August 6, 2004—Recommendations to further the safety of emergency responders at the scene of terrorist attacks and other disasters are described in a new report issued by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the RAND Corporation on June 16, 2004. The report, funded by NIOSH, proposes a new approach that would make protecting the health and safety of emergency responders—including police, firefighters and ambulance crews—a key priority in coordinating the overall response to terrorist attacks and major disasters.
The study recommends enhanced preparedness planning to assure that all emergency responders to an event can be protected within the Incident Command System, the standard overarching management structure used in disaster response and called for under the newly established National Incident Management System. This would prevent different departments from wasting valuable time trying to come up with ways to protect workers on a case-by-case basis at each emergency scene.
The report, “Protecting Emergency Responders, Volume 3: Safety Management in Disaster and Terrorism Response,” DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2004-144, is available online from NIOSH, and in paper copy from the NIOSH toll-free information number, 800/35-NIOSH (1-800-356-4674).
Earlier RAND-NIOSH studies on protecting emergency responders, concerning the bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and the anthrax incidents of 2001, are also available from NIOSH.
