Speaker: Gordie Polando
BS, MS, EMT-P, Lakewood Fire Department

Abstract Summary:

Recent events have revealed Federal and State response to large scale disasters, even those with significant warning, have been slow in development and lacking in coordination and efficiency. Polling indicates that citizens believe local emergency response agencies are better trained and more reliable then either Federal or State responders. Given this fact, municipal responders now carry a heavy burden of trust that must not be squandered.

Most municipalities have adequate response plans, and training, to handle the high probability incidents experienced on a regular basis. House fires with multiple casualties and perhaps a fatality, tornados, floods with multiple injuries and the all too frequent mass shooting can be successfully handled by the average municipality. Hospitals and local emergency response agencies in the Cleveland, Ohio, area regularly drill on these types of Mass Casualty Incident (MCI) responses as do most areas in the country. This was true even prior to September 11, 2001.

One area of response that is rarely practiced, and the ramifications of which are poorly understood by the local municipalities, is response to a nuclear detonation or large scale explosion. Reasons for this deficiency include the following. Few if any local responders have even limited training in use or handling of radioactive materials. Indeed, if a response area does not include a nuclear power plant, other NRC licensee or military facility, responders have little, or minimal at best, training in "Rad" response. Secondly, local governments and some responding agencies feel that if the "Big one hits" we will just have to wait for the "Feds" to arrive and take care of the problem.

Unfortunately in the case of a nuclear detonation, regardless of how small, this type of "wait for help response", or a response based on a reworked hurricane or other MCI disaster plan will doom many people to unnecessary death, debilitating injury or unnecessarily long recovery times. Also, many conventional wisdom response plans may complicate and even increase the recovery time for the involved communities.

This presentation will look at municipal level resources and describe an immediate response to a low yield nuclear device. The goal of the response is to minimize deaths, debilitation and recovery time by describing a plan that applies local resources in a cohesive, coherent and coordinated plan which will allow a smooth transition to the eventual State and Federal response.