Faithin Omaha eBook Collection

Download or read book Rapid Damage Assessment for Emergency Responders written by and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 44 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The problem was that the Newton Fire/EMS Department had no formalized procedure for completing initial damage assessment activities following community℗Ư wide disasters, which produced fragmented and disorganized initial emergency response. The purpose of this research was to develop a damage assessment policy to guide the activities of emergency responders immediately following a community℗Ư wide disaster. Industry best practices were investigated, and other public safety agencies' perceptions of damage assessment activities were explored. Additionally, Newton Fire/EMS members reported their perceptions of the importance and desired outcomes of damage assessment performance. Finally, a model Standard Operating Guideline was constructed in an effort to employ research results to guide the activities of emergency responders arriving at the scene of community℗Ư wide disasters. Action research was used to complete this research project. An internal survey of Newton Fire/EMS employees was conducted, as was an external survey of members of the International Association of Fire Chiefs Executive Fire Officer Section in an effort to gather information regarding damage assessments. A model SOG was created, and a comprehensive literature review was conducted. The research revealed that most emergency responders understood the importance of conducting initial damage assessments during community-wide disasters, and that rapid windshield surveys by first-arriving firefighters were usually the most important method. This research supports the creation of a Damage Assessment SOG for use by members of the Newton Fire/EMS Department.