Chemical attack could be one of the most dangerous events that can happen in a community. It is important that the first responders during this event are equipped with knowledge and skills in order to ensure the public’s safety. The purpose of this paper is to present two problems that first responders might encounter once a chemical attack happened. However, we argue that these problems can be addressed through the application of preparedness and seeking help from both the public authorities and private individuals.
A chemical attack is classified as the releasing of either toxic gas, solid, or liquid, which can potentially harm the people and the environment (nationalterroralert.com). This is one of the identified problems that the first responders would encounter. One of the problems that the first responders might encounter is the infliction of numerous casualties during chemical attack, which could overwhelm their capacity to address the problem (Carafano, 2003). However, this can be addressed by seeking the help of the general public and other volunteers in order to provide assistance to other live victims. This must be done as much as possible in order to prevent further increase in casualties. Due to variety of new chemicals that can be used for chemical attacks, first responders might also encounter large-scale needs for immediate treatment of the victims, which can be addressed by employing preparedness with the help of public health agencies. In this case, health authorities along with the first responders will be able to identify the types of chemical involved in the attack, as well as the appropriate solutions in terms of administering the correct medication to the victims.
Chemical attack is a situation that calls for the preparedness and application of skills of the first responders. Proper steps in addressing the problem are essential for the reduction of possible fatalities and prevention of potential attacks in the future.
References
Carafano, J. J. (2003, November 24). Preparing Responders to Respond: The Challenges to Emergency Preparedness in the 21st Century. Retrieved from http://www.heritage.org/research/lecture/preparing-responders-to-respond-the-challenges-to-emergency-preparedness-in-the-21st-century
NationalTerrorAlert.com. (n.d.). Chemical Attack | Homeland Security News. Retrieved from http://www.nationalterroralert.com/chemicalattack/
