UNIT ONE

Role and Responsibility of the First Responder

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Federal laws and standards

• Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA).

• 29 CFR 1910.120 and EPA 40 CFR part 311 HazMat/WMD Awareness Unit 1 Slide 2

Five levels of training

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Awareness

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Operations

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Technician

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Specialist

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On Scene Incident Commander

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First Responder Awareness

Responders at the awareness level are individuals who are likely to witness or discover a hazardous substance release and who have been trained to initiate an emergency response sequence by notifying the proper authorities of the release. They would take no further action beyond notifying the authorities of the release.

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First Responder Operation

Responders at the operations level are individuals who respond to releases or potential releases of hazardous substances as part of the initial response to the site for the purpose of protecting nearby persons, property, or the environment from the effects of the release. They are trained to respond in a defensive fashion without actually trying to stop the release. Their function is to contain the release from a safe distance, keep it from spreading, and prevent exposures.

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Hazardous Material Technician

Individuals who respond to a release or potential releases for the purpose of stopping the release. They assume a more aggressive role than the first responder at the operations level in that they will approach the point of release in order to plug, patch or otherwise stop the release of a hazardous substance.

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Hazardous Material Specialist

Individuals who respond with and provide support to hazardous materials technicians. Their duties parallel those of the hazardous materials technician, however, those duties require a more directed or specific knowledge of the various substances they may be called upon to contain.

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On Scene Incident Commander

Individuals who will assume control of the incident scene beyond the first responder awareness level.

commanders shall have Incident received training equal to the operations level.

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What is my role as a First Responder at the Awareness Level?

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First Responders must be able to perform basic:

• Recognition • Identification • Isolation/Protection • Notification, and • Initiation of the Incident Command System HazMat/WMD Awareness Unit 1 Slide 10

Recognition

• The First Responder must be able to recognize a hazardous materials incident.

RESPONDERS SHOULD NOT RUSH IN! IF YOU ARE HURT OR KILLED YOU CAN NOT HELP ANYONE.

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Be Aware of any of the Following:

• Vapor clouds • Smoke • Injured Persons • Environmental Damage • Evidence of explosive devices • Booby traps • Surrounding populations • Dispersion pathways • Suspicious persons around the scene HazMat/WMD Awareness Unit 1 Slide 12

Potential Ignition Sources

• Traffic and Emergency Vehicles • Open Flames • Flares • Lightening, or Static Discharges • Electrical Sources, Downed Power Lines • Flashlights and Two-Way Radios • Exothermic Chemical Reactions (Heat Producing) HazMat/WMD Awareness Unit 1 Slide 13

Identification

• Six clues  Occupancy / Location  Container Shapes and Sizes  Markings and Colorings  Placards / Labels  Shipping Papers / Material Safety Data Sheets /Facility Pre-Plans  Senses / Employees / Witnesses HazMat/WMD Awareness Unit 1 Slide 14

It is not the responsibility of the first responder to disregard their own personal safety for the identification of the hazard.

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THE FIRST RESPONDER SHOULD PROTECT THEMSELVES FIRST!

Isolation / Protection

 Isolate the area by prohibiting access  Move un-injured & un-contaminated people outside of the release area  Isolate anyone contaminated HazMat/WMD Awareness Unit 1 Slide 16

Isolation / Protection (cont.)

• Stop at a safe distance and use binoculars or such vision-enhancing device to assess the scene for placards or other clues.

THE STOPPING POINT MAY BE DIFFERENT FOR EACH INCIDENT

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RESPONDERS MUST NOT EXCEED THEIR LEVEL OF TRAINING AND PROTECTION.

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HAZARDOUS MATERIAL FIRST RESPONDERS TRAINED TO THE AWARENESS LEVEL SHOULD NEVER PASS INTO THE CONTAMINATED AREA OF THE RELEASE FOR ANY REASON OUTSIDE OF DUTY TO SAVE LIVES.

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Notification

• Fire Departments • Police Departments • Sheriff’s Offices • Highway Patrol • Emergency Medical Services (EMS) • Hazardous Material Response Teams • FBI (WMD Related Incidents) • Environmental Protection Agency • Public Health Departments • Public Utilities Commission • Environmental Clean-up Companies HazMat/WMD Awareness Unit 1 Slide 20

What they need to know

• The chemical name, placard and/or U.N. number with a description of the incident.

• Weather conditions and wind direction • Status of the hazardous material container  (stable, leaking, burning, etc.,) • The location impacted  (residential, commercial, industrial, etc.,) • Victim’ s injuries HazMat/WMD Awareness Unit 1 Slide 21

Incident Command

The role of the Incident Commander (IC) will be assumed by the appropriate authority, as designated by state or local law. In many cases, the IC will be the most senior public safety officer (most likely the fire department chief or deputy chief; however, in many circumstances it may be a local sheriff or senior local or state police official). As such, it is the responsibility of the IC to establish the Incident Command System (ICS) and to ensure that notifications of the above mentioned responders have been made or are in the process of being made. As the referenced agencies arrive, the IC will evolve into a Unified Command, as necessary.

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The Incident Commander

The Ohio Revised Code 3737.80 specifies: “ In any emergency situation relating to the prevention of an imminent release of a hazardous material, to the cleanup or disposal of a hazardous material that has been released, or to the related mitigation of the effects of a release of a hazardous material, the chief of the fire department in whose jurisdiction the emergency situation is occurring or his designee is responsible for primary coordination of the on-scene activities of all agencies of the state, the United States government, and political subdivisions that are responding to the emergency situation until the chief relinquishes that responsibility to a representative of one of the responding public agencies and so notifies that representative.

” HazMat/WMD Awareness Unit 1 Slide 23

Incident Command System

OPERATIONS INCIDENT COMMANDER PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER SAFETY OFFICER LIAISON OFFICER PLANNING LOGISTICS FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION

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Incident Commander – Title used under the emergency response training section of OSHA 29 CFR, Part 1910.120.

INCIDENT COMMANDER

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Safety Officer – Tasked with the responsibility to maintain the health and safety issues of site operations. He shall have the authority to

Suspend, Alter, or Terminate

any operations that are determined to be unsafe or immediately dangerous to life or health (IDLH)

SAFETY OFFICER

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PIO – Their purpose is to make contact with the media and the general public. They will release information regarding site activities.

PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER

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Liaison – Serves as the contact between the Incident Commander and other governmental and/or private organizational personnel.

LIAISON OFFICER

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Finance/Administration – The Financial Officer provides the necessary financial guidance and contractual support that may be necessary during a large incident.

FINANCE/ ADMINISTRATION

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Logistics – Oversees the delivery of the manpower, supplies and/or the equipment to effectively control the incident site.

LOGISTICS

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LOGISTICS Service Support American Red Cross Public Transportation

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Planning – Develops an emergency action plan and monitors the success of the established plan.

PLANNING

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EPA PLANNING Public Works EMA Health

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Operations – Directs the activities of the team leaders within the site and coordinates these activities with the I.C.

OPERATIONS

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Suppression Fire Triage Treatment Transport Staging OPERATIONS EMS Haz-Mat EPA

Law Enforcement

Crowd Control Scene Security

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Unified Command

• New Federal Guidelines • National Incident Management System (NIMS) HazMat/WMD Awareness Unit 1 Slide 36

Response Procedures

• •

Standard Operating Procedures Emergency Response Plans

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ICS Summary

• The first fifteen minutes on the scene of a hazardous materials incident will set the stage for the remaining response. If the initial response is safe and appropriate and the first responder fulfills their duty to recognize, identify, isolate, protect, notify and establish command then the subsequent responders can build upon this foundation and safely mitigate the hazard.

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UNIT ONE TEST

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