Hazardous materials incidents and emergency medical response in Clark County

Today\u27s society was built on technological advancements and which also brought about the creation of hazardous materials. Hazardous materials are termed basically as a solid, liquid, or gas substance that, when released from a container, is capable of harming the environment, people or property. Hazardous materials can be found everywhere including industrial locations, backyard swimming pools, hospitals, and private homes. Transportation corridors such as railroads, boats, and trucks and in limited quantities by air are major areas where hazardous materials can be present. Incidents involving hazardous materials may occur during transportation or at any location where hazardous materials can be stored or used. Incidents may result in one victim or multiple victims and the preparedness of the community to handle such situations dictates the outcome. First responders are the first trained personnel to arrive on scene of a hazardous materials incident: firefighters, police and local emergency service. The preparedness of the first responder personnel in a hazardous materials incident is crucial to providing a positive outcome for all victims involved. The issues in question are the overall preparedness and OSHA compliance of local first responder personnel. These issues with regard to local fire departments and American Medical Response are posed throughout this paper