- Author
-
Federal Emergency Management Agency
- Title
- Emergency Incident Rehabilitation.
- Coporate
- Federal Emergency Management Agency, Emmitsburg, MD
- Report
-
FA-114
July 1992
10 p.
- Keywords
-
rehabilitation
|
emergencies
- Identifiers
- Emergency Incident Rehabilitation Standard Operating Procedure (SOP)
- Abstract
- The physical and mental demands associated with firefighting and other emergency operations, coupled with the environmental dangers of extreme heat and humidity or extreme cold, create conditions that can have an adverse impact upon the safety and health of the individual emergency responder. Members who are not provided adequate rest and rehydration during emergency operations or training exercises are at increased risk for illness or injury, and may jeopardize the safety of others on the incident scene. When emergency responders become fatigued, their ability to operate safely is impared. As a result, their reaction time is reduced and their ability to make critical decisions diminishes. Rehabilitation is an essential element on the incident scene to prevent more serious conditions such as heat exhaustion or heat stroke from occurring.