Reference no: EM133602841

Assignment

Scenario Module: Immediate Response & the First Two Hours

February 14, 2022, 10:00 A.M. - Fire, EMS, and law enforcement units respond to the incident scenes at the University and Bunnyville hospital. They position the staging area upwind from the incident scene and in a position where they can observe what is occurring outside the building to communicate effectively with the University staff.

The Carol County PSAP operators have initiated a total recall for all the Bobsville volunteer firefighters. The fire department's resources have primarily been targeted towards the University since Bunnyville hospital indicated that they have begun decontamination operations and that their patients seem to have very mild symptoms.

Upon arrival, the first responding units to the university start to size up the scene from a safe distance. They see many victims from the incident site on the ground and walking around looking for help. Staff, students, etc., are all helping each other out.

Some victims appear to be suffering convulsions. The fire chief suspects that there has been organophosphate exposure or the use of some sort of WMD.

Fire is deploying atropine kits so that they can use them on the most severe victims. However, they have just a few of these kits. The fire chief requests that the National Guard base medical unit release any atropine kits that they may have.

Fire and Law Enforcement has requested that Carol County PSAP enact mutual aid assistance from other departments in the area. Requests have gone out to EMS in Bobstown, to the HAZMAT team (they are still at the initial scene on I-58), for additional fire resources from Bobstown. Additional EMS, HAZMAT, and Fire resources have been requested from other communities through mutual aid via the Bobsville emergency manager.

The 63rd CST sent a small contingent of personnel to the first event outside of Bobstown, but the remaining portion of the team is in Bobsville. The Bobsville Fire Department has requested their response.

Fire and Law Enforcement reach out to emergency management and the local hospitals as best as possible and inform them of a possible WMD event at two different locations in Bobsville, resulting in a Mass Casualty Incident (MCI).

Bobsville emergency management has sent a request to the Carol County EOC requesting the state EOC request the National Guard deploy the 63rd CST to the incident site. The governor has been briefed and has authorized the Oklahoma National Guard to provide any support requested. The National Guard is working with the State Emergency Operations Center to mobilize the 63rd CST and identify any additional resources they can provide to support Bobsville.

Fire departments begin to set up a mass decontamination operation utilizing their limited resources. All patients will be decontaminated before being transported for additional medical care.

Bobsville fire department incident commander has requested the Bobsville emergency manager to contact Bobstown General Hospital and request the deployment of their CHEMPAK.

Fire, Law Enforcement and Hospital staff, along with the general population of Bobsville, are concerned about family and friends who may have been at or near either the University or Bunnyville hospital.

Community health centers are receiving an increasing number of calls and self-presenting patients that do not want to wait for treatment at the University. Many victims are being loaded into vehicles and transported to Bunnyville hospital.

Bunnyville hospital is reporting they moved all operations outside and have set up mass decon for all victims in the hospital and any victims self-presenting from the University. Bunnyville hospital is reporting to Bobsville Emergency Management, the Carol County Health Department, and the State Health Department that they are experiencing a medical surge event and need additional resources immediately.

The Bobsville emergency manager has the mayor and other elected and appointed officials in the EOC. Policy decision making is now in their hands. However, all resource coordination has been turned over to the EOC to manage. Bobsville EOC is taking all requests from the field, ensuring they are being fulfilled locally; if not, they are being elevated to the county and/or state emergency management agencies.

Bobsville emergency management is concerned about wind direction, where the unknown agent may move to, and shelter-in-place notifications for the residents of Bobsville. Emergency messaging for evacuating areas near the University and the hospital and shelter-in-place are being developed and transmitted to residents that this unknown HAZMAT substance could impact.

Key Issues

1. First responders arrive on the scene and observe victims in various stages of distress.

2. Fire Chief/Incident Commander observes multiple victims in uncontrolled convulsions. He suspects the victims have had exposure to an organophosphate or WMD substance.

3. Incident Command establishes a mass decontamination site for those victims who can follow instructions.

4. The Bobstown HAZMAT team has been requested to support; however, that team is still on scene at the I-58 incident. Emergency Management will identify and locate additional HAZMAT resources.

5. A request has been made for the CHEMPAK from the Bobstown General Hospital.

6. A request for the 63rd CST to be deployed has been sent to the county emergency manager, who moved the request to the state emergency management agency, then the National Guard.

7. Bunnyville hospital is receiving self-presenting victims from the University showing up in personal vehicles, which adds to the current situation at Bunnyville hospital and creates a more significant medical surge event.

8. Patients are presenting with various injuries with varying severity from the blast and resulting from their exposure.

9. The public, medical staff and patients are fearful, frantic, and anxious.

10. Information needs to be shared with the residents of Bobsville about potential issues of the unknown agent spreading.

Task

I. Operational Coordination

Question A. How will a tiered, integrated leadership, and inclusive coordinating organizations operate with a unity of effort supported by sufficient assessment and analysis to provide a defined structure and decision-making processes for response and recovery activities?

Question B. What is a CHEMPAK, and what can it provide to the fire and EMS on the ground?

Question C. What additional Emergency Support Functions should be activated?

II. Environmental Response/Health and Safety

Question A. First responders should implement what priorities upon arriving at the scene since this event involves an unknown potential WMD?

Question B. Who has the responsibility to minimize public exposure to environmental hazards? How will this be accomplished?

Question C. How would decontamination issues be addressed in the first minutes, hours and days?

Question D. Who would be responsible for identifying, assessing, and mitigating worker health and safety hazards, and who would disseminate health and safety guidance and resources to responding personnel?

Question E. What sort of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) should be utilized by all responders to this event?

Question F. Who would be responsible for establishing Hot, Warm and Cold zones? What resources would be used to assist in establishing protective zones?

Question G. How would victims on the scene be decontaminated? Who would be responsible for the decontamination efforts?

III. Screening, Search and Detection

Question A. What types of detection devices should be utilized to assess potential dangers related to the unknown agent?

Question B. Will HEPA filters in the hospital help contain the spread of an agent that has been injected into the HVAC system? Why?

IV. Evacuation/Shelter-in-Place

Question A. What information should be provided to the University, the Hospital, and the residents of Bobsville about Sheltering-In-Place?

Question B. What mechanisms would be utilized to advise the public about Shelter-In-Place?

Question C. Who would be responsible for determining evacuation zone, evacuation corridors, and evacuation locations?

Question D. If wind direction and speed required the public to evacuate the area, as Shelter-In-Place is no longer the safest option, where would the people be directed to relocate?

Question E. How long would a potential organophosphate or nerve agent linger in the air?