Civil unrest incidents are becoming more prevalent, from calls for democracy in Libya to protests against union-law changes in Wisconsin, and the fire and EMS personnel are playing a greater role in responding to them. To educate the fire service about how to approach such incidents, the nonprofit and safety-centric Firefighters Support Foundation developed the Fire/EMS Response to Civil Unrest training program. The 40-minute video and accompanying 46-slide PowerPoint presentation are available to any agency as a free download at www.ffsupport.org.

The program is moderated by August Vernon, a subject-matter expert on emergency management issues and an operations officer for Forsyth County (N.C.) Emergency Management. Vernon said that fire departments must pre-plan for incidents of civil unrest that can occur at political conventions, sports events, public-speaking engagements and holiday celebrations. As a result, the program covers real-life events and discusses in detail lessons learned and precautions that must be taken to protect firefighters' lives. This could mean anything from coordination with law-enforcement agencies to investing in body armor, he said.

"Firefighters could be targets," Vernon said. "Sometimes the perception is that maybe EMS and fire rescue are not treated as law enforcement by undesirables in the community. But when these incidents occur, firefighters and their vehicles, and EMS and their vehicles, can become targets."

Vernon said that firefighters must work with law enforcement as well as assign a taskforce or strike team so that there is more than one engine, ladder or squad at an incident. Indeed, in civil unrest situations it also is essential to be assigned a battle-buddy, or a back-up team, at all times, he said.

In addition, standards and mandates must be met during civil unrest situations, so the program also addresses NFPA 1500 Section 8.7. The document states that fire departments must develop and maintain written guidelines that establish a standardized approach to the safety of members at incidents that involve violence, unrest or civil disturbances — including riots, fights, violent crimes, drug-related situations, family disturbances and deranged individuals.

"The NFPA identities that firefighters need to plan and prepare for critical incidents outside the normal responses, including domestic [disturbances], mass shootings, and civil unrest events," Vernon said. "When the incident happens, that's not the time to make plans."

Fire chiefs can use the video at no cost, Vernon emphasized. It is designed to be used for training in the class room, in the field or with other agencies.

"If you know you have an event coming, if you're having large Mardi Gras events, college sports events, or a political convention, that's one of the times you need to look at civil unrest as a possible threat and then practice your response," he said.

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