Using APA, construct a review of literature that is 2–3 pages in length and use 4-5 references that you collected on your problem topic. All items listed should have a copyright date within the last t
i HOW FIRE DEPARTMENTS RESPOND TO DISASTERS by Student X This Thesis is being submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Bachelor of Science degree in Public Safety Management Great College Jacksonville Jacksonville , Florida Fall , 20 15 ii DEDICATION I would like to thank my wife Lindsey Perrotta for all of the help she has given me throughout this research proposal, she was phenomenal in helping me complete this project by answering questions for me and taking ca re of the children while I worked on the project . iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to acknowledge Lindsey Perrotta for helping with the project, and Professor Davis for providing guidance and the template for the project. iv ABSTRACT This research proposal will answer the question of how prepared fire departments are to respond to major disasters, by utilizing SOP’s SOG’s and mutual aid. It will discuss problems that lie within these guidelines, such as communica tion issues, and different equipment issues. The research proposal will also take a look at how well the local fire department is prepared for any major incidents that arise, based on a small population group, and a survey provided by the researcher to thi s group. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Dedication ii Acknowledgements iii Abstract iv Chapter 1 Introducti on 6 Chapter 2 Review of Literature 8 Chapter 3 Methodology and Procedure 13 References 16 6 CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION Often times disaster strikes on an extremely large scale, a scale that is too big for one agency to handle. When these types of disas ters strike multiple agencies come together to mitigate the incident. One of the biggest challenges to mitigating incidents when multiple agencies are brought together is finding the middle area based on how all the agencies operate, since many agencies h ave different operations . Scoppetta (2008) stated that having capability and flexibility are vital components of being prepared for natural disasters and when multiple agencies that come together have these qualities disasters are mitigated with relative e ase. Background Context Often time’s major disasters are too large for one municipal fire department to handle and these departments call upon mutual aid. The mutual aid will almost always have different literature and training on how to respond to these incidents, which can lead to major complications on scene. By utilizing national models and outlines on how to respond to incidents these problems are often curbed, however the challenge is getting all agencies to have training once and a while to cover these models. This research project will help highlight some ways this can be accomplished easier. Comment [SP1]: se the essay you wrote for the Critical Incident assignment to describe the background of the problem. 7 Purpose of Research The purpose of the research is have a better understanding of the fire departments preparedness for disasters. The primary re search question is: How prepared is the fire department for disasters? The sub -questions for research include: 1) how do firemen respond to disasters? 2) What kind of standard operating procedures are in place for disaster planning? 3) What kind of traini ng is incorporated in the local fire department for preparedness if or when disasters occur? Significance of Research The research that is performed in this paper will benefit any agency that utilizes mutual aid, and the members of those agencies. It will also benefit the citizens in the respective jurisdictions and areas that these agencies respond to by having the disasters that take place mitigated with the least amount of loss of life, and property damage, by having multiple agencies come togethe r working with one another to successfully bring any disaster under control. Summary of Remaining Chapters The next four chapters will discuss the review of literature, methodology, data and analysis, and conclusions. Comment [SP2]: Write a paragraph explaining how you, your co -researchers, and your research subjects will benefit fr om your findings. Comment [CaL3R2]: The research that is performed in this paper will benefit any agency that utilized mutial aid. The Comment [SP4]: Tell the reader what the next four chapters contain. 8 CHAPTER TWO REVIEW OF LITERATUR E Whenever a natural disaster, terrorist’s attacks, or mass casualties occur in the United States, it is the Fire department that is the first responder on scene. Scoppetta (2008) stated that having capability and flexibility are vital components of being prepared for natural disasters. The amount of training, education, and preparedness are detrimental in successfully saving people’s lives. There have been various studies that have researched disasters and Fire fighters preparedness for when disaster s trikes. The question to be addresses is if Fire Fighters are responding appropriately when disasters occur. What can be done differently from disasters such as Hurricane Katrina, 9/11 Terrorists Attacks, and mass casualty incidents. Is it safe to assume that fire departments across the nation are implementing the National Incident Management System (NIMS) that is mandated when responding to disasters? A qualitative survey study by Jensen & Yoon (2011) was mailed out to 365 fire chiefs at volunteer (ru ral) fire departments within North Dakota. The survey questioned them regarding their personal perception of mandated policies associated with NIMS and federal policies when responding to emergent situations. It was extremely alarming to learn that the Jen sen & Yoon (2011) study determined that NIMS was not acknowledged by majority of the Fire Chiefs and their level of education regarding the federal mandated policies were not implemented when responding to emergent situations. Some of the participants fel t that because they were volunteer fire fighters that they did not necessarily need to meet all of these NIMS requirements when responding to emergencies. If this is how one selected group of Firemen feel towards federal mandated 9 policies when responding to disaster situations, are other departments having similar feelings and could it be why some disasters were not appropriately handled? The most recent disaster that most millennials might be more knowledgeable about is the 9/11 terrorist attack on the New York Twin Towers. Dearstyne (2007) stated that the New York Fire Department was the first responding agency to the Twin Towers. The Dearstyne (2007) article is a collaboration of interviews from firemen, EMS, and responding agencies. Also, oral tra nscripts from the surviving responders are also integrated into the scholarly article. There are numerous areas of error that occurred during the 9/11 response from the Fire Department, some which could have been avoided and possibly saved the lives of Fir e and Police men. Dearstyne (2007) stated that communication failures, disruption in command structures, extreme fear, communication with other responding agencies such a police or news crews, and lack of areal/helicopter reports of status of towers durin g the attacks all contributed to Fire Fighters not responding appropriately to the disaster area. Hurricane Katrina affected not only New Orleans but several surrounding areas due to needing help from outside resources. There were several areas of error through the government and chain of command when responding to a state of emergency. However, the Cave (2008) study discussed the public safety agencies within New Orleans and how they responded to the disasters. The Cave (2008) study entails a collabor ation of over 300 interviews and oral history archives that are analyzed. The study describes the New Orleans police department and how they inadequately responded to Hurricane Katrina. Several Police officers were traumatized by the hurricane that they committed suicide the following weeks after Hurricane Katrina struck. 10 Another department that was analyzed by Cave (2008) study was the St. Bernard Parish Fire Department, which was abandoned during Hurricane Katrina partially due to it being the area t hat was hit hardest by the Hurricane. The Firemen were primarily stationed at the two shelters during the hurricane and focused primarily on saving lives.There is no mention of implementing federal mandated policies during the natural disasters, just foc using on keeping the citizens alive. They also didn’t have a system to properly store or place deceased bodies, they would place them in bins or closets. The New Orleans Fire Department according to Cave (2008) was labeled as the most prepared department among all of those involved with Hurricane Katrina. Some of the firemen would bring their personal boats so they could recover people when it was safe to venture outside after the storm. Many lives were saved by the effective communication and level of preparedness the department implemented following Hurricane Katrina. The Boston Marathon Bombings was one of the most recent mass casualties that have occurred in our Nation. Due to the incident occurring not long ago, there have been only a select few articles that are peer reviewed that study the responses by emergency medical staff. Fleming (2014) complied a time line of the responses by the Boston Fire Department and what new strategies they have implemented due to them learning from the mass casual ty of the Boston Marathon bombings. Some of the strategies that have improved since the bombings include aggressive deployment posture, planning process with stakeholders, continuous briefing, adequate amount of equipment, effective radio communication, a nd maintaining interagency relationships. The Boston Fire department did an outstanding job responding to the Boston Marathon Bombings, however they are 11 implementing new policies and protocols to ensure optimal safety and life saving strategies are utilize d during high occupancy events. Some scholarly articles have discussed ways that the Fire department can improve to disaster relief protocols. Parker (2007) provides a collaboration of ways the Fire department can be prepared for disasters on propertie s that have high occupancy. The primary tool to being effective when responding to a disaster is maintaining communication, having a plan, and practicing the plan. Events such as 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina were unfathomable and the unexpected had occurre d which made some Fire Departments more aware of their weaknesses and how they can better prepare themselves for other possible disasters. The Parker (2007) reiterates the important factors to making a response to an emergency successful and effective. Addressing the importance of preparedness and planning process for Fire departments across the United States needs to be implemented and discussed more. Burgess et al. (2014) is a study based off of a selection of 13 Fire Departments in various countries and there level of on the job Fatalities over a 6 year period. The United States alarmingly was ranked 2 nd highest with on the job fatalities out of various countries. The 3rd highest ranking injury among Fire Men in the US was on the job training, some partly because of physical fitness and lack thereof. Weinschenk (2008) survey study among the Austin Fire department states that there is an unspoken connection between noncompliance of standard operating guidelines and Firemen while performing on the job training, which can be correlated with the United States high occurrences of on the job training injuries. 12 An example of the United States preparing its federal, state, and local public safety agencies is preparing them for worst case scenarios. One of those scenarios is a Cyanide attack which according to Eckstein (2008) Cyanide has been used throughout history during various wars and terrorists attacks. The article describes the different forms of cyanide and how terrorists have used it as weapons. The CDC recommendations are also incorporated into the scholarly article along with ways to treat an exposure. Hazmat teams have to readily be available and up to date with training to properly respond to such an event. This is one of the many examples o f how Fire departments and other public safety agencies are trying to train and stay knowledgeable about disasters that might occur in the United States. There is no doubt that Fire Departments have been training for all sorts of disasters. The Johnson s & Matthews (1997) is an older study but even determined that almost 20 years ago the Fire Departments needed to implement new strategies and better prepare themselves through these simulation training exercises. Throughout the disasters such as 9/11, Hu rricane Katrina, and the Boston Marathon Bombings Fire Departments have been heroic in saving lives but have also learned that mistakes occurred and how to more forward and stronger than before. The key here is to have all Fire Departments participant wit h the federal mandated training and protocol implementation along with effective communication skills. Fire departments are responding to disasters as appropriately as they have been taught and trained how to respond. The only thing we can do is continue to train and educator ourselves on better ways to safely respond to all sorts of disasters. 13 CHAPTER THREE METHODOLOGY The purpose of the research is have a better understanding of the fire departments preparedness for disasters. The primary research question is: How prepared is the fire department for disasters? The sub -questions for research include: 1) how do firemen respond to disasters? 2) What kind of standard operating procedures are in place for disaster planning? 3) What kind of training is i ncorporated in the local fire department for preparedness if or when disasters occur? Rationale for Research Methods I will use action research because research has showing that through quantitative and qualitative studies on fire department preparednes s, that preparedness has saved lives when disasters occur. Cave (2008) stated that the New Orleans fire department was the most prepared fire department when hurricane Katrina made landfall, and they were able to rescue numerous people that were stranded because of the flooding. For my research I will analyze quantitative data that will be personally collected and then through a survey analyze qualitative data. Then come to a conclusion like various other studies such as Cave (2008) have regarding fire d epartment preparedness. Definition of Study Population The Participants in the study will be men and women that are current employees in a local fire department. Diversity will play an important factor in collecting a sample of the population. I will incorporate various ethnic backgrounds to try and obtain an 14 adequate sample population. Procedures for Data Collection Data will be collected in a confidential manner and no subjects will be exposed during the research process. I will start with a qua litative survey regarding what the fire department staff feel in regards to their preparedness for disasters on a scale of 1 to 5, 5 being most prepared. Then I will interview members to see what type of preparedness training is incorporated in their job d escription for disaster planning. Lastly I will perform a quantitative research in regards to any injuries that might have occurred while on the job. Procedures and Methods for Data Analysis Once data has been collected I will maintain confidentiality by utilizing alphabet assigned to participants and creating pie chart with the amount of people that feel prepared with their jobs. Then I will create a table to describe the different trainings fire department staff endure for disasters. Finally with th e quantitative research I will have a bar graph to review on the job injuries. Limitations of Study The limitations of this study will be that the population will not represent the general population in the US. It is only a handful of members that work at the fire department. I will reduce bias by selecting individuals that work at the fire department and on all shifts at one station. Implementing various techniques in collecting data regarding questions with the fire department preparedness will help me in validate the authenticity of the research being conducted. Also, having another person review the 15 data that is collected and interrupted will also be included, however; she will not have access to the participant’s names or personal information. Th e data collected will be compared to previous studies that have been performed regarding this topic. Time line for Data Collection In November the surveys will be handed out to the fellow firemen at the station. After that the data ill then be interrupte d appropriately and safely into a graph. After that an interview will be conducted to learn the type of preparedness that is incorporated into their job descriptions while at the fire departme nt. Finally, the firemen will be asked about on the job injuri es. After all of the data has been collected and interrupted, the final synthesis of data will be compiled into a final paper for instructor review at the beginning of December 16 REFERENCES Burgess, J. j., Duncan, M. m., Mallett, J. m., LaFleur, B. b., L ittau, S. s., & Shiwaku, K. s. (2014). International Comparison of Fire Department Injuries. Fire Technology , 50(5), 1043 -1059. Cave, M. (2008). Through Hell and High Water: New Orleans, August 29 -September 15, 2005. Oral History Review , 35(1), 1 -10. do i:10.1093/ohr/ohm003 Dearstyne, B. (2007). The FDNY on 9/11: Information and decision making in crisis.
Government Information Quarterly , 24 (1), 29 -46. Eckstein, M. (2008). Enhancing Public Health Preparedness for a Terrorist Attack Involving Cyanide. Journal Of Emergency Medicine (0736 -4679) , 35 (1), 59 -65. doi:10.1016/j.jemermed.2007.03.040 Fleming, J. (2014). One Year Later: Lessons from the Boston Marathon Bombings. Fire Engineering , 167 (5), 43 -56. Jensen, J. A., & Yoon, D. (2011). Volunteer Fire Dep artment Perceptions of ICS and NIMS. Journal Of Homeland Security & Emergency Management , 8(1), 1 -19. doi:10.2202/1547 - 7355.1808 Johnson, W. H., & Matthews, W. R. (1997). Disaster plan simulates plane crash into high -rise building. Disaster Prevention & Management , 6(5), 311. doi:10.1108/09653569710193745 Parker, J. (2007). Preparing for the Worst. Journal Of Property Management , 72(2), 34 - 37. Comment [SP5]: List at least 30 references in APA Style in alphabetical order, double -spaced 17 References Continued Scoppetta, N. (2008). Disaster Planning and Preparedness: A Human Story. Social Resear ch: An International Quarterly , (3), 807. Weinschenk, C., Ezekoye, O. A., & Nicks, R. (2008). Analysis of Fireground Standard Operating Guidelines/Procedures Compliance for Austin Fire Department. Fire Technology , 44(1), 39 -64.
