Working to Keep Us Safe – Olympia Fire Prepares for Worst Case Scenarios

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By Laurie O’Brien

lucky eagleThere are a lot of things the majority of Thurston County citizens don’t think about very often. Among them is what we would do if our lives were put in danger as a routine part of our jobs.

olympia fire
Captain Jim Brown takes a group of OFD firefighters through a training on their new “Active Shooter” protocols.

For firefighters and law enforcement personnel, however, that situation is a daily reality. Taking it a step further, those same public servants are willing to step in and put themselves in harm’s way when those of us who don’t face it every day are put in life or death situations. In short, they often risk their own lives to help save ours.

With that in mind, Captain Jim Brown, Medical Services Officer for the Olympia Fire Department (OFD), has been working with the entire department as well as Thurston County law enforcement agencies to help roll out a new protocol for responding to worst case scenarios in our community.

The Rescue Task Force provides standard operating procedures for situations that call for a “Unified Command” of both Law Enforcement and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) – situations in which there are multiple victims but in which an active shooter is still on the scene.

Although they are trained to fight fires, 80% of the calls the OFD responds to involve EMS. For this reason, all firefighters are certified Emergency Medical Technicians, and the department has 17 paramedics on staff as well. Any time they respond to a call, risk assessment must take place. If there are no victims, EMS personnel will not be sent into a hazardous environment. However, says Brown, if there is a known rescue, “… we’re willing to risk a lot for a lot. With the right gear, with the right approach, that’s part of what we do.”

oly fire training
Thirty new flak jackets equipped with medical supplies have been purchased.

Part of the roll out of the Rescue Task Force has been equipping the OFD with the right gear to operate in an Active Shooter Situation. Thirty new flak vests outfitted with medical supplies and evacuation tools have been purchased and are being distributed to each fire station.

Firefighter Shane Dobson, who worked as an infantry combat medic in active war zones, is helping train his coworkers to use the new tools available to them. “The only really good thing about being at war for 15 years is the progress in battlefield medicine,” says Brown. The military has figured out ways to treat victims in the field, minimizing risk to both patients and rescuers.

New tools like battlefield tourniquets can be used, keeping someone from bleeding out before they can be evacuated to a safe zone where they can be more fully treated.

The establishment of zones is one of the priorities of the Rescue Task Force. Brown and others have spent a lot of time studying active shooter situations in which multiple victims could have been saved if only EMS personnel had been able to get to them sooner.

The key to saving lives in these types of situations is making sure that Law Enforcement and Fire personnel work in tandem. In practice, this means that the OFD incident commander and the Law Enforcement incident commander (the ranking officers on site at any major situation) must establish a Unified Command, making sure they know which zones are “hot” (the situation is active and too dangerous for EMS personnel), which zones are “cold” (there is no imminent danger) and which zones are “warm.”

oly fire training
Shane Dobson helps train his fellow firefighters how to use battlefield tourniquet.

Under the new protocols, EMS can be escorted into warm zones established by Law Enforcement personnel. Wearing the proper protective gear and working with a dedicated security force – roughly four cops for every two EMS workers – the firefighters will be able to focus on doing their job. “We (EMS) still need to have situational awareness,” says Brown. But, he adds, when they know that Law Enforcement is dedicated to keeping them safe, his people can focus on getting in, triaging and evacuating patients and saving as many lives as possible. “They’ve got our backs and any threat that comes our way, they’re going to cover.”

Communication is the key, says Brown. In many situations, OFD and Law Enforcement work independently and only communicate via Emergency Dispatch (TCOMM). Establishing Unified Command is a relatively new concept and has been developing nationally as more major incidents involving both Fire Departments and Law Enforcement take place. In these situations it is imperative that information be relayed as effectively as possible. To Brown, Unified Command means that “… our (OFD) commander and their (Law Enforcement) commander are in the same place, communicating face to face, using the same language.” It’s a direct line of communication, he says. Nothing can be lost in translation with TCOMM.

oly fire training
Basic life support equipment can be carried by each EMS worker in a “warm zone.”

This change in the way things are done is being driven by Capital Metro – the combined Lacey, Olympia, and Tumwater fire departments. Steve Brooks, Lacey’s Fire Chief, created the original protocols. Brown is helping implement them within the OFD and is serving as the liaison to the Olympia Police Department.

All other Fire and Police Departments in Thurston County as well as TCOMM have been given the protocols and will be adopting the same strategies.

Multiple Thurston County fire, medical, emergency management, public works, and law enforcement agencies will be participating in an Active Shooter Exercise on April 1, 2015 at South Puget Sound Community College. This drill will be the official roll out of the new protocols for the Olympia Fire Department.

Obviously active shooter and mass casualty incidents are worst case scenarios. Like most people, these types of situations are my worst nightmare. But, as a resident of this area, I rest easier knowing the people who need to are training to make sure they are prepared.

 

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