Chapter 25

Disaster and Large Incident Response

Introduction

• Every community vulnerable to a large incident

• Disaster: incident that overwhelms a community’s resources

• Large incident: encompasses incidents not thought of as disasters– Examples: warehouse fire, hazardous

materials incident at a school

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Types of Disasters andLarge Incidents

• Disasters may be the result of natural events or human actions

• May cause short-term or long-term problems• Can lead to other disasters

– Example: weather event that causes a dam break, flooding, power outages, and public health problems

• Fire departments must have specific plans– Connected with local government’s disaster

management plans

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Water-Related Emergencies

• Result from flooding or weather conditions• May result from critical infrastructure failure,

such as a dam failure• Flooding is often result of prolonged rain

conditions, tsunamis, hurricanes, and melting of large amounts of snow and ice

• Flooding can strand people, cause massive damage, create fires, and prohibit response

• Tsunami: series of enormous waves caused by underwater event

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25.5

Figure 25-1 This photo shows a portion of New Orleans, Louisiana, after Hurricane Katrina hit in September 2005. The widespread flooding resulted from both the weather conditions and the failure of dams. (Courtesy of FEMA/Michael Rieger)

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Figure 25-2 Far inland areas of Sumatra experienced minor flooding during the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami (A); however, the coastlines experienced massive devastation (B). (Courtesy of U.S. Geological Survey/Guy Gelfenbaum)

(A) (B)

Earthquakes and Landslides

• Earthquakes result from shifts in plates of Earth’s crust along geographic fault lines– Typically result in injuries, fires, and damage to

buildings and infrastructure– Require substantial resources

• Landslides: large areas of rock, earth, and debris that shift unexpectedly down a slope– Result from earthquakes and prolonged rain– Can also result from human alterations to the land

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Figure 25-4 Major damage to community infrastructure as a result of an earthquake. (Courtesy of U.S. Geological Survey/E. V. Leyendecker)

Severe Weather Incidents• Hurricanes: low-pressure weather

systems that form in the tropics– Large amounts of rain, flooding,

landslides, and major structural damage

• Tornados: violent winds rotating in funnel-shaped cloud– Major structural damage

• Severe storms may also be large-scale incident

• Large incidents can result from temperature extremes 25.9

25.10

Table 25-1 Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale

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Table 25-2 Tornado Classifications

Fires and Explosions• Major fire can result in significant response by

emergency services• Wildfires can rapidly become a disaster

– Traverse many acres of land– Threaten homes, businesses, and infrastructure

• Explosions may be result of weather emergency– May be caused by equipment failures– May be intentional

• Large-scale fires, wildfires, and explosions cause structural and environmental damage

25.12

Power Outages• Humans rely on power supplied to

homes and businesses• Mass power outage or prolonged

outage leads rapidly to large incident or disaster

• Power outages can adversely affect fire stations and fire department resources– Make it more difficult to respond to calls

for help 25.13

Hazardous Materials Emergencies

• Hazardous materials emergencies quickly become disasters – Depends on type of product leaked or spilled

• Result in mass evacuations• Result in infrastructure damage, explosions,

fires, large numbers of sick or injured• Some chemical scenarios affect citizens 15

to 20 miles away from chemical release– May kill or injure hundreds of people

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Volcanic Emergencies• Volcanoes are mountains that open

beneath the Earth’s crust to molten rock– Pressure from gases in molten rock can build– Result is upward expulsion through center of

mountain

• Lava flows are destructive– Take down everything in their path– Generate fires along periphery of flow

• Eruptions release large quantities of ash into the air

25.15

Nuclear Power Plant Emergencies

• Emergency involving a nuclear power plant can be devastating– Very rare

• Nuclear power plants closely monitored by government agencies– Employ several safety measures

• Greatest risk is human exposure to radiation– Path of radioactive materials and plume

• Exposure to high levels of radiation causes serious illnesses and death

25.16

Terrorism• Acts of terrorism often large-scale

emergencies or disasters– Number of victims; significant structural

and infrastructural damage– Complexity of responding agencies

• Terrorists’ main objective is to terrorize the community– To create an event that overwhelms

community’s ability to respond effectively

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Responding to Disastersand Large Incidents

• First responders represent the front lines of disaster and large-incident response

• Local governments have emergency plans for dealing with disasters in general

• Hazard-specific annexes to the plan that go into more detail for specific incident types

• Fire department has a role in every emergency because they are the first to arrive

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Mutual Aid• Local emergency resources will be

overwhelmed in large incidents and disasters

• Mutual aid units required to assist in response

• Can occur through mutual aid agreements or inter-jurisdictional plans

• In disasters, mutual aid may be requested from beyond normal scope of agreements– From neighboring states or across the country

• Certain regional resources designed for certain aspects of an incident

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Expanding Response• Each state has a state Emergency

Management Agency or Emergency Response Commission– State focal point for all disaster coordination

• State Emergency Operations Center (EOC) notifies counties affected

• Neither EOC nor FEMA have mass resources to handle any disaster

• FEMA reimburses local government for expenses– Formal written disaster declaration from the

governor25.20

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Figure 25-12 A state EOC in operation.

Federal Disaster Resources

• Governor requests disaster declaration and commits state funds and resources

• Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) evaluates the request– Recommends action to the White House

• Department of Homeland Security (DHS) becomes involved

• Federal response structured by the National Response Plan

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Figure 25-13 A USAR team in action. (Courtesy of Fairfax County, Virginia, Fire and Rescue Department’s Virginia Task Force 1 USAR Team)

Other Resources• Large incidents and disasters can

exhaust many resources• Often help is needed faster than

governments can mobilize• Private sector organizations often play

a role– Example: Red Cross

• Many local communities include private sector organizations in emergency plans 25.24

National IncidentManagement System

• National Incident Management System (NIMS) has two concepts: flexibility and standardization

• Designed to be flexible enough to adapt to wide variety of disasters and responders

• Provides standardized organizational structures and processes– Improves interoperability between agencies and

governments– Standardization applies to processes and

terminology25.25

The Firefighter inDisaster Response

• The firefighter is the critical link in the disaster response chain

• Training important in disaster response• Communication a critical factor• Firefighters should recall knowledge of

department accountability and safety procedures

• Freelancing is dangerous and may damage effectiveness of operation

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Figure 25-15 New York City firefighters search through the rubble for victims of the World Trade Center collapse in September 2001. (Courtesy of FEMA/Michael Rieger)

Lessons Learned

• Disasters and large incidents are a great burden on emergency response system

• Firefighters often act for extended operational periods

• Disaster brings resources from wide variety of agencies

• Disasters affect communities for years• Firefighter is a vital connection between

victim and army of responders

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