Anyone know their stations disaster protocol?

[emt1581]

At drill the other night, while discussing scenerios, I asked my Captain point blank what happens when a disaster hits our area?

I was told that one of the officers was actually in charge of disaster management and he'd tell us what to do. I requested a mock MCI drill in coordination with fire and poilice and she agreed it was a good idea just to see what we need to work on.

After discussing it a bit further it seems like communication is/would be the biggest issue especially if certain towers are taken out. But again, I think it's a good idea, following Katrina, that we as emergency personel know what we're doing during extreme times.

Anyone starting/continuing to do the same scenerios/planning with their stations?

I'm also curious if there is anything that would/should be kept secret even from EMS/Fire that we won't be able to know?

Thanks

-Emt1581

[emt1581]

Guess not...that can't be a good thing. ;P

-Emt1581

[Tvov]

Over the years, our officers have gone to a variety of disaster planning meetings. Every few years or so some departments in our state will get together to have a "disaster drill". Honestly, a lot of our sop won't really change. We already work with surrounding departments, have mutual aid agreements, have joint drills, etc. I live in a suburban town, not really close to major cities/targets.

The biggest unknown in any disaster, as shown by New Orleans, is how the public will react. If they panic and run riot, there's not much you can do but your best without getting killed. As NYC showed on 9/11, if the public can keep its' cool, things get done quickly. I know those are two different disasters, but the contrast is amazing.

I don't think anything about an incident should be kept "secret" from fire/ems. I don't understand the thinking behind that. Rescue personnel need to know as much information as possible in order to do their job. Rescue personnel may need to be reminded to not talk to civilians, especially media, until given the go-ahead from higher ups in order to prevent mass panic if the situation warrants.




Quote:
"Guess not...that can't be a good thing.

-Emt1581"

??? Was this necessary? Give people a chance to respond, this isn't always the most active forum.

[emt1581]

Hey didn't mean to rush ya. I just didn't know if anyone actually knew the info after all the views the thread had without responses.

I agree with you about needing to know as much as posible.

-Emt1581

[D25]

After the tsunami warning/advisory that occured in the Pacific Northwest coast a couple of months ago, coupled with the fact that our station is situated in a tsunami inundation zone, our FD is quite versed in what to do should this type of disaster strike, provided the seismologists in Alaska give us at least a half hour head start, hell, we even got a new SOG to stick in our binders.;g There are good lines of communication between ourselves, neighboring FDs, and the USCG regarding our response to this type of scenerio.

Granted, we wouldn't be dealing with hundreds of thousands of people out here on the Oregon coast, a la New Orleans, but we have addressed a relatively likely scenerio for our neck of the woods.