ECTSI 13th Edition Vocab - Chapter 38 - Incident Management

Bills of Lading

The shipping papers used for transport of chemicals over roads and highways; also referred to as freight bills.

Bulk Storage Containers

Any container other than nonbulk storage containers, such as fixed tanks, highway cargo tanks, rail tank cars, totes, and intermodal tanks. These are typically found in manufacturing facilities and are often surrounded by a secondary containment system to help control an accidental release.

Carboys

Glass, plastic, or steel containers, ranging in volume from 5 to 15 gallons (19 to 57 L).

Casualty Collection Area

An area set up by physicians, nurses, and other hospital staff near a major disaster scene where patients can receive further triage and medical care.

Chemical Transportation Emergency Center (CHEMTREC)

An agency that assists emergency responders in identifying and handling hazardous materials transport incidents.

Closed Incident

An incident that is contained; all casualties are accounted for.

Cold Zone

A safe area at a hazardous materials incident for the agencies involved in the operations. The incident commander, the command post, EMS clinicians, and other support functions necessary to control the incident should be located in this zone. Also referred to as the clean zone or the support zone.

Command

In incident command, the position that oversees the incident, establishes the objectives and priorities, and develops a response plan.

Command Post

The designated field command center where the incident commander and support staff are located.

Container

Any vessel or receptacle that holds material, including storage vessels, pipelines, and packaging.

Control Zones

Areas at a hazardous materials incident that are designated as hot, warm, or cold, based on safety issues and the degree of hazard found there.

Cylinders

Portable, compressed gas containers used to hold liquids and gases such as nitrogen, argon, helium, and oxygen. They have a range of sizes and internal pressures.

Decontamination

The process of removing or neutralizing and properly disposing of hazardous materials from equipment, patients, and responders.

Decontamination Area

The designated area in a hazardous materials incident where all patients and responders must be decontaminated before going to another area.

Demobilization

The process of directing responders to return to their facilities when work at a disaster or mass-casualty incident has finished, at least for those particular responders.

Disaster

A widespread event that disrupts community resources and functions, in turn threatening public safety, citizens' lives, and property.

Drums

Barrel-like containers used to store a wide variety of substances, including food-grade materials, corrosives, flammable liquids, and grease. May be constructed of low-carbon steel, polyethylene, cardboard, stainless steel, nickel, or other materials.

Emergency Response Guidebook (ERG)

A preliminary action guide for first responders operating at a hazardous materials incident in coordination with the US Department of Transportation's labels and placards marking system. Jointly developed by the DOT, the Secretariat of Communications and Transportation of Mexico, and Transport Canada.

Extrication Supervisor

In incident command, the person appointed to determine the type of equipment and resources needed for a situation involving extrication or special rescue; also called the rescue officer.

Finance/Administration

In incident command, the position in an incident responsible for accounting of all expenditures.

Freelancing

When individual units or different organizations make independent and often inefficient decisions about the next appropriate action.

Freight Bills

The shipping papers used for transport of chemicals along roads and highways; also referred to as bills of lading.

Hazardous Material

Any substance that is toxic, poisonous, radioactive, flammable, or explosive and causes injury or death with exposure.

Hazardous Materials (Hazmat) Incident

An incident in which a hazardous material is no longer properly contained and isolated.

Hot Zone

The area immediately surrounding a hazardous materials spill or incident site that endangers life and health. All responders working in this zone must wear appropriate protective clothing and equipment. Entry requires approval by the incident commander or other designated officer.

Incident Action Plan (IAP)

An oral or written plan stating general objectives reflecting the overall strategy for managing an incident.

Incident Commander (IC)

The overall leader of the incident command system to whom commanders or leaders of incident command system divisions report.

Incident Command System (ICS)

A system implemented to manage disasters and mass-casualty incidents in which section chiefs, including finance/administration, logistics, operations, and planning, report to the incident commander.

Intermodal Tanks

Shipping and storage vessels that can be either pressurized or nonpressurized.

Joint Information Center (JIC)

An area designated by the incident commander, or a designee, in which public information officers from multiple agencies distribute information about the incident.

JumpSTART Triage

A sorting system for pediatric patients younger than 8 years or weighing less than 100 pounds (45 kg). There is a minor adaptation for infants because they cannot ambulate on their own.

Liaison Officer

In incident command, the person who relays information, concerns, and requests among responding agencies.

Logistics

In incident command, the position that helps procure and stockpile equipment and supplies during an incident.

Mass-Casualty Incident (MCI)

An emergency situation involving three or more patients or that can place great demand on the equipment or personnel of the EMS system or has the potential to produce multiple casualties.

Morgue Supervisor

In incident command, the person who works with area medical examiners, coroners, and law enforcement agencies to coordinate the disposition of dead victims.

Mutual Aid Response

An agreement between neighboring EMS systems to respond to masscasualty incidents or disasters in each other's region when local resources are insufficient to handle the response.

National Incident Management System (NIMS)

A Department of Homeland Security system designed to enable federal, state, and local governments and private-sector and nongovernmental organizations to effectively and efficiently prepare for, prevent, respond to, and recover from domestic incidents, regardless of cause, size, or complexity, including acts of catastrophic terrorism.

Nonbulk Storage Vessels

Any container other than bulk storage containers, such as drums, bags, compressed gas cylinders, and cryogenic containers. These hold commonly used commercial and industrial chemicals such as solvents, industrial cleaners, and compounds.

Open Incident

An incident that is not yet contained; there may be patients to be located and the situation may be ongoing, producing more patients.

Operations

In incident command, the position that carries out the orders of the commander to help resolve the incident.

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Levels

A means of classifying the amount and type of protective equipment that an individual must use to avoid injury during contact with a hazardous material.

Placards

Signage required to be placed on all four sides of highway transport vehicles, railroad tank cars, and other forms of hazardous materials transportation; the sign identifies the hazardous contents of the vehicle, using a standardization system with diamond-shaped indicators.

Planning

In incident command, the position that ultimately produces a plan to resolve any incident.

Primary Triage

A type of patient sorting used to rapidly categorize patients; the focus is on speed in locating all patients and determining an initial priority as their conditions warrant.

Public Information Officer (PIO)

In incident command, the person who keeps the public informed and relates any information to the media.

Rehabilitation Area

The area that provides protection and treatment to firefighters and other responders working at an emergency. Here, workers are medically monitored and receive any needed care as they enter and leave the scene.

Rehabilitation Supervisor

In incident command, the person who establishes an area that provides protection for responders from the elements and the situation.

Rescue Supervisor

In incident command, the person appointed to determine the type of equipment and resources needed for a situation involving extrication or special rescue; also called the extrication officer.

Safety Data Sheet (SDS)

A form, provided by manufacturers and compounders (blenders) of chemicals, containing information about chemical composition, physical and chemical properties, health and safety hazards, emergency response, and waste disposal of a specific material; also known as material safety data sheet (MSDS).

Safety Officer

In incident command, the person who monitors the scene for conditions or operations that may present a hazard to responders and patients; this person may stop an operation when responder safety is an issue.

Secondary Containment

An engineered method to control spilled or released product if the main containment vessel fails.

Secondary Triage

A type of patient sorting used in the treatment area that involves retriage of patients.

Single Command System

A command system in which one person is in charge; generally used with small incidents that involve only one responding agency or one jurisdiction.

Span of Control

In incident command, the subordinate positions under the commander's direction to which the workload is distributed; the ideal supervisor/worker ratio is one supervisor for five subordinates.

Staging Supervisor

In incident command, the person who locates an area to stage equipment and personnel and tracks unit arrival and deployment from the staging area.

START Triage

A patient sorting process that stands for Simple Triage And Rapid Treatment and uses a limited assessment of the patient's ability to walk, respiratory status, hemodynamic status, and neurologic status.

Termination of Command

The end of the incident command structure when an incident draws to a close.

Toxicity Levels

A means of classifying the risk that a hazardous material poses to the health of an individual who comes into contact with it.

Transportation Area

The area in a mass-casualty incident where ambulances and crews are organized to transport patients from the treatment area to receiving hospitals.

Transportation Supervisor

In incident command, the person in charge of the transportation sector in a mass-casualty incident who assigns patients from the treatment area to waiting ambulances in the transportation area.

Treatment Area

The location in a mass-casualty incident where patients are brought after being triaged and assigned a priority, where they are reassessed, treated, and monitored until transport to the hospital.

Treatment Supervisor

In incident command, the person, usually a physician, who is in charge of and directs EMS clinicians at the treatment area in a mass-casualty incident.

Triage

The process of sorting patients based on the severity of injury and medical need to establish treatment and transportation priorities.

Triage Supervisor

In incident command, the person in charge of the incident command triage sector who directs the sorting of patients into triage categories in a mass-casualty incident.

Unified Command System

A command system used in larger incidents in which there is a multiagency response or multiple jurisdictions are involved.

Warm Zone

The area located between the hot zone and the cold zone at a hazardous materials incident. The decontamination corridor is located in this zone.