Fear of an H1N1 pandemic in recent months closed schools, cancelled public gatherings and saw N95 face masks flying off store shelves. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stepped up monitoring efforts, the World Health Organization escalated warning levels and fire departments across the country established protocols and opened channels with public-health agencies.
Was that overreaction? Not according to Chief Jay Reardon, president of the Illinois Mutual Aid Box Alarm System. “The initial surge we saw was a practice round for what we may see in the fall,” he said. “We could see a return with a more vibrant strain.” That was the case in 1918-19, when a flu pandemic killed approximately 675,000 in the United States and more than 30 million around the world in three waves.
While responses to most major disasters have certain commonalities, biological events and pandemics are a different ballgame.
“It's like nailing Jell-O to the wall,” Reardon said. “We're not going to figure this out alone. We're relying upon health officials for guidance.”
As such, Illinois MABAS reached out earlier this year to strengthen relationships with state and county public-health officials. Through regular conference calls to help coordinate information and dispel rumors, MABAS also was able to identify communications shortfalls. Additionally, Illinois fire departments and Midwestern states joined MABAS to help develop their own pandemic emergency response capabilities.
Most fire departments relied on protocols developed a few years ago for the Avian flu. Those plans included priority inoculations for first responders and their families. One department anticipated that with a severe pandemic outbreak, half of its personnel would not show up for work. Officials in Wood County, Wis., initiated discussions with surrounding jurisdictions, soliciting input from fire and law-enforcement agencies, health facilities, schools, churches, and funeral homes. The result was a comprehensive pandemic-response protocol.
Also following the Avian-flu outbreak, the International Association of Fire Chiefs' EMS Section created an emerging-disease committee, which continues to research data and update reports. The section's Web site monitors current pandemic levels, offers response plan guidance and lists federal resources.
Many departments have been stockpiling face masks and PPE — which will buy some time — but it won't solve the problems a national emergency could create. A severe pandemic would challenge not only local emergency services but also regional emergency response services. If the pandemic were to become a national emergency, policies on how to handle the injured, sick and the dead all could be changed significantly.
“Fire is not the lead agency on this disaster,” Reardon said. “The things we learned in 9/11 [established] the need for clarity of information and streamlined communications. We try to adapt the experiences to the new challenges and look for gaps. Now, it's about gap identification.”
This is a difficult editorial to write. It's sort of like the fairy tales of chickens and falling skies, grasshoppers and ants, and little pigs. Someday a severe pandemic will hit, just like the long-predicted massive earthquake in California. But it could be years away. Does that mean we should ignore the warnings or signs? What have we learned after all these years about being proactive versus reactive?
The past 10 years have proved to be more challenging to the fire service than the previous 50 years combined. However, the next year could prove to be more challenging than the past 10.
Is your department as prepared as it can be?
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