Disaster rescue plan - Research Paper Example

?DISASTER RESCUE PLAN Reasons for a multi-disciplinary response The need for more than one option in handling various forms of issues in the everydayhappenings of life seem to have been justified to a very large extent by various sayings, proverbs, parables and adages. Mention can easily be made of adages such as “two heads are better than one”, “when two bare it together, it hurts less”, too much meat does not destroy the taste of a soup”, do not put all your eggs in one basket” among others. Indeed, the situation is no different with disaster management. When more than one approach, strategy or disciple is adopted in handling a particular disaster incidence, we say a multi-disciplinary response has been adopted. According the Karimganj District Resource Inventory (2011), a “disaster is a sudden, calamitous event bringing great damage, loss, and destruction and devastation to life and property.” Indeed for a large, cargo plane to be on fire prior to its scheduled flight is less than a disaster, which like all other forms of disasters, need rapid and urgent management solutions. As the emergency manager my very first approach towards handling such an aircraft disaster would be to contact all needed resource personnel and agencies whose duties are related to disaster management and control. Even before thinking of who and who would be part of the people to be contacted, I would first have in mind the need to make the agencies and personnel multi-disciplinary. In other words, I would form a multi-disciplinary committee. The need for constituting a multi-disciplinary committee lies in the following reasons: firstly, this would provide me the opportunity to tap and enjoy the different expertise and specialization of all the different agencies and personnel who will be contacted. This is because aircraft disasters are caused by a couple of factors, which demand the expertise and knowledge of as many intellectuals as possible. Constituting and multi-disciplinary committee would there put the identification of causes a step further, where by a more holistic approach would be taken by the different agencies. Secondly, a multi-disciplinary response has a greater probability of ensuring efficiency and speedy delivery of mandated task. This advantage is very important because aircraft disasters involve several precious lives and the public would certainly be itchy for information. For this reason, employing the responsibility of finding causes and scrutiny of extent of damage as well as the general management of the disaster into the hands of just a few people or agencies would make the public sit on thorns for long. Finally, a multi-disciplinary response would ensure credibility of findings and management task. This is so to speak because the collective conclusion drawn by many different experts from different backgrounds and with different duties about a single accident is more reliable than a single conclusion drawn by only one agency. Indeed it is for the reason of such advantages of multi-disciplinary response listed above that “in February 2005, the National Integration Center (NIC) gathered together several emergency management organizations to begin collaborating on NIMS implementation” (Federal Emergency Management Agency, 2007). With the above points in mind, as the emergency manager, I would the following agencies for finding causes into the disaster and managing the disaster. They would include the police, the national fire and rescue service, federal bureau of investigation (FBI), Red Cross society and the national media commission. Among these agencies, the national fire and rescue service would be the lead agency when I arrive. The national fire and rescue service would also be responsible for rescuing the crew and mitigating the fire. This is primarily because the fire and rescue service has a core mandate and responsibility of handling fire situations. Apart from the roles mentioned above that would be handed the fire and rescue service, the following will be the role of the other agencies – the police would be responsible for protecting all victims and other people who would come to the scene against unauthorized activities that are commonly associated disasters of this nature. The FBI shall be tasked with the gathering and handling of intelligence surrounding and needed for the entire disaster management. The Red Cross shall be made responsible for voluntary rescuing and handling of victims. They duty shall include to give first aid and hands on treatment to all victims. Finally, the task of the media commission would be to give precise, accurate and up-to-date reportage on the incidence. Characteristics of a multi-disciplinary response One keen factor to take into consideration in adopting a multi-disciplinary response is to understand the characteristics of multi-disciplinary response. This knowledge would indeed help in the subsequent coordination of the activities of the multi-disciplinary response. Writing on the characteristics of the multi-disciplinary response, Brink et al (2001) state that “multidisciplinary team interaction has become a commonplace phrase in the discussion of disaster response.” They continue to state that each of the agencies must be given as much freedom to be independent as possible. This is to mean that the originality of each agency’s duty must be preserved. Simply put, under no circumstance must one agency be made to do the work of another agency. The talk of independence also refers to the need avoid any interference of any sort and this is particularly to the emergency manager. It is very important for the emergency manager and other officials who engage the services of the agencies who would form the multi-disciplinary response to realize that the personnel they engaged were experts who hold their positions because their credibility to perform. For this reason, any act of interference would be undermining the integrity and credibility of the agency involved. The emergency officer in this situation shall therefore be a facilitator and a supervisor rather than a director and a boss. Advocating the independence of the multi-disciplinary response may sound contradictory, causing one to conclude that such independence of activities or function would undermine the basis and benefits of multi-disciplinary response. This is indeed not a correct conclusion. This is because it is very much possible for the agencies to work independently and still achieve all the benefits of multi-disciplinary response. This argument is perhaps best explained in the next characteristic of multi-disciplinary response, which is that the activities and roles of individual agencies must compliment one another. This is to mean that the role played by one agency must benefit and be of help to the work of all other agencies. It is against this background that in selecting who the individual agencies would be, it is important to ensure that as much as possible, every agency that will be of importance is represented. For instance the work of the BNI to get information from the victims would be jeopardized if the Red Cross is not called upon to save lives of the victims. So in the Red Cross playing its independent role of saving lives, the BNI’s independent role of gathering information and intelligence would be complimented in this regard. The same is indeed true for all the remaining agencies. How a multi-disciplinary response can best be coordinated After realizing the characteristics around which the agencies are going to operate as individuals and as a group, it is then ripe to delve into how the entire multi-disciplinary response is going to be coordinated; emphasizing on the specific functions of the agencies. First and foremost, upon arrival at the disaster site, all surviving victims, including the crew shall be comforted and assured that the situation is under control. This is important to giving them a psychological empowerment to have faith rather than fear. Next, the Red Cross shall begin attending to the victims as quickly as possible to offer assistance, first aid and general treat, as and when it is needed. This role of the Red Cross shall be run concurrent with the rescue and fire control task that will be carried out by the fire and rescue service. As stated earlier, my duty shall be to facilitate the individual roles that will be played by all the agencies involved. This means that I shall see to the smooth running of the work of the Red Cross and the Fire and Rescue team as they go about their duties and I shall take up to date information on their progress from them: rather than telling them what to do. To be careful not to give out any ill-researched information to the media commission to be fed out to the wilder populace, I shall allocate the BNI the most length of time to critically scrutinize the situation on the round to come out with a conclusion on whether or not the crash and for that matter the disaster was a terrorist attack. Indeed the work of the BNI in determining whether or not the disaster was a terrorist attack would include preliminary scrutiny of the disaster area to find out any suspecting hazardous materials, gadgets, substances or even dead people that could be related to terrorism. Then if there are survivors, as it is suspected to be, they will be the best people the bureau can rely on for intelligence and information that would lead to a conclusion, whether or not the accident was an act of terror. Trusting the credibility of the bureau and the mastery of their duties, word would go out to the media on the cause and specifically, whether or not the accident was a terrorist attack only when the BNI signals to me in that direction. Even in that, I shall be very mindful of the reactions of the public at the time before releasing the information; should it even happen that the accident was an act of terror. This is so said because a lot of people attach high levels of emotions to acts of terror as compared to ordinary accidents. So in order not to inflict raised emotions and passion, I shall be very cautious on releasing information about terrorism to the media. Finally, based on the report from the BNI, I shall take a decision to involve the military if the accident is proved to be an act of terror. The duties of the agencies discussed above in it’s self suggests how the multi-disciplinary response shall be coordinated and integrated. The fire and rescue team will be there to prevent further damage through fire out break. As they do this, the Red Cross shall be doing everything possible to give life to the survivors, not only on board the flight but any group of persons who were in anyway injured by the dropping aircraft and fire outbreak. As the fire and rescue team go about saving precious lives and the fire and rescue team put out the fire, the BNI would be offered the opportunity to be gathering intelligence from both survivors and the accident area. In other the works of the fire and rescue team, Red Cross and the BNI be well appreciated and understood by the public, the media would be giving directed and up to date reportage to the general public. Last but not least, the police will be rendering maximum security to all these agencies and the public who may be present. It is worth mentioning that the accident scene will not be the only point of attention to the agencies and I put then there shall be a rapid response team among all the agencies who would be delivering the same kinds of service (where needed and applicable) to the spectators at the football match. Response related to a CBRNE (chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosive) Chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive (CBRNE) related response is very crucial to disaster management plans of this nature. To ensure total credibility and for the benefit of my task in general, the BNI shall be equipped with as many chemical, radiological, nuclear and explosive detectors and gadgets. These shall be central in minimizing human errors to a very large extent. These would also make the work of the BNI relatively easier. The Fire and Rescue team shall also be equipped with similar gadgets. Biological response shall however be limited largely to the Red Cross since they will be dealing more with living things – humans. Integration of the NIMS and ICS framework into a disaster response The Federal Emergency Management Agency, (2007) notes that “NIMS provides a consistent nationwide framework and approach to enable government at all levels (Federal, State, tribal, and local), the private sector, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to work together to prepare for, prevent, respond to, recover from, and mitigate the effects of incidents regardless of the incident’s cause, size, location, or complexity.” In this regard, the Relief Web (2011) advocates “clear model is highly beneficial in the management of disasters because it facilitates the securing of support for disaster management efforts.” In the rescue and management plan the framework of the NIMS and ICS have been integrated to very large extents. In the first place, “ICS allows its users to adopt an integrated organizational structure to match the complexities and demands of single or multiple incidents.” Federal Emergency Management Agency, (2007). Clearly, the disaster plan discussed above is an integrated and multi-disciplinary approach, which meets this framework requirement. Again, “The Secretary of Homeland Security, through the National Integration Center (NIC), publishes the standards, guidelines, and compliance protocols for determining whether a Federal, State, tribal, or local government has implemented NIMS.” Federal Emergency Management Agency, (2007). In this regard, the collaborated conclusions that are going to be drawn from the rescue and management exercise shall be well documented and published. The publication shall be sent to all appropriate quarters, departments and agencies so that they will serve as reference materials for future needs. REFERENCE LIST Brink et al (2001). Multidisciplinary team interaction: summary and Action Plan. Accessed June 5, 2011 from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11367939 Charleston County Government Online (2008). NIMS / ICS Information. Accessed June 4, 2011 from http://www.charlestoncounty.org/printer/www/departments/EPD/NIMS/index.htm Federal Emergency Management Agency, (2007). Incident Command System (ICS). Accessed June 5, 2011 from http://www.fema.gov/emergency/nims/IncidentCommandSystem.shtm Federal Emergency Management Agency, (2007). National Incident Management System (NIMS). Accessed June 5, 2011 from http://www.fema.gov/emergency/nims/AboutNIMS.shtm Karimganj District Resource Inventory (2011). What is Disaster? Accessed June 3, 2011 from http://karimganj.nic.in/disaster.htm Relief Web (2011). A Comprehensive Conceptual Model for Disaster Management. Accessed June 4, 2011 from http://reliefweb.int/node/22467 Read More