Disaster Planning
10 Things You Should Know Before Buying Hazmat/Chemical Emergency Technologies
Knowing what to look for and which questions to ask before you buy hazmat/emergency response software will help you to make the smart choice. You don’t want to realize you made the wrong decision when a chemical incident is underway. ...
NIOSH Offers Updated Guidelines to Protect Responders from Infectious Disease Exposure
In an effort to protect emergency responders from exposure to dangerous infectious diseases, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is offering updated resources, including a list of potentially life-threatening infectious diseases, guidelines describing how emergency response employees may be exposed to diseases and guidelines for medical facilities determining whether exposure has occurred...
Managing Compliance: Understanding the Basics of Chemical Emergency Response Management
A stellar record of safety and compliance in demanding fields such as chemical emergency response is not easily obtained or managed. Successful programs are strategically developed, well defined, data-driven, process oriented, tactically deployed, implemented at all levels of the organization, well funded, routinely audited and revised and facilitated by experienced and dedicated professionals....
An FBI Agent’s Account
This FBI agent describes the Pentagon response on 9/11 – and how that fateful day reinforced his pride in his nation...
10 Years Later: The State of Safety in a Post-9/11 World
Two experts consider how Sept. 11 influenced safety and the EHS profession at large...
9/11: Safety and Health Lessons Learned
On the fifth anniversary of 9/11 in 2006, EHS Today took a closer look at the health consequences responders faced in Manhattan during the rescue, recovery and cleanup operations at the World Trade Center. As these responders discovered, heroism alone cannot ensure safety...
We Are Different Now
Ten years later, EHS leaders look back on 9/11...
First Responders Will Show Up When Disaster Strikes, But Need Some Help Along the Way
Emergency and city planners who worry that first responders will be reluctant to report for duty in the event of a major disaster can breathe easy: According to a University of Delaware researcher, first responders will do just that – respond. But organizations can take some steps to ensure they are best protecting and preparing their responders along the way...
What Do Waffles Have to Do with Risk Management?
According to an Olin Business School professor at the Washington University in St. Louis, a waffle chain, of all places, demonstrates that companies vulnerable to supply-chain disruptions from natural disasters can gain a competitive advantage by implementing strong risk management plans...
Managing Risk for Unlikely but Catastrophic Events
Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) programs may help businesses prepare for and respond to incidents that might not have a high likelihood of occurring but are capable of yielding catastrophic results...
NIOSH Creates Web Page for Tornado Response Safety
There’s a reason why they’re called first responders: They’re the first on the scene after natural and manmade disasters strike, when conditions are at their most dangerous...
Managing Compliance: Going Beyond ‘Be Prepared’
The recent earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Japan have prompted companies around the globe to re-examine their emergency response strategies...
House Approves Amendments to Restore Funding to the FIRE Act and SAFER
Fire fighters and fire chiefs across the country have been urging members of Congress to reject a proposal to slash funding for two crucial federal programs that fund public safety and apparently, members of the House listened...
Celebrate the American Red Cross in March
March is American Red Cross Month, offering a great opportunity for citizens, families and businesses to review disaster plans and build or restock emergency kits...
FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate Encourages Americans To Resolve To Be Ready In 2011
With the new year already here, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is encouraging all Americans to make emergency preparedness one of their New Year's resolutions...
Survey: Natural Disasters, Terrorist Threats Top Americans’ Public Safety Concerns
Three in five Americans are most concerned about emergencies involving a natural disaster or terrorist attack, with a health pandemic closely following as a top concern among 46 percent of respondents, according to Federals Signal’s 2010 Public Safety survey...
NIST Develops New Guidance for First Responders Collecting Suspected Biothreat Agents
To help first responders at all levels of government deal safely and more effectively with suspected biothreat agents, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and a broad team of federal, state and local agencies and other organizations updated an existing standard for sample collection and developed overall guidance for when to collect a sample and how to coordinate with other agencies and organizations...
Are First Responders Prepared for CBRNE Incidents?
Results of a recent nationwide survey of emergency medical technicians (EMTs) reveal that most first responders feel underprepared and inadequately equipped for a disaster involving a chemical, biological or radiological agent...
DHS Secretary Napolitano Commemorates 9/11, Highlights National Security Efforts
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano visited New York City Sept. 10-11 to commemorate the ninth anniversary of 9/11, tour the new construction at the site of the terrorist attacks and highlight DHS initiatives to strengthen homeland security...
NSU Receives $1.6 Million Grant to Train Oil Rig Workers to Prepare for Spills
Nova Southeastern University (NSU) recently received a $1.6 million federal grant to help train oil industry workers and others in related industries to better prepare for and respond to oil spills and hazardous materials events...
Disaster Response Plans Should Address Disabled Populations
As hurricane season moves into full swing, psychologists stress that disaster response strategies should address the needs of the population affected, specifically those with disabilities and mental disorders...
Red Cross: Web Users Increasingly Rely on Social Media to Seek Help in a Disaster
A new American Red Cross survey shows many Web users would turn to social media to seek help for themselves or others during emergencies – and they expect first responders to be listening...
Personal Escape Systems Safe Lives
Most of us will never need to bail out of a building, but knowing how to do it safely, being equipped with the right tools and using a certified personal escape system is essential for every firefighter...
Protecting IT Systems During Hurricane Season
As state and local governments look ahead to a potentially severe hurricane season, CDW Government offers seven tips for well-managed disaster preparedness plans to prevent costly downtime and help maintain important citizen services...
OSHA's Big Dust-Up: Why Is OSHA Initiating a Combustible Dust Rulemaking Now?
Combustible dust hazards aren’t a new problem, so why is OSHA promulgating a new standard...
