First responder

“ America's public safety telecommunicators serve our citizens daily in countless ways. The work of these "unseen first responders" is invaluable in emergency situations, and each of these dedicated men and women deserves our heartfelt appreciation. Americans place their trust in these individuals, not just this week, but every day of the year. This week is a time for a grateful Nation to show its appreciation and to recognize that our health, safety, and well-being are often dependent on the commitment and steadfast devotion of public safety telecommunicators. ”

“ It is 316 THE 9/11 COMMISSION REPORT impossible to measure the calming influence that ascending firefighters had on descending civilians or whether but for the firefighters’ presence the poor behavior of a very few civilians could have caused a dangerous and panicked mob flight. But the positive impact of the first responders on the evacuation came at a tremendous cost of first responder lives lost.201
Civilian and Private-Sector Challenges The “first” first responders on 9/11, as in most catastrophes, were privatesector civilians. ”

“ Emergency medical services providers rush into scenes of uncertainty and fear, and they help establish order and calm—and save lives in the process. They include educators, 911 dispatchers, first responders, emergency medical technicians, paramedics, nurses, physicians, and many others. These highly skilled teams respond to emergencies 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. ”

“ This week also reminds us of the dangers that brave first responders face as they risk their lives to fight fires and protect our communities, our people, and our natural resources. Our fire services respond to more than 20 million emergency calls a year. Americans are grateful for their courage, skill, and commitment to public safety, and we honor the sacrifice of those who have been injured or killed in their efforts to protect us. Through fire safety and prevention, we can save lives, including those of our firefighters and other first responders. ”

“ Coordination entails a unified command that comprehensively deploys all dispatched police, fire, and other first responder resources. In May 2004, New York City adopted an emergency response plan that expressly contemplates two or more agencies jointly being lead agency when responding to a terrorist attack but does not mandate a comprehensive and unified incident command that can deploy and monitor all first responder resources from one overall command post. ”

“ Week, we express our gratitude for the hundreds of thousands of skilled personnel who help save lives in communities across the United States each year. Through the hard work and dedication of these career and volunteer first responders, Americans receive the finest emergency medical treatment in their most vulnerable moments. ”

“ Because of internal breakdowns within the department, however, this information was not disseminated to FDNY personnel on the scene. The FDNY, PAPD, and NYPD did not coordinate their units that were searching the WTC complex for civilians. In many cases, redundant searches of specific floors and areas were conducted. It is unclear whether fewer first responders in the aggregate would have been in the Twin Towers if there had been an integrated response, or what impact, if any, redundant searches had on the total number of first responder fatalities. ”

“ Unless we support our public health infrastructure, we cannot minimize the vulnerability that is out there today by training those first responders, by making sure that coordination at the local level among various entities is intact. ”

“ It is clear that the lack of coordination did not affect adversely the evacuation of civilians. It is equally clear, however, that the Incident Command System did not function to integrate awareness among agencies or to facilitate interagency response.208 If New York and other major cities are to be prepared for future terrorist HEROISM AND HORROR 321 attacks, different first responder agencies within each city must be fully coordinated, just as different branches of the U.S. military are. ”

“ The difference between conventional weaponry and bioweaponry is that bioweaponry requires first responders that are not just the firemen and the policemen, which are so critical and whose courage was so well demonstrated 2\1/2\ weeks ago, but in addition the first responders have to be the physicians, nurses, and the people who are managing the public health systems today. ”

“ This weekend, our hearts are with the people of San Bernardino — another American community shattered by unspeakable violence. We salute the first responders — the police, the SWAT teams, the EMTs — who responded so quickly, with such courage, and saved lives. We pray for the injured as they fight to recover from their wounds. ”

“ They are also teaching individuals what to do if an emergency strikes. Many firefighters who are also trained as paramedics and emergency medical technicians are helping to save lives by instructing citizens in first aid—including cardiopulmonary resuscitation. ”

“ Centers across the United States operate around the clock and respond to approximately three million calls every year from the public, as well as from health care providers, 911 public-safety access points, health departments, law enforcement, first responders, and other safety agencies. ”

“ During National Preparedness Month, we bring attention to the importance of readying ourselves for disasters, both natural and man-made. We also take this time to extend our sincerest gratitude to first responders, who selflessly run toward danger to keep our Nation and its people safe. We vow to support them and provide the tools they need to save lives. ”

“ Because no one believes that every conceivable form of attack can be prevented, civilians and first responders will again find themselves on the front lines.We must plan for that eventuality.A rededication to preparedness is perhaps the best way to honor the memories of those we lost that day. ”

“ And one of the things that I told these firefighters is that we can provide them all the resources they need, but only they provide the courage and the discipline to be able to actually fight these fires. And it's important that we appreciate what they do not just when our own communities are struck by disaster. It's important that we remember what they do each and every single day, and that we continue to provide support to our first responders, our emergency management folks, our firefighters, our military -- everybody who helps secure our liberty and our security each and every day. ”

“ And we can’t forget our responsibility to remind our kids of the role models whose light shines through in times of darkness. The police and first responders, the lifesaving bystanders and blood donors. ”

“ It’s a time to remember the nearly 3,000 innocent men, women and children we lost, and the families they left behind. It’s a chance to honor the courage of the first responders who risked their lives – on that day, and every day since. And it’s an opportunity to give thanks for our men and women in uniform who have served and sacrificed, sometimes far from home, to keep our country safe. ”

“ Radio channels were initially oversaturated. . . . Pagers seemed to be the most reliable means of notification when available and used, but most firefighters are not issued pagers.”199 It is a fair inference, given the differing situations in New York City and Northern Virginia, that the problems in command, control, and communications that occurred at both sites will likely recur in any emergency of similar scale. The task looking forward is to enable first responders to respond in a coordinated manner with the greatest possible awareness of the situation. ”

“ Effective law enforcement is a crucial element to maintaining our quality of life; and we must continue to ensure that our police have the financial, technical, and civil support necessary to carry out their responsibilities. The more than 740,000 sworn law enforcement officers who are our first responders play a critical role in our Nation's safety and security.
Every American should also play a role in making our communities safer. ”

“ There are really good people there. I want to thank all the first responders whose bravery likely saved some lives today. Federal law enforcement has been on the scene in a supporting role, and we’ve offered to stay and help as much as Roseburg needs, for as long as they need. ”

“ I then went into the house and I called ourNavy Security Office and I called my command duty officer. And I asked the command duty officer to activate our first responders, our search and rescue assets, and the auxiliary security force, and by that I mean our fire, our security, our helos, and our hospital mass casualty forces.
At about that same time after I hung up Jay received a call saying that the crash had happened on Nimitz Hill, and he went to the airport. That call was about 2:26 in the morning. ”

“ Our hearts go out to the families and friends who lost loved ones. I want to thank the brave first responders who arrived immediately to try and save lives and who are continuing to ensure the safety of everyone in the area. ”

“ Joint training exercises of first responders. (C) Exchange of expertise on terrorism prevention, response, and crisis management. (2) To identify areas for homeland security information and training exchange where the United States has a demonstrated weakness and another friendly nation or nations have a demonstrated expertise. (3) To plan and undertake international conferences, exchange programs, and training activities. (4) To manage international activities within the Department in coordination with other Federal officials with responsibility for counter-terrorism matters. ”

“ Many of the first-responders risking their lives to help others were victims themselves -- wounded healers, with a sense of duty greater than their own suffering. And across our great land, the armies of compassion rallied to bring food and water and hope to fellow citizens who had lost everything. ”

“ A hurry call was sent to the post hospital for surgeons and an ambulance, but before these were forthcoming several civilian physicians had been found in the crowd. It was almost impossible to make any sort of examination of the injured men because of the excitement, but first aid was administered and both were made as comfortable as possible. ”

“ Ten and twenty years from now there’s going to be a heap better class of men around than you meet to-day; and all on account of these scouts.”
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A few minutes later and there was heard the sound of a gong, and up came the Red Cross ambulance. The injured man was easily helped into the vehicle, while Arthur and Hugh explained to the young surgeon just what steps they had taken to relieve suffering, and render first aid to the injured. ”

“ Families have lost loved ones. Entire communities have been wiped away. Even some of the first responders who repeatedly put themselves in harm’s way to bravely save the lives of others have suffered losses of their own. ”

“ Since September 11, the Port Authority has worked hard to integrate the radio systems of their different commands.
== The lesson of 9/11 for civilians and first responders can be stated simply: in the new age of terror, they—we—are the primary targets.The losses America suffered that day demonstrated both the gravity of the terrorist threat and the commensurate need to prepare ourselves to meet it. The first responders of today live in a world transformed by the attacks on 9/11. ”

“ One of the most harrowing duties is ministering to the wounded, especially in the Field Dressing Station of an Ambulance, where the men are first attended to after being brought in from the field. Their condition is often indescribable, and opportunities of a word of comfort abound. Even as a man lies upon the table, his [146] wounds being probed and dressed, the Message of God, coupled sometimes with so material a solace as the placing of a cigarette between the lips of the sufferer, will help him to bear his agony. ”

“ We've created a new department of government to defend our homeland, focused the FBI on preventing terrorism, begun to reform our intelligence agencies, broken up terror cells across the country, expanded research on defenses against biological and chemical attack, improved border security, and trained more than a half-million first responders. Police and firefighters, air marshals, researchers, and so many others are working every day to make our homeland safer, and we thank them all. ”

“ Now, during these days of prayer and remembrance, we remind ourselves of the lives -- mothers, fathers, sons, and daughters -- lost at the World Trade Center, at the Pentagon, and aboard United Flight 93 when it crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. We also honor the brave first responders who rushed into crumbling buildings, risking their own lives to rescue others. More than 400 first responders lost their lives in those efforts, so that others would not perish. ”

“ Hundreds of thousands of fires happen in and around American homes every year, killing or injuring thousands of people and causing untold damage to families and communities. This week, we honor the selfless first responders who put themselves on the line to safeguard us all from fire, and we reaffirm the need for Americans to practice fire safety throughout the year. This year's Fire Prevention Week theme, "Protect Your Family from Fire," encourages all Americans to promote fire prevention awareness both inside and outside the home. ”

“ If the accident or injury be serious, or the patient is unconscious, it is well to request more than one bystander to summon a physician, because the first one sent may fail, or the physician he telephones to or calls upon may be unavailable. ”

“ Before being received in either of the organizations they had to undergo a course of intensive training averaging six weeks and including revolver shooting, first aid treatment, surgery clinics as a test and training for the nerves, clinics for the handling of the insane because mentally unbalanced soldiers had to be transferred by ambulance from transport to hospital, military drill twice a week and a course in mechanics. ”