Training for Mass Fatality Incident

LIBERTY, January 19, 2012 - Professional development and training courses are a requirement for staff members employed at the Liberty County Office of Emergency Management, and one of the most interesting courses I have attended in the last several months, was a course titled “ Mass Fatality Incident Response.

The 3 day training course was held at the Lone Star Convention Center in Conroe and was attended by representatives of many emergency response agencies located throughout the region. Instructors for the course were highly trained individuals, some of whom were involved in the 911 investigations at the World Trade Center and at the Pentagon.

The course clearly defined the roles and responsibilities of local, state and federal agencies during a mass fatality incident such as a plane crash, terrorist attack, or school shooting incident. Instructors stressed the importance of dealing with issues associated with mass fatality scenes, such as how to handle the influx of media , how to set up a victims assistance center for relatives of the victims, determining who the lead investigative agency is once the initial incident has been stabilized, what legal ramifications there are when it comes to dealing with the victims and their personal effects, and the importance of using the federally mandated National Incident Management System to manage the event.

Other information supplied included a list of state and federal resources and the role the county judge and the emergency operations center play in requesting those resources.

I hope an event of this nature does not happen here in Liberty County, however, if it ever does, this course provided us with a wealth of information and also assured us that we have many friends and colleagues in the region at the local, state and federal level, that will willingly assist us if we should be so burdened.

Tom Branch
Coordinator
Office of Emergency Management &
Homeland Security
Liberty County, Texas

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