Chapter 1 Flashcards
Substances that possess harmful characteristics are called hazardous materials in the U.S. and dangerous goods in Canada
hazardous materials, dangerous goods
When particularly dangerous hazardous materials, including CBRNE materials, are used as weapons, they are sometimes referred to as Weapons of mass destruction
Weapons of mass destruction
A hazardous materials/wmd incident is an emergency involving a substance that poses an unreasonable risk to people, the environment, and property.
property
In addition to governmental regulations, the National Fire Protection Association has several consensus standards that apply to personnel who respond to hazmat emergencies.
National Fire Protection Association
Standard for Hazmat/ WMD emergency response personnel professional qualifications.
NFPA 1072
Standard for Competence of responders to hazmat/wmd incidents.
NFPA 472
Standard for competencies for EMS personnel responding to Hazmat/wmd incidents.
NFPA 473
Individuals who train to meet NFPA 1072 will meet or exceed OSHA requirements for awareness, operations, and technician.
NFPA 1072
Whether involved or not, the mere presence of hazardous materials may change the Incident’s dynamics.
Incident’s dynamics
If you are a first responder to hazmat incidents in the U.S., by law your employer must meet the requirements set forth in the HAZWOPER regulation 29 CFR 1910.120.
HAZWOPER
Awareness level personnel are typically at the incident when it occurs.
Awareness
Operations responders are dispatched to the scene in order to mitigate the incident.
Operations
Operations level responders may be trained beyond the set of core competencies to perform additional defensive tasks and limited offensive actions.
Operations Mission Specific
Performs offensive tasks, including controlling releases at hazmat incidents and may supervise the activities of Operations level responders performing Mission Specific tasks.
Hazardous Materials Technician
Provides additional expertise in areas, such as radiation, monitoring and detection equipment, or certain container types.
Hazmat Tech with Specialty
Manages the incident by making command decisions to utilize resources and determine strategies and tactics to mitigate the emergency.
Hazmat incident commander
Manages the hazmat personnel and operations under the direction of the IC.
Hazmat Officer
Ensures that recognized safe practices are followed at hazmat incidents.
Hazmat Safety Officer
Provide expertise in specialized areas, such as chemicals, processes, containers, and special operations, typically in an advisory capacity.
Specialists
NFPA 1072 and 472 identify three training levels —-
Awareness, Operations, and Operations Mission Specific
Known by the acronym APIE these steps form a consistent problem-solving process that can be used at any incident, regardless of size or complexity.
APIE
During this phase of the problem-solving process, personnel and responders attempt to understand the current situation.
Analyze the incident
During this phase, responders use the information gathered during the analysis phase to determine what actions need to be taken to mitigate the incident.
Plan the Initial response
During this phase, responders perform the tasks determined in the planning stage.
Implement the response
During this phase, which continues throughout the incident until termination, responders monitor progress to see whether the response plan is working.
Evaluate progress
Because Awareness level personnel and Operations level responders have limited responsibilities at hazmat incidents, not all aspects of APIE are addressed in the Awareness and Operations levels.
APIE