Emergency Preparedness: A Fire Chief’s Perspective

1. Introduction

In a world of ever increasing specialization, it is important to remember that many occupations run parallel pathways. Veterinary medicine has influenced human medicine. Global Positioning Systems developed by the military have revolutionized civilian mapping, communications, and even vehicles. What connections could possibly be made between the fire service and veterinary medicine? Actually, many similarities exist. A paramount goal of both professions is to serve their clients through education and prevention programs in order to minimize emergencies and unexpected loss. Then, when something does go wrong, to provide capable response and help restore normalcy to the situation. Does it always work? No, but as professionals, it is our duty to try.

The 1970s ushered in the era of professionalizing the American Fire Service. Whether a career or volunteer department, responding to an emergency became a well thought out science. Lives saved through rapid Emergency Medical Services have steadily increased while property loss from fire has decreased. The ability to safely perform a wide range of technical rescue has improved as well. The 1990s challenged the fire service to respond to protracted emergencies, better termed disasters. Catastrophic acts of terrorism, hurricanes, wildfires, and hazardous materials incidents have caused the fire service to prepare and effectively respond to disasters. Forward thinking fire service leaders are now discussing how to prepare and respond to national crises, defined as widespread disasters protracted over months or years. Currently our nation is not well prepared to handle such extensive events.¹

In much of the same way, veterinary medicine has seen profound changes in the industry over the last several decades. Medical research, technological advancements, and the demographic make up of the veterinary community have all contributed to advancements in equine care. At the same time, situations that veterinarians may find themselves and their clients in have grown more complex, and that is where our paths begin to cross. 

2. Discussion

Education and prevention are important components of the fire service and the field of veterinary medicine. It is the basis of emergency preparedness as well. To put it in context, there are four phases of emergency management. It starts with planning. What are the risks, the likelihood of the risks, and the impact of the event should it occur in your clinic or community? The second phase of emergency management is the mitigation of the identified risk. What can be done to keep the risk from occurring, or at least reduce the severity of impact? As veterinarians desiring to prevent injury and illness, you can appreciate that practicing good medicine requires proactive education and prevention programs. Yet sometimes, bad things happen and a response is required. Timely implementation of a good plan, with appropriate resources that are well trained and equipped make for better outcomes than a response that does not have good preparedness as its foundation. Once the emergency is over, the phase of recovery begins. Whether rebuilding, healing, or attempting financial recovery, the greatest chance for a successful outcome is accomplished by those who have completed some level of preparation.

The fire service does many things well. A primary reason for this success comes from the practice of operating in organized teams. The foundation of the fire service is a team of two. Two teams make a company of four, which is the preferred staffing on a fire engine. Every firefighter on the engine knows their role, and is cross trained in each other’s role, to provide depth to the team. Companies form Strike Teams and/or Task Forces, which in turn form larger Divisions and/or Groups. For very large incidents, another functional organization is a Branch. All of these subdivisions have an assignment, know who they work for and who works for them (Unity of Command), generally limit the number of subordinates to five people (span of control), know where they are to work, and how they are to communicate. All of this is managed by one (and only one) Incident Commander. What has just been described is the Incident Command System (ICS). Effective use of ICS comes from the fire service using it every day, on every incident. It is a flexible management model that provides for safety, accountability, and effectiveness. The systems approach capitalizes on the strengths of individuals working in teams, and can be applied to any field of business, including veterinary medicine. It also incorporates specialists, which is another arena veterinarians can expand into. If you anticipate ever operating with emergency services, it would be time well spent becoming familiar with the Incident Command System. A good overview of ICS and other preparedness classes can be found on-line at FEMA Emergency Management Institute’s Independent Study.² The courses only take several hours to complete and provide the credentials required to work on federal incidents. Regardless of your interest in ICS, emergency preparedness still plays an important role in an equine professional’s career.³

Planning

The following is a partial list of emergencies and disasters that could affect a veterinary clinic or their clients, precipitating interaction with emergency services. Determine what risks are probable and which are possible in your geographic area, factor in what the effect would be if they occurred, then prioritize which should be mitigated first.

• Clinic, barn, vehicle, home, or wildland fire
• Severe weather: tornado, snow, excessive prolonged heat or cold 
• Flood
• Earthquake
• Vehicle, trailer, or entrapment accident: human and animal
• Serious personal injury or sickness
• Pandemic flu outbreak
• Man caused disaster: terrorism, financial system, or supply distribution breakdown
• Extended loss of water, electricity, gas, phone or internet communications.

Mitigation

For every risk identified, first attempt to implement prevention measures to reduce the chance of occurrence or lessen the severity if it should occur. A cursory look at the above risks could include some very basic remedies as well as some that may require a greater investment of time or financial resources. Remember, take care of your own family, home, and business first. By doing so, the veterinarian becomes a resource to assist others should a disaster occur. Often resolving the simple things (working batteries in flashlights and smoke detectors) creates momentum to tackle the bigger issues.

Fire

There is a plethora of information available on how to protect you from fire. Elimination of ignition sources—poor electrical wiring, overloaded circuits, improper storage of combustibles and flammables, and heat from open flame, lights, or equipment—are all easy ways to reduce fire risk. Working smoke detectors wired to provide notification and fire extinguishers in buildings and vehicles can provide early detection and allow for extinguishment when the fire is small. Sprinkler systems provide excellent fire protection. The National Fire Protection Association’s NFPA 150: Standard on Fire and Life Safety in Animal Housing is the industry standard for fire prevention in these facilities.⁴ Wildfire mitigation measures come from effective fuel separation and defensible space around structures as well as eliminating areas where wind blown embers could lodge into a combustible void space (Fig. 1). Information on wildfire prevention can be obtained from the Firewise website.⁵

Severe Weather, Floods, and Earthquakes

What type of weather/natural events does the region you live in experience? Minimally, you should be prepared to provide for your own needs for 72 hours with no public utilities. This includes shelter, water, food, and medical needs for people and animals. Make certain that insurance coverage is in place for any perils you face (Fig. 2). [...]