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Location
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Care & Comfort
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Documentation
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Location ?
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Briefly -
anywhere out of the weather and away from the public gaze.
Some or all of the options below may have to be used or combined.
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Sports Hall or similar ?
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Large halls often are available in even quite small communities. They usually
have toilet facilities, showers and often kitchens. They are windproof, rain
proof and heated. The windows are often at a high level or only allow a view
of a perimeter corridor. Office facilities
are common. Security is initially easy because of crash bar exit doors and
turnstile or ticket desk style entry.
However, these halls are usually high ceilinged, impersonal echoing open
spaces. Victims of disaster need care and comfort. Initially, even in the
open air a 'carer' ( just someone to hold a hand) will do but better facilities
will helpto reduce the impact of the event.
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Airport Terminal Building ?
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Airport Terminal Buildings are frequently mentioned in Airport disaster plans
as a suitable location for a Survivors reception Centre. This is often
because of a requirement for such a facility within Control Authority
regulations regarding disaster management "... a location should be identified
for use as a Survivors Reception Centre ..." or similar wording. The easy
option is to say 'This room will be the SRC'
Instead consideration should be given to the Survivor
"... anywhere out of the weather and away from the public gaze ..."
is simplistic and all
aspects of care
should be thought of before the event.
New airport buildings are glass cathedrals constructed to give an effect of
light and space. There is no privacy. Where as older Buildings have
‘Gaterooms’ which can house the total passenger load for any aircraft normally
using the airfield.
In all scenarios I assume (for planning purposes) 1/3 die, 1/3 are hospitalized
and 1/3 survive this will leave ample room for carers and administration staff
to work in one Gate room. If two maximum sized aircraft collide and the same
1/3rds rule is applied Contingency Plans should exist to allow two or more
Gaterooms to be used.
Larger Airports can use different buildings to separate Survivors and Friend /
Relatives both from each other and from the Media. In smaller airports the
temptation to ‘take the easy option can lead to people being housed within feet
of each other and possibly tragic or upsetting results.
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Hotel ?
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A good sized Hotel will have Banqueting Suite(s), Dining Halls, front desk or
reception facilities, offices and equipment, good telecommunications, security
systems and staff, and even medical staff as well as the obvious sleeping
quarters and kitchen facilities.
I would suggest that in many circumstances Hotels offer the best solution - IF
you can either contract before an incident AND activate such a contract before
the media block book your designated hotel.
Do not forget a fallback contract with another location. The main hotel may
have a conference or convention booked in on the night of your disaster.
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Location
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Care & Comfort
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Documentation
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Care and Comfort
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You will be expected by Western European, North American and Australiasian
society to assume a ‘Duty of Care’ toward victims. Experience suggests that
their courts support such a view during any claim for damages.
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Care
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The victims of your disaster will be in shock. Not hysterical, run around
screaming shock as depicted in the media, but mind numbing ‘why not me’ or
‘where is my friend/companion/loved one’ shock.
These people need someone to sit with. A person per family group is ideal.
Before a disaster perhaps plans could be made within your community for such a
‘psychological support team’ to be identified. It can be drawn from within
such groups as Red Cross, St. John’s Ambulance, Samaritans, Bereavement
Councilor or similar. In most countries it is left to the Red Cross.
What is required is counseling skills - someone who can listen AND is then used
to being debriefed to remove their own trauma.
Note the preplanning can be as simple as a list of volunteers, a designated
meeting place and a briefing sheet. It is suggested however that exercises
take place to practice attendance as people get lost far easier when under the
stress of a real incident and this is relieved by experience, even only from
exercises.
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Clothes
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In aircraft accidents the passengers have normally taken their upper clothing
off whilst sitting on the aircraft. Because of the body swelling at altitude
it is common practice to take off shoes and boots. Indeed where an evacuation
chute is used you are required to remove shoes to stop the chutes from tearing.
It must be expected that aircrash victims will be in shirt sleeves and without
shoes. Plans should be in place for temporary replacement of outer garments and
footwear.
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Location
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Care & Comfort
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Documentation
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Documentation
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All survivors are potential witnesses.
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Incident Management
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At an early stage the Incident Commander will have to discuss with ‘The
Investigators’ (police, army/air force or statutory authority) what is required
from the survivors.
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Will statements be taken from them all?
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Will names and addresses suffice?
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Are they suspects?
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Can they leave the SRC or are they all under arrest?
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If so what for? Can they telephone loved ones ?
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Will Customs and Immigration accept simple verbal documentation ?
(Remember aircrash victims normally leave passports and other documents in
outer garments - still in the crash.)
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Procedure
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Security
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An initial security screen should be set up at the entrance to the Survivors
Centre. Its task is to stop the media from gaining entry. Only survivors,
Emergency Services and their various support staff should be allowed in.
Security should also be posted to patrol the inside and outside of the building
to prevent incursion.
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Access Control
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A list should be made of ALL persons entering and leaving the centre. This
includes helpers. The list should incude the name and times of entry and
exit. This will provide a record of building occupants in case of fire or
other mishap. In addition this list will provide a backup for other
documentation required later and may assist if a survivors location becomes
confused.
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Initial waiting area.
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On entering the centre it will assist clarity if an initial waiting area is set
up. This should have chairs, tables, and refreshments if available. It
should also be where ‘the caring services’ start their liaison with these
victims.
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Caring Services
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By caring services I mean people who have volunteered in advance to assist in
helping with the phychological welfare of these victims. Suitable people
would be Bereavement Councillors, Samaritans, Red Cross welfare councillors,
local authority social workers. All of these people are used to dealing with
‘victims’. They are trained to ‘defuse’ situations and can usually respond to
‘defusing’ themselves. This reduces burnout and Post Traumatic Stress amongst
this group.
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Documentation Area
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In the documentation area full details are taken from the victim - subject to
their mental condition. If a person cannot or will not talk but offers their
passport or driving license then these may be the only details that can be
taken. It is not wise to search someones pockets and assume any paperwork or
documents found will give reliable information. A photograph should be
considered the minimum confirmation
