Mass Casualty Incidents
As the military saying goes, “Prior planning prevents poor performance.” This phrase can be applied to preparing for mass casualty incidents. Check this page for articles and resources on ensuring you and your department are ready for the unexpected, as well as the latest updates on major incidents in the United States and across the world.
The 911 landscape has changed as acts of mass violence and other multi-caller/multi-victim high-threat incidents begin to increase
Paramedic chiefs and field providers have much to learn from the FBI’s ongoing summary and analysis of active shooter incidents
All organizations should develop an emergency action plan and train to respond to active shooter scenarios
Cassidy Stay was discharged in good condition and is expected to make a full recovery
Medics also treated seven more who were wounded
Certified as an EMT in the 1970s, she began disaster relief work after 9/11
Dozens of ambulances drove back and forth to carry the rising number of bodies as well as injured workers extracted from the mine
At 8:53 a.m., two minutes before a crew member on the bridge made the ferry’s first distress call, one student says: “Am I really going to die?”
The transition was marked by gathering 200 firefighters, National Guard members, first responders and volunteers for a ceremony punctuated by a lone bagpiper who played “Amazing Grace”
Rescuers linked hands and waded through an area where wood frame homes had been heavily damaged
Rescue crews are sifting through the rubble with hopes of finding survivors, and are still assessing the full extent of the damage
Since divers found a way over the weekend to enter the submerged ferry, the death count has shot up
A moment of silence at 7:51 p.m. marked the exact time of the leveling blast in a town that is recovering but still has a long way to go
Dispatchers tried to focus and calm students calling from the scene of the fiery collision with a Fed-Ex truck
Evacuation orders came too late for many now trapped on the ship; with more than still 270 missing, the death toll is expected to rise
A ferry carrying high school students sank off the coast; rescuers fear the death toll could rise drastically despite a frantic, hours-long rescue
“You just have to stay calm and be a steady voice, and just talk to them about things other than what naturally is going on,” she said
Investigators haven’t found evidence confirming a witness’ claim that the truck was on fire before it crossed the median and collided with the bus, killing 10
Neighbors described a horrific scene where victims on fire were screaming for help
The 16-year-old was stabbed in the back, and another student applied pressure to his wound until paramedics arrived
The high school students were on a college tour; some escaped through a window before the bus burst into flames, and responders set up a triage scene for at least 36 injured
She her baby were among the few pulled from the rubble alive: “I held onto that baby like it was the only purpose that I had,” she said. “I did not let that baby go for one second”
Only three of those killed in the March 22 disaster are still unidentified; the missing list has gone down to 12 from 13
Rescue teams continue the search for victims and work to identify bodies
The funeral for Lt. Edward Walsh is today and firefighter Michael Kennedy’s funeral will be aired Thursday
Boston EMS Incident Commander Neil P. Blackington shares his strategy and lessons learned from the blaze that killed two firefighters
The number of confirmed dead increased from 18 to 21; searchers are worried about dysentery, tetanus and contamination
Mayor: ‘Words cannot repay the debt of gratitude that we owe these men and their loved ones.... They put themselves in harm’s way so that others may be safe.’
The chances of finding survivors is slim, but responders have not given up
People once thought missing have turned up safe, but that provided little relief to firefighter McClelland who must bring closure to the relatives and friends of those who have not been found
The 2013 tragedy inspired him to start doing all the things in life he wanted to do, and the race association honored him by inviting him to run in April