Protecting Emergency Responders Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Protecting Emergency Responders - Essay Example Responders First responders are people within the community who have been trained to answer to emergency calls until the ambulance service arrives. They are trained to provide basic life support to patients with various conditions and to accident or disaster victims. First responders may include medical, police and fire personnel. It is paramount for them to be accessible, reliable and have a 24 hour communication line. They normally have a call centre tailored with best practices, latest reference materials and plans for emergency. Second responders, on the other hand, are workers who assist in recovery after accidents, natural or man-made disasters. They provide vital assistance in restoring the sites after recovery operations have been completed. They are the people who ensure free flow of traffic, bringing back to normal business activities as well as public services such as infrastructure, health care institutions and building operations. Their main purpose is to ensure life is brought back to normal in public and private sector setups; most of them are drawn from skilled construction workforce (Interagency Threat Assessment and Coordination Group). Need For Emergency Response Training A response plan for an emergency is of structural necessity for the management of any critical situations. It is regrettable that some of these structures are never put in place, not until a disaster or major accident happens. This, most of the time, leads to negative consequences like loss of life and property that would otherwise be avoided if proper mechanisms are put in place to address those unforeseen occurrences (LaTourrette). Many countries and organizations that have come to the realization of the importance of planning for emergency response have detailed structures and policies for disaster preparedness. The structures that have been put in place must be tested and reviewed from time to time; many volunteers should be trained and properly equipped at all times. Th e disaster preparedness should include all levels of catastrophes, for example, the earthquake that hit Japan last year in March, the hurricane that hit Florida in 2005, the recent winter storm in Europe and the very common terrorist attacks. Training and Testing The emergency response plan of an organization or country has now been well put in place and finalized, passed to all relevant personnel and properly incorporated into a standard operating blueprint. The plan cannot work on its own unless a well coordinated training is provided and properly tested before exercising it in a real emergency situation. Testing the plan helps in identifying the weaknesses, efficiency of the equipment and materials and the ability of the personnel to respond to a real disaster. If any inherent weaknesses are identified, then corrections are done before moving to the critical stage of training. The first thing to consider in the training process is the people who are to provide the actual training . If you look at the magnitude of the earthquake that hit Japan last year and the hurricane, you will discover that training would require highly trained personnel who have experience in similar situations in other parts of the world. The trainers must be able to prepare the people psychologically to handle disasters of Japan’s magnitude. They can be doctors who have served in the military or otherwise, community nurses, paramedical staff, trained personnel from