Secondary responders provide emergency management whose core functions revolve around reducing community vulnerability to hazards. They are a support mechanism for the first responders. The first responders are in charge of saving people in the event of a disaster. Once people are moved to safety, the secondary responders are tasked with restoring the community to normalcy. Their roles are highlighted in the recovery phase, in which vital social systems need restoration to minimum operational levels. These tasks involve the rebuilding of social amenities to restore a community’s quality of life. They are also tasked with training the community on how to respond to emergencies for preparedness. Some of the essential preparedness routines are finding places of shelter and identifying a network of professionals equipped to cater to the social and health requirements in another disaster.
The secondary responders are also involved in the development of emergency management frameworks. Their skills allow them to provide vital information on means to prevent and prepare for future disasters. For instance, they provide information on the distribution of resources and responsibilities in the recovery period. Secondary responders shut or reinstate sewage, electrical, and water systems ( Federal Emergency Management Agency [FEMA], 2018 ). In other instances, they provide first aid, security, social, and crowd control services. In major events, the ratio of the first responder to the secondary responder is 1:10 (FEMA, 2018). They serve under an Incident Commander in charge of communications during a natural disaster. For this reason, the complexity of structures and training for first respondents increases based on the feedback provided by secondary responders.
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Overall, secondary responders are in charge of restoring damaged communities and improving current prevention and preparedness frameworks. They offer support to first responders, including law enforcement agents, fire departments, and emergency medical technicians (EMTs). Secondary responders prepare, manage, and restore sites, such as crime scenes and regions that fire, earthquakes, or storms might have damaged.
References
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). (2018). IS-100.C: Introduction to the Incident Command System, ICS 100 . https://training.fema.gov/is/courseoverview.aspx?code=IS-100.c
