ECare - Chapter 37 (Hazardous Materials, Multiple-Casualty Incidents, and Incident Management)

Question 1

hazardous material

Answer 1

any substance in a form that poses an unreasonable risk to health, safety, and property when transported in commerce or kept in storage

Question 2

responsibilities of the EMT

Answer 2

recognize a hazmat incident exists, calling in appropriate resources, controlling the scene, and identifying the substance

Question 3

hot zone

Answer 3

area immediately surrounding a hazmat incident; extends far enough to prevent adverse effects outside the zone

Question 4

warm zone

Answer 4

area where personnel and equipment decontamination and hot zone support take place; it includes control points for the access corridor and, thus, assists in reducing the spread of contamination

Question 5

cold zone

Answer 5

area where Incident Command post and support functions are located

Question 6

secondary contamination

Answer 6

when a contaminated person makes contact with someone who previously was “clean”

Question 7

rehabilitation

Answer 7

in cold zone, used to monitor hazmat team members

Question 8

decontamination

Answer 8

chemical/physical process that reduces/prevents spread of contamination rom persons to equipment; removal of hazardous substances from employees and their equipment to the extent necessary to preclude foreseeable health effects

Question 9

decontamination corridor location

Answer 9

warm zone

Question 10

gross decontamination

Answer 10

removal of chemical alteration of the majority of the contaminant

Question 11

secondary decontamination

Answer 11

alteration or removal of most of the residual product contamination

Question 12

mechanisms for decontamination

Answer 12

emulsification, chemical reaction, disinfection, dilution, absorption/adsorption, removal, disposal

Question 13

National Incident Management System (NIMS)

Answer 13

management system used by federal, state, and local governments to manage emergencies in the US

Question 14

incident Command System (ICS)

Answer 14

subset of NIMS designed for management of MCIs

Question 15

Command

Answer 15

the first on the scene to establish order and initiate the ICS

Question 16

single incident command

Answer 16

command organization where a single agency controls all resources and operations

Question 17

unfied command

Answer 17

command organization where many agencies work independently but cooperatively

Question 18

Incident Command

Answer 18

person(s) who assume overall direction of a large-scale incident

Question 19

triage

Answer 19

the process of quickly assessing pts at a MCI and assigning each a priority for receiving treatment

Question 20

Priority 1

Answer 20

Treatable Life-Threatening Illnesses or Injuries: airway/breathing difficulties, severe bleeding, decreased mental status, severe medical probs shock, burns

Question 21

Priority 2

Answer 21

Serious but Not Life-Threatening Illnesses or Injuries: Pts who have burns without airway problems, major/many bone/joint injuries, back injuries with/without spinal cord damage

Question 22

Priority 3

Answer 22

Walking Wounded: pts with minor musculoskeletal injuries or minor soft-tissue injuries

Question 23

Priority 4

Answer 23

Dead or Fatally Injured: exposed brain matter, cardiac arrest, decapitation, severed trunk incineration

Question 24

START triage

Answer 24

Respiration, Pulse, Mental Status; should take no more than 30 sec

Question 25

Questions for START triage

Answer 25

If pts can walk, they are green (priority 3) not breathing before and after opening airway - black (priority 0) not breathing but is after opening airway with more than 30 breaths/min - red (priority 1) not breathing but is after opening airway with less than 30 breaths/min - check pulse breathing, no pulse - red (priority 1) breathing, pulse, good skin signs, and cap refill - check mental status unresponsive, not breathing, no pulse - black (priority 0) alert - yellow (priority 2) altered - red (priority 1) after, reassess priority 3s

Question 26

treatments during START triage

Answer 26

open an airway/insert OPA, apply pressure to bleeding, elevate an extremity

Question 27

triage area

Answer 27

area where secondary triage takes place

Question 28

staging area

Answer 28

area where ambulances are parked and other resources are held

Question 29

surge capacity

Answer 29

measurable representation of ability to manage a sudden influx of pts; dependent on a well-functioning incident management system and the variables of space, supplies, staff, and others