Field Guide to Emergency Response

Policy and circumstances determine the specifics of any emergency response procedure. However, a good response plan moves through four distinct steps. These steps might be named differently, and they will have detailed substeps determined by your certifying agency. Always remember that your safety is job one in an emergency response situation. Though emergency responders are true heroes, an injured emergency responder can help nobody. Stay safe so you can help others do the same.

Arrival

• The first task of an emergency responder is to arrive safely at the scene. Your plan will include communication (how you find out about the emergency), navigation (finding out how to get to the emergency), transportation (getting to the emergency) and deployment (getting out of the vehicle and putting all the necessary gear in order).
  A important task before any of those steps is preparation. This includes such things as gassing up your vehicle, stocking necessary supplies, even training and staffing. An unprepared team is unlikely to render timely, effective help in an emergency.

Assessment

• The second task of an emergency responder is assessing the scene. Once you arrive, you must first find out if the area is safe. If responding to a violent crime, determine if the attacker is still around. If responding to an earthquake, make sure the building is stable. After you're certain it's safe, find out who or what needs help. In responding to an auto accident, you might find that two people need medical attention, traffic needs directing and a small fire needs to be put out. The final step in assessment is assigning specific individuals to each task.

Assistance

• This is the step most emergency responders sign up for: actually helping people. Using the auto accident example, this is where your team would render first aid, put out the fire, lay down road flares, flag traffic and contact a hospital. While rendering assistance, always be watchful of the general scene. Many emergency scenes can change unexpectedly for the worse.

Administration

• Once everybody at the scene has been assisted and the scene itself secured so it's not immediately dangerous, your team still has work to do. In a best case scenario, your team would clean up the equipment, contact those responsible for further cleanup and return home to file any needed incident reports. In a worst case scenario, you would do a spot-check of the immediate area and then move on to the next nearest danger zone.