You are the incident commander investigating an explosion that has occurred in a suburban mall complex. There are approximately 5060 dead and over 100 injured. An investigation results in the determination that a gas line had been leaking natural gas into the original basement that had been sealed when the mall was renovated. During a renovation project where a fountain was being installed, a welder broke through the old basement seal with a burning welding torch in his hand, resulting in the explosion. A Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) detail arrives and relates that they are interested in helping but do not want to assume command. You welcome the assistance and find that none of the FBI personnel have victim-handling skills for mass disasters. You will have to develop a formal protocol to train the FBI personnel. First, it is important to understand that the category of victim and the type of incident will indicate the methods used in handling the victims. During a bank robbery with a large number of hostages, a negotiator gets the robbers to free the hostages, who come running unharmed out of the bank. Police immediately make the hostages kneel with their hands up. They systematically search and handcuff each one of the hostages. While this behavior seems insensitive, it is done in each case because robbers could realize their predicament and attempt to escape pretending to be one of the hostages. All of the victims/hostages would have to be positively identified as not being a robber prior to release. Your presentation to the FBI will include the following: Next, you will have to create a guide for reducing stress among first responders.
