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Encyclopedia > Emergency
Look up emergency in
Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

An emergency is a situation which poses an immediate risk to life, health, property or environment.[1] Most emergencies require urgent intervention to prevent a worsening of the situation, although in some situations, mitigation may not be possible and agencies may only be able to offer palliative care for the aftermath. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wiktionary (a portmanteau of wiki and dictionary) is a multilingual, Web-based project to create a free content dictionary, available in over 150 languages. ... For other uses, see Life (disambiguation). ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...


Whilst some emergencies are self evident (such as a natural disaster which threatens many lives), many smaller incidents require the subjective opinion of an observer (or affected party) in order to decide whether it qualifies as an emergency. Mount Pinatubo eruption, 1991 A natural disaster is the consequence of the combination of a natural hazard (a physical event e. ...


The precise definition of an emergency, the agencies involved and the procedures used, vary by jurisdiction, and this is usually set by the government, whose agencies (emergency services) are responsible for emergency planning and management. Emergency services are public services that deal with emergencies and other aspects of Public Safety. ...

Contents

Defining an emergency

In order to be defined as an emergency, the incident should be one of the following:

  • Immediately threatening to life, health, property or environment.
  • Have already caused loss of life, health detriments, property damage or environmental damage
  • Have a high probability of escalating to cause immediate danger to life, health, property or environment[citation needed]

Whilst most emergency services agree on protecting human life, health and property, the environmental impacts are not considered sufficiently important by some agencies[citation needed]. This also extends to areas such as animal welfare, where some emergency organisations cover this element through the 'property' definition, where animals which are owned by a person are threatened (although this does not cover wild animals). This means that some agencies will not mount an 'emergency' response where it endangers wild animals or environment[citation needed], although others will respond to such incidents (such as oil spills at sea which pose a threat to marine life). The attitude of the agencies involved is likely to reflect the predominant opinion of the government of the area. For other uses, see Life (disambiguation). ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Probability is the chance that something is likely to happen or be the case. ... Trinomial name Homo sapiens sapiens Linnaeus, 1758 Humans, or human beings, are bipedal primates belonging to the mammalian species Homo sapiens (Latin: wise man or knowing man) in the family Hominidae (the great apes). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...


Types of emergency

Dangers to life

Many emergencies cause an immediate danger to the life of people involved. This can range from emergencies affecting a single person, such as the entire range of medical emergencies which include heart attacks, strokes and trauma, to incidents affecting large numbers of people such as natural disasters including hurricanes, floods or mudslides. A medical emergency is an injury or illness that poses an immediate threat to a persons health or life which requires help from a doctor or hospital. ... Acute myocardial infarction (AMI or MI), more commonly known as a heart attack, is a disease state that occurs when the blood supply to a part of the heart is interrupted. ... Stroke is the clinical designation for a rapidly developing loss of brain function due to an interruption in the blood supply to all or part of the brain. ... Trauma can represent: Physical trauma, an often serious and body-altering physical injury, such as the removal of a limb. ... Mount Pinatubo eruption, 1991 A natural disaster is the consequence of the combination of a natural hazard (a physical event e. ... This article is about weather phenomena. ... Picture of flooding in Amphoe Sena, Ayutthaya Province, Thailand. ... Mudslide in La Conchita, California A mudslide is a landslide of mud. ...


Most agencies consider these to be the highest priority of emergency, which follows the general school of thought that nothing is more important than human life.[2]


Dangers to health

Some emergencies are not immediately threatening to life, but might have serious implications for the continued health and well-being of a person or persons (although a health emergency can subsequently escalate to be threatening to life).


The causes of a 'health' emergency are often very similar to the causes of an emergency threatening to life, which includes medical emergencies and natural disasters, although the range of incidents which can be categorised here is far greater than those which cause a danger to life (such as broken limbs, which do not usually cause death, but immediate intervention is required if the person is to recover properly)


Dangers to property

Other emergencies do not threaten any people, but do threaten peoples' property. An example of this would be a fire in a warehouse which has been evacuated. The situation is treated as an emergency as the fire may spread to other buildings, or may cause sufficient damage to make the business unable to continue (affecting livelihood of the employees). Image File history File links Information. ... A forest fire Fire is a rapid oxidation process that creates light, heat, smoke, frost, and releases energy in varying intensities. ...


Many agencies categorise property emergency as the lowest priority, and may not take as many risks in dealing with it. For instance, firefighters are unlikely to enter a burning building which they know to be empty, as the risk is unjustified, whereas they are more likely to enter a building where people are reported as trapped. A Canadian firefighter A firefighter is trained and equipped to extinguish fires, rescue people, aid and assist during natural disasters and, increasingly, provide emergency medical services. ...


Dangers to the environment

Some emergencies do not immediately endanger life, health or property, but do affect the natural environment and creatures living within it. Not all agencies consider this to be a genuine emergency, but it can have far reaching effects on animals and the long term condition of the land. Examples would include forest fires and marine oil spills. Image File history File links Information. ... Fire in San Bernardino, California Mountains (image taken from the International Space Station) A wildfire, also known as a forest fire, vegetation fire, grass fire, or bushfire (in Australasia), is an uncontrolled fire in wildland often caused by lightning; other common causes are human carelessness and arson. ... An oil spill is the unintentional release of liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment as a result of human activity. ...


Systems of classifying emergencies

Agencies across the world have different systems for classifying incidents, but all of them serve to help them allocate finite resource, by prioritising between different emergencies.[citation needed]


The first stage in any classification is likely to be defining whether the incident qualifies as an emergency, and consequently if it warrants an emergency response. Some agencies may still respond to non-emergency calls, depending on their remit and availability of resource. An example of this would be a fire department responding to help retrieve a cat from a tree, where no life, health or property is immediately at risk.


Following this, many agencies assign a sub-classification to the emergency, prioritising incidents which have the most potential for risk to life, health or property (in that order). For instance, many ambulance services use a system called the Advanced Medical Priority Dispatch System (AMPDS) or a similar solution.[3][4] The AMPDS categorises all calls to the ambulance service using it as either 'A' category (immediately life threatening), 'B' Category (immediately health threatening) or 'C' category (non-emergency call which still requires a response). Some services will now also have a fourth category, where they believe that no response is required after clinical questions are asked. Star of Life AMPDS stands for the Advanced Medical Priority Dispatch System, and is a piece of computer software used by ambulance services worldwide to prioritise calls by priorty. ...


Another system for prioritizing medical calls is known as Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD).[5][6] Jurisdictions that use EMD typically assign a code of "alpha" (low priority), "bravo" (medium priority), "charlie" (requiring advanced life support), delta (high priority, requiring advanced life support) or "echo" (maximum possible priority, e.g., witnessed cardiac arrests) to each inbound request for service; these codes are then used to determine the appropriate level of response.[7][8][9] A Paramedic is a specialized health care professional who responds to medical and trauma emergencies in the pre-hospital (out-of-hospital) environment for the purpose of stabilizing and transporting the patient to an appropriate medical facility, usually by ambulance. ... Advanced Life Support (ALS) is a treatment consensus for cardiopulmonary resuscitation in cardiac arrest and related medical problems, as agreed in Europe by the European Resuscitation Council, most recently in 2005. ...


Other systems (especially as regards major incidents) use objective measures to direct resource. Two such systems are CHALET and ETHANE,[10] which are both mnemonics to help emergency services staff classify incidents, and direct resource.[11] Each of these acronyms helps ascertain the number of casualties (usually including the number of dead and number of non-injured people involved), how the incident has occurred, and what emergency services are required. // Emergency management (or disaster management) is the discipline dealing of with and avoiding risks. ... Chalet A chalet (pronounced ), also called Swiss chalet, is a type of building in the Alpine region made of wood. ... Ethane is a chemical compound with chemical formula C2H6. ...


Agencies involved in dealing with emergencies

Main article: Emergency service

Most developed countries have a number of emergency services operating within them, whose purpose is to provide assistance in dealing with any emergency which may occur. They are often government operated, paid for from tax revenue as a public service, but in some cases, they may be private companies, responding to emergencies in return for payment, or they may be voluntary organisations, providing the assistance from funds raised from donations. Emergency services are public services that deal with emergencies and other aspects of Public Safety. ... Emergency services are public services that deal with emergencies and other aspects of Public Safety. ... Tax rates around the world Tax revenue as % of GDP Economic policy Monetary policy Central bank   Money supply Fiscal policy Spending   Deficit   Debt Trade policy Tariff   Trade agreement Finance Financial market Financial market participants Corporate   Personal Public   Banking   Regulation        A tax is a financial charge or other levy imposed on... Donation is a gift to a fund or cause, typically for charitable reasons. ...


Most developed countries operate three core emergency services[citation needed] which are:

  • Police – who deal with security of person and property, which can cover all three categories of emergency. They may also deal with punishment of those who cause an emergency through their actions.
  • Fire service – who deal with potentially harmful fires, but also often rescue operations such as dealing with road traffic collisions. Their actions help to prevent loss of life, damage to health and damage to or loss of property.
  • Emergency medical service (Ambulance service) – These services attempt to reduce loss of life or damage to health. This service is likely to be decisive in attempts to prevent loss of life and damage to health.

In some countries or regions, two or more of these services may be provided by the same agency[12] (e.g. the fire service providing emergency medical cover), and under different conditions (e.g. publicly funded fire service and police, but a private ambulance service) Firefighter with an axe A firefighter, sometimes still called a fireman though women have increasingly joined firefighting units, is a person who is trained and equipped to put out fires, rescue people and in some areas provide emergency medical services. ... A forest fire Fire is a rapid oxidation process that creates light, heat, smoke, frost, and releases energy in varying intensities. ... Rescue refers to operations that usually involve the saving of life, or prevention of injury. ... Emergency medical service (known by the acronym of EMS in the USA and Canada) is a branch of medicine that is performed in the field, pre-hospital, (i. ... An ambulance in San Jose del Cabo, Mexico A Helicopter used as an Ambulance. ... An ambulance in San Jose del Cabo, Mexico A Helicopter used as an Ambulance. ...


There may also be a number of secondary emergency services, which may be a part of one of the core agencies, or may be separate entities who assist the main agencies. This can include services providing specialist rescue (such as mountain rescue[13] or mine rescue[14]), bomb disposal[15] or search and rescue[16][17][18]. Mountain rescue refers to search and rescue activities that occur in a mountainous environment, although the term is sometimes also used to apply to search and rescue in other wilderness environments. ... Mine rescue is the specialized job of rescuing miners and others who have become trapped or injured in underground mines, often coalmines. ... It has been suggested that Improvised Explosive Device Disposal be merged into this article or section. ... Search and Rescue (acronym SAR) is an operation mounted by emergency services, often well-trained volunteers, to find someone believed to be in distress, lost, sick or injured either in a remote or difficult to access area, such as mountains, desert or forest (Wilderness search and rescue), or at sea...


Summoning emergency services

Most countries have an emergency telephone number, also known as the universal emergency number, which can be used to summon the emergency services to any incident. This number varies from country to country (and in some cases by region within a country), but in most cases, they are in a short number format, such as 911 (United States)[19], 999 (United Kingdom)[20][21], 112 (Europe)[22][23] and 000 (Australia).[24] Many countries public telephone networks have a single emergency telephone number, sometimes known as the universal emergency telephone number or occasionally the emergency services number, that allows a caller to contact local emergency services for assistance. ... Many countries public telephone networks have a single emergency telephone number, sometimes known as the universal emergency telephone number or occasionally the emergency services number, that allows a caller to contact local emergency services for assistance. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... 999 is the United Kingdoms emergency telephone number along with the EU standard 112. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Emergency telephone number. ... This article lacks information on the importance of the subject matter. ...


Modern GSM mobile phones are often equipped with the facility, when roaming, to summon the local emergency services when you type the number familiar to where the phone was issued (for instance, dialling 911 on a US issued handset, would automatically connect you to 112 when travelling in France).[verification needed] The majority of mobile phones will also dial the emergency services, even if the phone keyboard is locked, or if the phone has an expired or missing SIM card, although the provision of this service varies by country and network.[23] Not to be confused with Get Some Mates The Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) is the most popular standard for mobile phones in the world. ... A Cingular Wireless mini SIM card. ...


Civil emergency services

In addition to those services provided specifically for emergencies, there may be a number of agencies who provide an emergency service as an incidental part of their normal 'day job' provision. This can include public utility workers, such as in provision of electricity or gas, who may be required to respond quickly, as both utilities have a large potential to cause danger to life, health and property if there is an infrastructure failure.[25][26] A public utility is a company that maintains the infrastructure for a public service. ... Lightning strikes during a night-time thunderstorm. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...


Emergency action principles (EAP)

Emergency action principles are the key 'rules' which guide the actions of rescuers and potential rescuers. Because of the inherent nature of emergencies, no two are likely to be the same, so emergency action principles help to guide rescuers at incidents, by sticking to some basic tenets. This article includes how-to sections and may need to be edited to encyclopedic style. ... Rule has several meanings: A rule in mathematics is something which is always true. ...


The adherence to (and contents of) the principles by would be rescuers varies widely based on the training the people involved in emergency have received, the support available from emergency services (and the time it will take to arrive) and the emergency itself. The term moral obligation has a number of meanings in moral philosophy, in religion, and in laymans terms. ... Training refers to the acquisition of knowledge, skills, and competencies as a result of the teaching of vocational or practical skills and knowledge that relates to specific useful skills obtained thru time. ...


Key emergency principle

The key principle taught in almost all systems is that the rescuer, be they a lay person or a professional, should assess the situation for danger.[27][28] A principle (not principal) is something, usually a rule or norm, that is part of the basis for something else. ... Systems is an annual information and telecommunications trade fair in Munich, Bavaria, Germany Categories: | | ... Rescue refers to operations that usually involve the saving of life, or prevention of injury. ... A professional can be either a person in a profession (certain types of skilled work requiring formal training / education) or in sports (a sportsman / sportwoman doing sports for payment). ... Assessment is the process of documenting, usually in measurable terms, knowledge, skills, attitudes and beliefs. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ...


The reason that an assessment for danger is given such high priority is that it is core to emergency management that rescuers do not become secondary victims of any incident, as this creates a further emergency that must be dealt with. // Definition of assessment Assessment is the process of documenting, usually in measurable terms, knowledge,skills, attitudes and beliefs. ... Priority can refer to in telecommunications, the right to occupy a specific frequency for authorized uses, free of harmful interference from stations of other agencies a synonym of priority level in DOD record communications systems, one of the four levels of precedence used to establish the time frame for handling... Look up Management in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...


A typical assessment for danger would involve observation of the surroundings, starting with the cause of the accident (e.g. a falling object) and expanding outwards to include any situational hazards (e.g. fast moving traffic) and history or secondary information given by witnesses, bystanders or the emergency services (e.g. an attacker still waiting nearby). Observation is an activity of a sapient or sentient living being (e. ... In a thermodynamics problem, the surroundings, or environment, are anything not part of the system. ... A railing accidentally collapses at a college football game, spilling fans onto the sidelines An accident is something going wrong unexpectedly. ... Look up hazard in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... This page is about witnesses in law courts. ... In some sports, an attacker is a specific type of player, usually one whose role involves aggressive play. ...


Once a primary danger assessment has been complete, this should not end the system of checking for danger, but should inform all other parts of the process.


If at any time the risk from any hazard poses a significant danger (as a factor of likelihood and seriousness) to the rescuer, they should consider whether they should approach the scene (or leave the scene if appropriate). A factor, a Latin word meaning who/which acts can refer to: Look up factor in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... In statistics, a likelihood function is a conditional probability function considered a function of its second argument with its first argument held fixed, thus: and also any other function proportional to such a function. ... Scene may refer to: Scene (fiction), an element of a larger fictional work such as a play Scene (film), a part of action in a single location in a TV or movie Scene (music), a collection of musical acts that play regularly in one location. ...


Managing an emergency

A graphic representation of the four phases in emergency management.
A graphic representation of the four phases in emergency management.
Main article: Emergency management

There are many protocols which the emergency services use in dealing with an emergency, which usually start with planning before an emergency occurs. One commonly used system for demonstrating the phases is shown here on the right. Image File history File links Em_cycle. ... Image File history File links Em_cycle. ... // Emergency management (or disaster management) is the discipline dealing of with and avoiding risks. ...


The planning phase starts at preparedness, where the agencies decide on how they will respond to a given incident or set of circumstances. This should ideally include lines of command and control, and division of activities between agencies. This avoids potentially negative situations such as three separate agencies all starting an official rest centre for victims of a disaster.


Following an emergency occurring, the agencies then move to a response phase, where they execute their plans, and may end up improvising some areas of their response (due to gaps in the planning phase, which are inevitable due to the individual nature of most incidents).


Agencies may then be involved in recovery following the incident, where they assist in the clear up from the incident, or help the people involved overcome their mental trauma.


The final phase in the circle is mitigation which involves taking steps to ensure that no re-occurrence is possible, or putting additional plans in place to ensure less damage is done. This should feed back in to the preparedness stage, with updated plans in place to deal with future emergencies, thus completing the circle.


State of emergency

Main article: State of emergency

In the event of a major incident, such as civil unrest or a major disaster, many governments maintain the right to declare a state of emergency,[29] which gives them extensive powers over the daily lives of their citizens, and may include temporary curtailment on certain civil rights, including the right to trial (for instance to discourage looting of an evacuated area, a shoot on sight policy may be in force) A state of emergency is a governmental declaration that may suspend certain normal functions of government, may work to alert citizens to alter their normal behaviors, or may order government agencies to implement emergency preparedness plans. ... A state of emergency is a governmental declaration that may suspend certain normal functions of government, may work to alert citizens to alter their normal behaviors, or may order government agencies to implement emergency preparedness plans. ... Civil rights or positive rights are those legal rights retained by citizens and protected by the government. ... Looting (which derives via the Hindi lut from Sanskrit lunt, to rob), sacking, or plundering is the indiscriminate taking of goods by force as part of a military or political victory, or during a catastrophe or riot, such as during war [1], natural disaster [2], rioting [3], or terrorist attack...


Personal emergencies

Some people undergo incidents which cause them to believe they are in an emergency situation. However, it does not pose a risk to their life, physical health or property. In some instances, people may feel that they are entitled to or deserve an emergency response from agencies they come in to contact with, which is a view that may or may not be shared by the agency.


Some of these cases may be genuine emergencies if they threaten the mental health and well-being of the person involved, but many agencies do not recognise this as valid. This is more likely to be dealt with by social services or a physician than by the traditional emergency service agencies. A social worker is a person employed in the administration of charity, social service, welfare, and poverty agencies, advocacy, or religious outreach programs. ... The Doctor by Luke Fildes This article is about the term physician, one type of doctor; for other uses of the word doctor see Doctor. ...


See also

This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ... First aid is a series of simple, life-saving medical techniques that a non-doctor or layman can be trained to perform. ... The Emergency Response Information Network (ERIN), is a 24-hour hurricane TV channel set up by the Dish Network. ... Special response teams are heavily armed and armored. ... A maritime emergency is usually any serious distress to a maritime vessel or her crew. ... A medical emergency is an injury or illness that poses an immediate threat to a persons health or life which requires help from a doctor or hospital. ...

References

  1. ^ UK Government Advice on Definition of an Emergency. Retrieved on 2007-05-30.
  2. ^ UK Government document stating that life-saving activity is the highest priority in an emergency. Retrieved on 2007-05-30.
  3. ^ Tampa Fire Department EMS dispatch details. Retrieved on 2007-05-30.
  4. ^ London Ambulance Service details of AMPDS use. Retrieved on 2007-05-30.
  5. ^ EMD Resources. Retrieved on 2007-07-07.
  6. ^ EMD Training Guide. Utah Bureau of Emergency Medical Services (January 2005). Retrieved on 2007-07-07.
  7. ^ DEMSOC Annual Report - 2005. Delaware Emergency Medical Services Oversight Council (2005). Retrieved on 2007-07-08.
  8. ^ Brian Dale. Using the ECHO Determinant. Retrieved on 2007-07-08.
  9. ^ Jeff J. Clawson. EMD: Making the Most of EMS. Retrieved on 2007-07-08.
  10. ^ Patient Plus reference to CHALET and ETHANE systems. Retrieved on 2007-05-30.
  11. ^ London Emergency planning committee use of CHALET. Retrieved on 2007-05-30.
  12. ^ New York City Fire Department is the largest combined Fire and EMS service in the United States. Retrieved on 2007-05-30.
  13. ^ Mountain Rescue Association (US). Retrieved on 2007-05-30.
  14. ^ United States Mine Rescue Association. Retrieved on 2007-05-30.
  15. ^ British Army Bomb Disposal Engineer Career Page. Retrieved on 2007-05-30.
  16. ^ Maritime Search and Rescue Agencies in the UK (at the MCA). Retrieved on 2007-05-30.
  17. ^ CANIS specialist search dog charity in the UK. Retrieved on 2007-05-30.
  18. ^ Search and Rescue service in Essex, UK. Retrieved on 2007-05-30.
  19. ^ US National Emergency Number Association. Retrieved on 2007-05-30.
  20. ^ History of the 999 System. Retrieved on 2007-05-30.
  21. ^ Metropolitan Police advice on using 999. Retrieved on 2007-05-30.
  22. ^ UK government advice on the use of 112 alongside 999. Retrieved on 2007-05-30.
  23. ^ a b European Commission document on the Implementation of the Single 112 emergency number. Retrieved on 2007-05-30.
  24. ^ Australian Government Advice on Emergency Calls. Retrieved on 2007-05-30.
  25. ^ UK National Gas Emergency Number. Retrieved on 2007-05-30.
  26. ^ UK Government Gas and Electricity National Emergency Plan. Retrieved on 2007-05-30.
  27. ^ UK Health and Safety Executive publication on dealing with emergencies - Danger assessment is the first point. Retrieved on 2007-05-30.
  28. ^ St John Ambulance UK Primary Assessment guide. Retrieved on 2007-05-30.
  29. ^ UK Government Civil Contingencies Act, giving powers to declare a state of emergency. Retrieved on 2007-05-30.

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