Mascal - Agencies and Responders

Agencies and Responders

A mass casualty incident can involve many and varied types of responders and agencies, including (but not limited to) the ones listed here:

• Certified first responders may be part of local emergency medical services or may arrive on their own. They will assist with all aspects of patient care, including triage and treatment at the scene, and transport from the scene to the hospital.
• Paramedic and emergency medical technician (EMT) personnel may arrive in ambulances, in their personal vehicles, or from another agency. They will have the lead in all aspects of patient care as assigned by the medical officer or incident commander.
• Land ambulances will be assigned to the transport sector to transport patients and personnel to and from the incident scene, emergency departments of hospitals, and a designated helipad. These may be municipal services, volunteer services or from private corporations.
• Air ambulances will transport patients from the scene or from designated helipads to receiving hospitals.
• Firefighters will perform all initial rescue related operations, as well as fire suppression and prevention. They may also provide medical care if they are trained and assigned to do so. They may arrive on a fire truck, in their personal vehicles, or from another agency. Many areas near airports will have automatic mutual aid agreements with airport fire departments in the event of a plane crash outside of the airport boundaries.
• Police officers will secure the scene to ensure that only properly authorized people are present to ensure safety and smooth operation.
• Specialized rescue teams may be part of the local fire department; they may be dispatched and associated with the state, provincial, or federal governments; or they may be privately operated teams. These teams are specialists in specific types of rescue, such as Urban search and rescue (USAR) or Confined Space Rescue.
• Utility Services are responsible for ensuring that utilities to the area are turned off as necessary in order to prevent further injury or damage at the scene.
• HazMat teams are responsible for cleaning up and neutralizing any hazardous materials at the scene. Sometimes these will be specialized CBRNE (chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and high-yield explosives) teams.
• Hospitals with emergency departments will have a mass casualty incident protocol which they initiate as soon as they are notified of a mass casualty incident in their community. They will receive all of the injured and have preparations in place to do so, including calling in more staff, pulling extra and spare equipment out of storage, and clearing non-acute patients out of the hospital. Some hospitals will send doctors to the scene of the incident to assist with triage, treatment, and transport of injured persons to the hospital.
• Railways and transportation agencies will be notified if an incident involves their tracks or right-of-way, or if they are required to cease operations in and through affected areas. Transportation agencies will provide buses for transportation of lightly injured people to the hospital, as well as to provide shelter at the scene if required.
• The media play an important role in keeping the general public informed about the incident and in keeping them away from the incident area.
• Non-governmental organizations such as St. John Ambulance, the Red Cross, the Red Crescent and the Salvation Army will provide valuable assistance with all aspects of a mass casualty incident including trained medical staff, vehicles, individual registration and tracking, temporary shelter, food service, and many other important services.

This is not an exhaustive list, and many other agencies and groups of people could be involved in a mass casualty incident.