How well do you think the city (and supporting forces from elsewhere) did in responding to the CSX tunnel fire? What strengths and weaknesses of preparedness were evident in this crisis?
The emergency responders involved in responding to the Howard Street Tunnel fire were on site and prepared to respond to the emergency with minutes of the fire and a prompt establishment of an incident command followed. However, these responders were not familiar with the situation at hand, a situation that involved both fire and hazardous material spillage. During the first few hours of the disaster, there was no designated commander to coordinating the response team. Hence, the breakdown in the collaborative and communicative efforts between the first responders …show more content…
Worth mentioning is, even though, the promptness of the various agencies is commended, the agency preparedness for a fire and hazardous waste incident was not adequate, however, the agencies demonstrated that they could adapt and apply their emergency preparedness skills under proper guidance.
Overall, the leadership and emergency management skills of the mayor of Baltimore were instrumental in the overall success of the management of the Baltimore tunnel fire. One has to say, at the end, the Baltimore tunnel fire of 2011 was well managed; however, had the derailed freight train being carried hazardous materials the outcome of the Baltimore fire would have been different. The residents’ of Baltimore were just lucky on July 18, 2001.
Suppose that the fire had been even more threatening. Would Baltimore have been able to handle the situation if (a) the engineers had been trapped in the tunnel? (b) a mass evacuation had been necessary? (c) a toxic plume had floated over the downtown area as a result of combustion of dangerous
The emergency responders involved in responding to the Howard Street Tunnel fire were on site and prepared to respond to the emergency with minutes of the fire and a prompt establishment of an incident command followed. However, these responders were not familiar with the situation at hand, a situation that involved both fire and hazardous material spillage. During the first few hours of the disaster, there was no designated commander to coordinating the response team. Hence, the breakdown in the collaborative and communicative efforts between the first responders …show more content…
Worth mentioning is, even though, the promptness of the various agencies is commended, the agency preparedness for a fire and hazardous waste incident was not adequate, however, the agencies demonstrated that they could adapt and apply their emergency preparedness skills under proper guidance.
Overall, the leadership and emergency management skills of the mayor of Baltimore were instrumental in the overall success of the management of the Baltimore tunnel fire. One has to say, at the end, the Baltimore tunnel fire of 2011 was well managed; however, had the derailed freight train being carried hazardous materials the outcome of the Baltimore fire would have been different. The residents’ of Baltimore were just lucky on July 18, 2001.
Suppose that the fire had been even more threatening. Would Baltimore have been able to handle the situation if (a) the engineers had been trapped in the tunnel? (b) a mass evacuation had been necessary? (c) a toxic plume had floated over the downtown area as a result of combustion of dangerous