The New Face of Emergency Response
How tomorrow’s emergency requires a drastic change from the status quo of yesterday.
What is on tap for training this year? Active shooter drills, staging manager, ICS, “Deploy the NIMS!”, HREP drills, unified command, division, group, strike team: are we done yet!! No. Sorry. Not gonna happen. Thanks to a number of individuals, the future landscape of tactical response training will eternally elicit groans from police and fire crews across the country when they look at their training assignment for the day — “head downtown for 4 hours of active shooter training.”
Don’t get me wrong, we all need to understand the tactical approach to this horrible new threat that could happen in any community in America. If you are a member of the police, fire, or EMS community however, it may be getting a little old….
There is an elephant in this room though. Tactics are coming along splendidly. But, have you ever talked with your counterpart from that other agency about what each of you plan to do tonight at midnight when you are called to work together? Better yet, do you even know her name?
Let’s break down the typical day for the emergency response public servant. After checking your equipment and reviewing the agenda for the shift, you may settle in or hit the road — ready to respond to calls. Today you will respond to three specific types of emergencies:
1) Fire/EMS Emergency
This is an emergency where the fire or EMS agency is primarily in charge: medical problem, fire alarm, structure fire, etc. This is your bread and butter event. You have trained for this your entire career. You know what to do, how to manage it, and what players need to be involved. At most, police will be on scene to provide ancillary support to you.
2) Law enforcement emergency
This is an emergency where law enforcement is in charge. Everyday police emergencies include incidents like a hostage negotiation, bank robbery, SWAT activation, drug investigation, or homicide. These — and other incidents like them — are the explicit legal purview of the police department. Any other agencies, such as fire or ambulance, are merely assisting you in your investigation or actions.
3) Complex Emergency
These are those 911 calls that require both EMS/Fire and Law Enforcement to immediately engage in their required task. Here is where it gets complex: each agency must engage, immediately, in the exact same geographic space. In other words, police need to do police stuff, rescue needs to do rescue stuff in the exact same location. Oh, by the way, complex emergencies happen every day: whether it is an overdose in a bar or an active shooter in a mall, both entities still have to be in there doing what they do.
The trouble with a complex emergency is the fact that they can be a little out of our comfort zone. We are used to being in charge of the situation. We control who goes in and out. We direct the pace of the incident. Bring that other guy into the mix who doesn’t really care about what you have to accomplish and now we have the makings for a bit of a conflict.
It is that complex emergency that is the challenge for the next generation of emergency responders. Consequently, it is that human dynamic, that trust, that relationship that must be built at a moments notice, that needs to be explored in depth. How can we start that exploration?
The Denver Metro Area and the North Central Region is on the cutting edge of that journey. It starts, with a conversation. That conversation will initiate and continue on the operational coordination committee for the region here in Denver.
Do you want to help guide the next generation? The conversation starts on June 2nd. RFS
About Me
I am a Firefighter, Paramedic, Lieutentant, and OEM Coordinator with the City of Aurora, CO. I see the passion of all emergency responders in this industry and seek to cultivate it to take our response to the next level. Join me in this team effort.
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Twitter: https://twitter.com/Ryanfspack
