First responder

First responders from St. John Ambulance and fire departments assist paramedics during an exercise outside Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada.

A first responder is an employee of an emergency service who is likely to be among the first people to arrive at and assist at the scene of an emergency, such as an accident, natural disaster, or terrorist attack. First responders typically include police officers, firefighters, paramedics, and emergency medical technicians. A Certified first responder is one who has received certification to provide pre-hospital care in a certain jurisdiction: for example, the Certified First Responder in France. A community first responder is a person dispatched to attend medical emergencies until an ambulance arrives. A Wilderness First Responder is trained to provide pre-hospital care in remote settings, and will therefore have additional skills in ad hoc patient packaging and transport by non-motorized means.

Issues

First responders must be trained to deal with a wide array of potential medical emergencies. Because of the high level of stress and uncertainty associated with the position, first responders must maintain physical and mental health.^[1] Even with such preparation, first responders face unique risks of being the first people to aid those with unknown contagions. For example, in 2003 first responders were among the earliest victims of the previously unknown SARS virus, when they cared for patients affected with the virus.^[2]

Specific jurisdictions

Some jurisdictions have special laws defining and establishing the rights and duties of first responders.

United States

The term First Responder is defined in U.S. Homeland Security Presidential Directive, HSPD-8^[3] and reads:

The term "first responder" refers to those individuals who in the early stages of an incident are responsible for the protection and preservation of life, property, evidence, and the environment, including emergency response providers as defined in section 2 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. § 101), as well as emergency management, public health, clinical care, public works, and other skilled support personnel (such as equipment operators) that provide immediate support services during prevention, response, and recovery operations.

Emergency response providers are defined by 6 U.S.C. § 101 as follows:

(6) The term “emergency response providers” includes Federal, State, and local governmental and nongovernmental emergency public safety, fire, law enforcement, emergency response, emergency medical (including hospital emergency facilities), and related personnel, agencies, and authorities.

See also

• First aider
• Emergency medical responder levels by U.S. state

References

1. Gina Hagler, Careers as a First Responder (2012), p. 59.
2. Gregory R. Ciottone, Disaster Medicine (2006), p. 141.
3. "HSPD-8, Homeland Security Presidential Directive" (PDF). California Governor's Office of Homeland Security. Retrieved 2009-05-24.