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33 In the previous chapter, you determined the potential consequences for each scenario that you identified as possible within your jurisdiction. Capable and timely emergency response can help mitigate those consequencesâby reducing the amount of product released, changing the nature of the release, or properly protecting the population and environment in the vicinity of the incident before they experience the full effects. In this chapter, you can apply the effects of response time to an incident and the capability of emergency responders in determining potential consequences. Determining the Response Capability Tier Determining the response capability tier for each incident scenario uses the information developed in Chapter 3 and the release consequence values developed in Chapter 5, based on the hazardous materials portfolio developed in Chapter 4. Table 16 is the key table used to determine the recommended response capability tier for each release scenario associated with the hazardous materials portfolio. The Jurisdictional Class column to use in Table 16 was specified in Chapter 3, Step 5. For each release scenario, the CARVER scale row to use was specified in Chapter 5, Step 14. The cell that is at the intersection of the CARVER row and Jurisdiction Class column is the recommended response capability tier for that scenario. These tier assignments are general estimates and generally apply to larger incidents with the potential to generate significant consequences. You can modify the Tier Response Level based on local circumstances. For example, smaller jurisdictions with extremely high potential consequences will want to increase the emergency response capability beyond that listed. Step 15 Record the desired Response Capability Tier for each scenario in your hazardous materials portfolio based on the potential consequences. Emergency Response Capability Factor The emergency response capability term is used to represent the mitigation effects of the available response teams to address specific incident scenarios. Essentially, this is the second gap analysis regarding emergency response capabilities. The first gap analysis considered the tier level capability of the team being assessed when compared with the Tier Response Level needed, based on the selected Jurisdictional Class in Step 6. This second gap analysis is based on the consequences of the release scenarios that you selected as appropriate for the region or area being analyzed. If the consequences are high, then a higher Tier Response Level is warranted, as shown in Table 16. C H A P T E R 6 The Mitigating Effects of Emergency Response
34 A Guide for Assessing Community Emergency Response Needs and Capabilities for Hazardous Materials Releases As was pointed out after Step 6, if shortfalls were identified there, they are likely to broaden when the emergency response capability factor is specified. The capabilities of any resource are based upon how that resource is organized, trained, certified, equipped, exercised, evaluated, and sustained. For this Guide, the appropriate level of response for hazmat incidents is organized into five tiers beyond the baseline level of response that would be expected for any U.S. fire department and is consistent with FEMA response team classifications for the more capable levels of response. The appropriate level of response, termed the Response Capability Tier in the previous section, was specified in Step 15. The current response capability for the emergency response teams in the region was initially specified in Step 2. If, after Step 6, you identify a shortfall in capabilities and you choose to increase the response capabilities to eliminate this initial shortfall, then you would use the upgraded Step 2 capabilities at this point. Otherwise, any shortfalls shown here will probably increase the existing gap in capabilities. The difference between the current Tier Response Level the team can mount and the required Response Capability Tier is the basis for assigning the emergency response capability factor using Table 17. Referring back to Equation 2 in Chapter 1, notice that the potential consequences are multiplied by the emergency response capability (ERC) term. Therefore, a higher ERC effectively increases the consequence term and shows the appropriate ERC values for differing abilities to provide the desired response capability for each scenario. The impact on consequences can increase by as much as five times, depending on the difference between the desired and available emergency Response Capability Tiers. Step 16 Record the ERC factor for each scenario in your hazardous materials portfolio based on the values in Table 17. If you use the assessment tool, this calculation is performed automatically and no input is required. An example of the calculation sequence associated with Step 16 is shown in Appendix D. Potential Consequences Jurisdiction Class Class Five Class Four Class Three Class Two Class One 5 Tier 3 Tier 4 Tier 4 Tier 4 Tier 4 4 Tier 2 Tier 2 Tier 3 Tier 4 Tier 4 3 Tier 1 Tier 1 Tier 2 Tier 3 Tier 4 2 Baseline Tier 1 Tier 1 Tier 2 Tier 3 1 Baseline Baseline Baseline Tier 1 Tier 1 Table 16. Response capability tiers to offset possible consequences. Basis for Assigning Value Emergency Response Capability [ERC] Response meets Required/Desired Tier Level Response 1 Response is one Tier Level below the Required/Desired Tier Level Response 3 Response is two or more Tier Levels below the Required/Desired Tier Level Response 5 Table 17. Assigning values for emergency response capability.
The Mitigating Effects of Emergency Response 35 Response Time This Guide uses the basic premise that the longer it takes for emergency responders to arrive on scene, the less effective they will be in mitigating consequences. In Step 5, you determined the performance objectives for your jurisdiction, which included desired emergency response times. In this step, you will determine how well your current response capability can meet that desired response time for the scenarios you identified. The response time factor (RTF) considers each of the major outcomes: assess, manage, rescue, and control. The times associated with each of these outcomes consider the time required to: ⢠Assess the nature of the hazmat incident; ⢠Transport the incident commander to the scene so he or she can start managing the scene; ⢠Rescue the number of individuals specified by the tier level; and ⢠Transport the specialized hazmat emergency response team to the scene so they can take over incident management. This Guide focuses on the time it takes to achieve each of the four response outcomes. Response Time Objectives Response time objectives are included in the performance objectives tables (Tables 4 through 8) in Chapter 3 and are repeated in Table 18. Refer to the table associated with your Jurisdiction Class in Chapter 3 for more information on the elements considered as part of the four target outcomes. Remember that when you combine resources from different locations into a team, you need to consider the time for all resources to arrive at an incident to consider that âteamâ on site and fully functional. Step 17 Determine the typical response times by incident scenario for each of the outcomes listed in Table 18: assess, manage, rescue, and control. If you use the assessment tool, enter the response time for the scenario and its outcome. Response Time Factor If emergency responders in the appropriate capability tier for each scenario can be on scene within the desired response time, then the value for RTF will be 1. Where longer response times are expected, higher values are used. This has a multiplying effect on the estimated consequence. Table 19 shows the possible RTFs. Based on the RTF value assigned, the impact on consequences can increase by as much as five times, depending on the difference between the desired and actual response times. Target Outcome Response Time by Jurisdiction Class (minutes) Class Five Class Four Class Three Class Two Class One Assess 5 5 5 5 5 Manage 60 45 30 30 30 Rescue 60 10 10 10 10 Control 90 60 45 30 30 Table 18. Response time objectives (in minutes) based on Jurisdiction Class.
36 A Guide for Assessing Community Emergency Response Needs and Capabilities for Hazardous Materials Releases You may also want to consider response mode in your determination of the appropriate response time factor. The team or elements of the team have the option, given jurisdictional policies, to travel with lights and sirens (commonly known as Code 1), with lights only and more limited exemptions to traffic laws (often known as Code 2), and following normal traffic laws without warning lights or sirens (known as Code 3). Generally, you would want to assume a response mode of Code 1 for the best possible speed to respond to a hazmat incident. In addition, you may also want to consider the impacts that multiple large concurrent inci- dents may have on your ability to respond. Mutual-aid agreements might also be considered in your approach for reducing emergency response time or in meeting emergency response time objectives. You can use a number of tools to estimate response time for response capability (teams) to arrive at the location of potential incidents. These include online mapping tools or geographic infor- mation system (GIS) analysis. Appendix E contains a more detailed explanation of response time assessment, including how to use GIS to determine response coverage areas. Step 18 Calculate the RTF by outcome for each scenario in your hazardous materials portfolio using the values in Table 19, based in turn on your Jurisdictional Class. Record the highest RTF. If the assessment tool is used, this step is calculated automatically from the response time entries in Step 17. An example of the calculation sequence associated with Step 18 is shown in Appendix E. Quantifying the Mitigating Effects To understand how the ERC and RTF terms affect the overall consequence term in the risk equation, first consider that appropriate emergency response will have the maximum impact if it arrives within the desired time frame. If the response capability is below what is needed, then it will be less effective, and consequences will not be reduced as much. The same is true for response time; if the response arrives too late, it will be less effective and will not reduce consequences as much as if it arrived sooner. The combination of ERC and RTF (by multiplying them together) tells you relatively how much your emergency response capability may impact the potential consequences of an incident. Reducing response time and/or increasing response capability are the two key elements that you can control at the jurisdictional level. Given that both of these improvements would incur costs, the methodology in this Guide helps you determine where it makes sense to allocate additional resources. Response Time Factor [RTF] Description 1 Meets or exceeds desired response time 2 Response time is within 125 percent of desired response time 3 Response time is within 150 percent of desired response time 4 Response time is within 200 percent of the desired response time 5 Response time is more than double the desired response time Table 19. Response time factors.
