ultimately produces a plan to resolve any incident.
Primary triage
A type of patient sorting used to rapidly categorize patients; the focus is on speed in locating all patients and determining an initial priority as their conditions warrant.
Public information officer (PIO)
In incident command, the person who keeps the public informed and relates any information to the media.
Rehabilitation area
The area that provides protection and treatment to firefighters and other responders working at an emergency. Here workers are medically monitored and receive any needed care as they enter and leave the scene.
Rehabilitation supervisor
In incident command, the person who establishes an area that provides protection for responders from the elements and the situation.
Rescue supervisor
In incident command, the person appointed to determine the type of equipment and resources needed for a situation involving extrication or special rescue; also called the extrication officer.
Safety officer
In incident command, the person who monitors the scene for conditions or operations that may present a hazard to responders and patients; he or she may stop an operation when responder safety is an issue.
Secondary containment
An engineered method to control spilled or released product if the main containment vessel fails.
Secondary triage
A type of patient sorting used in the treatment area that involves retriage of patients.
Single command system
A command system in which one person is in charge; generally used with small incidents that involve only one responding agency or one jurisdiction.
Span of control
In incident command, the subordinate positions under the commander’s direction to which the workload is distributed; the ideal supervisor/worker ratio is one supervisor or five suborninates.
Staging supervisor
In incident command, the person who locates an area to stage equipment and personnel and tracks unit arrival and deployment from the staging area.
START triage
A patient sorting process that stands for Simple Triage And Rapid Treatment and uses a limited assessment of the patient’s ability to walk, respiratory status, hemodynamic status, and neurologic status.
Termination of command
The end of the incident command structure when an incident draws to a close.
Toxicity levels
Indicates the risk that a hazardous material poses to the health of an individual who comes into contact with it.
Transportation area
The area in a mass-casualty incident where ambulances and crews are organized to transport patients from the treatment are to receiving hospitals.
Treatment area
The location in a mass-casualty incident where patients are brought after being triaged and assigned a priority, where they are reassessed, treated, and monitored until transport to a hospital.
Treatment supervisor
In incident command, the person, usually a physician, who is in charge of and directs EMS providers at the treatment area in a mass-casualty incident.
Triage
The process of sorting patients based on the severity of injury and medical need to establish treatment and transport priorities.
Triage supervisor
In incident command, the person in charge of the incident command triage sector who directs the sorting of patients into triage categories in a mass-casualty incident.
Unified command system
A command system used in larger incidents in which there is a multiagency response or multiple jurisdictions are involved.
Warm zone
The area located between the hot zone and the cold zone at a hazardous materials incident. The decontamination corridor is located in this zone.
