Emergency response possibilities at freight railway tunnel accidents

Rosmuller, Nils; Brand, Roel van den

doi:10.1504/ijem.2003.004359

Cited by 3 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…Thus, it is crucial that the tunnel users swiftly evacuate and that emergency services reach the area quickly [24]. Meanwhile several studies have shown that people tend to stay in their vehicles [24][25][26] as they often do not recognize the seriousness of a fire and worry about their possessions [24]. This means that people are more willing to stay in the well-known and "safe" environment than to leave the car to evacuate [27].…”

Section: Human Factorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This includes technical factors seen in installations in the tunnel and equipment for the public and the emergency services. To enable evacuation, emergency exits (less than 300 m apart), signage and auditory systems must be purposefully designed [24][25][26]. Additional aspects to enable emergency response include blast resistant lightings, high setting emergency lighting and signage visible through smoke [24,26], as increased visibility eases rescue operations.…”

Section: Technical Factorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Another important issue for the EMS response is a functional fire detection system, heat sensors and monitoring and surveillance equipment [23,26], to identify the precise location of the fire [29]. A fire detection system being out of service and lack of knowledge of fire location can delay emergency response [25,29]. While some tunnels have 24-hour monitoring system, fire-fighting facilities, fire trucks and dedicated response teams, others are dependent on aid by emergency services and supply emergency recesses [23,30].…”

Section: Technical Factorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Organizational aspects, such as tunnel operator and emergency responders, and contextual resources, like hospitals, helipads and water resources, are crucial for EMS response in tunnels [41]. All elements need to be considered together in a so-called safety chain related to pre-event, event and post-event phases; including actions to prevent hazards, reduce the probability and lessen consequences of incidents by increasing preparedness among emergency responders [25]. Contingency plans need to be jointly developed in order to secure a coherent and coordinated approach to information sharing and incident management, as well as opportunities for continued improvements [30,44].…”

Section: Socioeconomic Environmental Factorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Scene safety is pointed out as a huge concern in tunnel incident scenarios [25,32,42]. Scene safety assessment includes different types of issues: 1) Environmental (e.g.…”

Section: Command and Safetymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Emergency Medical Response in Mass Casualty Tunnel Incidents—with Emphasis on Prehospital Care

Holgersson

Eklund

Saveman

2020

Journal of Human Security

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Responding to mass casualty incidents in a tunnel environment is problematic not least from a prehospital emergency medical services (EMS) perspective. The aim of this review was to 1) categorize preconditions for emergency response in tunnel environments based on Haddon's matrix and 2) identify specific EMS knowledge of providing prehospital care. Twenty eight articles, reports and book chapters were selected for further analysis. Firstly, sorting the data from each included article was done according to Haddon's matrix. The result covers human factors, technical factors, physical environmental factors and socioeconomic environmental factors all related to preconditions for emergency response. To describe the EMS's knowledge the data was also sorted according to command and safety, communication, assessment, and triage treatment and transport, also known as CSCATT. Few studies, especially of high quality, actually provide detailed information regarding emergency response to tunnel incidents and those that do, often have a main focus on management by the rescue service. While many incidents studied were caused by fires in tunnels, thus requiring rescue service in action, the subsequent EMS response issues that have taken place appear to have been given limited attention. To optimize the survival rates and health of the injured, as well as to provide a safe and effective work environment for the emergency services, there is a need to explore the event phase.

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Section: Human Factorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Technical Factorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Technical Factorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Socioeconomic Environmental Factorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Scene safety is pointed out as a huge concern in tunnel incident scenarios [25,32,42]. Scene safety assessment includes different types of issues: 1) Environmental (e.g.…”

Section: Command and Safetymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Emergency Medical Response in Mass Casualty Tunnel Incidents—with Emphasis on Prehospital Care

Holgersson

Eklund

Saveman

2020

Journal of Human Security

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Situational awareness during a full-scale exercise in an underground mine: A qualitative single-case study of the ambulance incident commander

Eklund

Saveman

2021

International Emergency Nursing

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Prehospital management provided by medical on-scene commanders in tunnel incidents in Oslo, Norway – an interview study

Hylander

Saveman

Björnstig

2019

Scand J Trauma Resusc Emerg Med

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Background High demands are placed on the emergency medical services to handle rescue operations in challenging environments such as tunnels. In Oslo, Norway a specialised management function within the emergency medical services, the medical on-scene commander, in line with the command structure within the police and fire brigade, might support or take over command and control from the ambulance incident officer arriving as the first ambulance personnel on scene. The aim was to shed light on the emergency medical service experiences from real tunnel incidents described by the Oslo medical on-scene commanders. Methods Interviews were conducted with six of the seven medical on-scene commander in Oslo, Norway. Data were analysed using a qualitative content analysis. Results The overall theme was “A need for mutual understanding of a tunnel incident”. The medical on-scene commander provided tactical support, using their special knowledge of risk objects and resources in the local area. They established operation plans with other emergency services (the police and fire brigade) in a structured and trustful way, thus creating a fluent and coordinated mission. Also, less time was spent arguing at the incident site. By socialising also outside ordinary working hours, a strong foundation of reliance was built between the different parties. A challenge in recent years has been the increasing ordinary workload, giving less opportunity for training and exchange of experiences between the three emergency services. Conclusions The enthusiastic pioneers within the three emergency services have created a sense of familiarity and trust. A specially trained medical on-scene commander at a tunnel incident is regarded to improve the medical management. To improve efficiency, this might be worth studying for other emergency medical services with similar conditions, i.e. tunnels in densely populated areas.

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Emergency response possibilities at freight railway tunnel accidents

Cited by 3 publications

References 6 publications

Emergency Medical Response in Mass Casualty Tunnel Incidents—with Emphasis on Prehospital Care

Emergency Medical Response in Mass Casualty Tunnel Incidents—with Emphasis on Prehospital Care

Situational awareness during a full-scale exercise in an underground mine: A qualitative single-case study of the ambulance incident commander

Prehospital management provided by medical on-scene commanders in tunnel incidents in Oslo, Norway – an interview study

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