Objectives and Course Outline
Objectives
At the completion of the basic HAZMAT program the student
will be able to:
1. Conduct a scene assessment to include: weather effects,
wind direction, evacuation distances, chemical properties,
radiation and biological characteristics.
• The course will provide the tools for the student
to make a clear objective evaluation of a scene. The tools
are: being able to quickly identify the possible chemical,
biological or radiological release based on available environmental
changes, land topography, placards and signs, and make a
weather assessment. The use of checklists and Standard Operating
Procedures will be emphasized.
2. Define hot, warm and cold zones and identify the operations
that take place in each.
• The student will be able to identify the “Hot,”
“Cold,” and “Warm” zones by understanding
the principles of chemical, biological and radiological
physical characteristics and apply them in an operational
environment. The review of the physics of chemicals, biological
and radiological agents will be discussed along will the
principles of managing a disaster scene. Examples and scenarios
will be used to emphasize the objectives.
3. Define the role of the EMS provider as medical support
to the HAZMAT team.
• A disaster scene is multidisciplinary and the awareness
of the EMS provider to this situation is paramount to saving
lives. This course will review all the characteristics of
a HAZMAT scene so the provider can effectively integrate
into the process.
4. Identify how standard MCI management integrates into incident
command and HAZMAT operations.
• The key element in MCI is effective scene management
and often the IC (Incident Commander) is a non-medical provider
and will not completely understand all of the medical complexities.
It is this courses objective to provide management skills
for both the medical provider and non-medical provider on
how to best integrate effective communications so both disciplines
can work effectively together.
5. Understand the different levels of personal protection,
including respiratory protection.
• All personnel involved in a HAZMAT scene should
understand the elements of personal protection equipment.
This course will provide practical knowledge of what makes
up effective personal protection for all personnel involved
immediately at the scene and also people that may be in
the wake of exposure. The objective is to provide a management
perspective on providing the best defense against an immediate
threat.
6. Identify basic principles of decontamination.
• This course will provide the basic physics of chemical,
biological and radiological decontamination. It will also
provide examples of best practices decontamination. The
emphasis will be on using checklists and Standard Operating
Procedures (SOP).
7. Recognize the clinical syndromes associated with poisoning
patterns.
• Toxidromes are physical symptoms produced by some
chemicals, and a few biological and radiological agents.
When these symptoms are present immediate treatment can
sometimes be rendered and preliminary chemical identification
can be made. This is an important objective for effective
scene and hospital management. This course will highlight
some of these toxidromes and discuss management objectives.
8. Given a scenario, establish appropriate EMS operations
at the scene of a HAZMAT incident.
• At the completion of the course all the previously
described objectives will be instituted in a final scenario
so the student can test out their learned knowledge.
Course Index |
