Situational awareness - or the ability to efficiently assess one's surroundings, to identify existing threats and to predict future events - is widely acknowledged as being an essential contributor to the effectiveness of CBRNe emergency response.
In this blog post we explore how the provision of realistic hands-on CBRNe training scenarios can play a key role in enhancing situational awareness to support decision-making, mitigate risk and save lives.
The 12th annual CBRNe Convergence will take place in Nashville Tennessee this November 2019 - providing a showcase for the largest CBRNe exhibition in North America, as well as a packed programme of workshops, presentations and hands-on events for CBRNe and HazMat professionals.
This year's event is themed around the merging of civilian and military response to CBRN and IED threats.
The risk of encountering a chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear explosive (CBRNe) hazard is an ever growing reality for emergency teams in the course of routine incident response.
In such situations, the extent to which they have been trained, and are confident, in the principles of CBRNe incident management and CBRNe casualty management will be of paramount importance.
The provision of authentic, hands-on training scenarios can play an invaluable role in preparing HazMat teams and first responders for the raft of increasingly unconventional and unpredictable chemical threats that they may be required to handle.
The often irregular nature of these incidents, together with the diversity of the environments in which they can be found, can pose significant challenges for instructors as they seek to provide training experiences that are as realistic as possible.
The deliberate release of chemical warfare agents (CWAs) or toxic materials in civilian settings represents a serious threat - not only to the individuals within those communities, but to the personnel charged with the initial response, specialist incident management and medical care.
The discovery of the use of the 'novichok' nerve agent in Salisbury UK in March 2018, for example, was a stark reminder of how vulnerable the wider civilian population can be to the effects of targeted and pernicious CBRNe activities.
Preparing civilian first responders and military teams for the threat of possible chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or explosive (CBRNe) attacks is a top priority for countries around the world.
The very nature of CBRNe threat detection, however, all too frequently relies on the ability to monitor and manage the 'invisible' - which can present unique challenges for both trainees and their trainers.
The rising prevalence of terrorist and CBRNe threats around the world is forcing fire services, and their personnel, to undergo some dramatic changes.
The traditional role of the firefighter is steadily evolving as they are increasingly being called upon to expand their core competencies and to hone their disaster preparedness skills.
Fires, accidents and rescues are now just part of the remit - with the increasing need to be able to respond to CBRNe events and to manage the command and control of major incidents.
Electronic radiation simulators provide trainees with realistic first-hand experience of handling detector equipment that is identical to that which they will use in the field.
But while the use of simulator detectors can offer significant advantages for both student and instructor, as with any form of training method there may be some compromises.
In this blog post we explore some of the pros and the cons of radiation safety training using simulator detectors.
CBRNe and HazMat incidents have the potential to contaminate large numbers of the general public.
Emergency response teams are constantly looking for ways to improve their operations.
Simulated exercises, training classes and seminars can all provide valuable insight into tactics and technologies that can be applied in real life HazMat incidents.
However unless feedback on incident response and command is recorded (and can be easily shared with personnel), a valuable learning opportunity can risk being lost.