Emergency Management
Emergency management is a safety policy mechanism that can be achieved via adequate planning, training, and equipping of emergency response team members.
Risk Management
When it comes to risk management, a well-structured organizational plan is vital. The primary functions of organizations responding to an emergency include risk assessment, effective hazard elimination, public safety, and emergency risk management.
Emergency Management Preparedness
Emergency management preparedness is critical in limiting the negative impact by ensuring that the organizations that participate in emergency responses are effective in protecting the general public's health and safety (Raynlan, 2011). These organizations should have sufficient access to vital facilities, equipment, and supplies while dealing with emergency situations. The main goal of the emergency response organization system is to ensure that the health of the individuals handling the emergency and the public is protected throughout. Through undertaking emergency management, the response actions should be effected in a way so that they minimize disruption of the activities in the community, as well as protect both public and private properties (Rheem, 2016). Trained personnel and other facilities, such as disaster equipment like fire extinguishers and fire alarms, are the most important resources that need to be available in every public building. The emergency response organization system also involves units that include the households, government agencies, and private organizations.
Hazard Identification and Coordination
The emergency management team should be able to identify the hazard, for example, toxic chemical release that should be eliminated to be able to respond effectively. The risk management involves a multi-organizational participation and coordination.
Emergency Response Organizations
The organizations taking part in mitigating the hazard should be informed and equipped with the necessary knowledge required in dealing with such situations. These emergency response organizations include the public safety agencies, that is, the emergency response department, the fires department, police department, and the emergency medical services department (Raynlan, 2011). Other organization, such as school and hospitals, should also be included to ensure the safety of the general public. On the other hand, the organization that is responsible for emitting the hazardous chemical materials and those that are involved in the transportation of the hazard material should be included in the emergency response.
Organizational Structures for Emergency Responses
During large-scale emergencies responses, there are pre-planned organizational structures that can be followed to the elimination of the threat. In case of chemical spillage emergencies, both the Incident Command System (ICS) and the Incident Management System (IMS) can be applied to ensure coordination of the different organizations taking part in the emergency response (Kwak & Rheem, 2016).
Incident Command and Communication
It is the duties of the individual in charge of the incident command to identify all the harmful chemical substances and after that conduct an analysis of the site that has been exposed. Incident command (IC) may use engineering controls to determine maximum exposure limit and outline hazardous substances handling procedures to be followed during emergency response. The IC may also initiate, maintain, as well as control, the communication between organizations involved in response to ensure coordination.
Command Staff and Public Information
For the command staff to be effective, it is the responsibility of the public information officer (PIO) on the scene to inform the IC on the situation on the ground. The PIO is also responsible for the provision of information to the mass media for an accurate report of the status on the incident. The law enforcement department under the Police Liaison Office has the mandate to ensure that there is a conducive environment to allow the response team to work properly (Raynlan, 2011). The emergency operation center (EOC) liaison department is responsible for the coordination between the EOC and the incident site. The police liaison sector is essential in the coordination of department taking part in the emergency response. It is the duty of this sector to ensure that there is no traffic and crowd control, to ensure maximum security, and help in the evacuation of the public from the scene of the incident.
Operations Sector
The operations sector deals directly with the situation at the site of the incident to ensure that the situation is neutralized (Kwak & Rheem, 2016). The sector also ensures that the safety and welfare of the emergency response personnel are met. This sector comprises several branches, including the transport, rescue team, hazardous material (hazmat) branch, fire, and medical branch. It is the responsibility of the transport team to transport those that have been injured on the scene to the hospitals while the rescue team is in charge of searching, rescuing, and extraction of victims and other response team personnel that might be exposed to the risks at the scene.
Hazardous Material Branch
The hazardous material (hazmat) branch has the responsibility to identify the hazard materials and coordinate the law enforcement resources on the control of site access (Kwak & Rheem, 2016). It also takes part in the decontamination of the hazardous material.
Fire and Medical Branches
The fire branch has the mandate of suppressing and managing fires in the incident. The medical sector is charged with the responsibility of locating and extrication of victims moving them into treatment areas.
References
Kwak, C. J., & Rheem, S. K. (2016). An Exploratory Study on the Subsidy for Fire Safety and Disaster Prevention Budget. Crisis and Emergency Management, 12(11), 129-142. doi:10.14251/crisisonomy.2016.12.11.129
Raynlan, H. (2011). Disaster Management and Theories of Public Management. Disaster Policy and Politics: Emergency Management and Homeland Security, 26-45. doi:10.4135/9781483330761.n2
Rheem, S. K. (2016). A Cooperative Emergency Response System based on the Disaster Response Activity Plan. Crisis and Emergency Management, 12(4), 1-15. doi:10.14251/crisisonomy.2016.12.4.1
