HSE Emergency Response and Preparedness 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which agency administers the National Incident Management System (NIMS), which standardizes emergency response across all levels of government?
- OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration)
- EPA (Environmental Protection Agency)
- FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) (Correct answer)
- DOT (Department of Transportation)
Correct answer: FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency)
FEMA administers NIMS, which was established by Homeland Security Presidential Directive 5 to provide a consistent nationwide approach to incident management.
Question 2: The 'span of control' in ICS refers to the number of individuals or resources one supervisor can effectively manage, with the optimal range being:
- 2 to 5 subordinates
- 3 to 7 subordinates (Correct answer)
- 5 to 10 subordinates
- 8 to 12 subordinates
Correct answer: 3 to 7 subordinates
ICS guidelines establish an optimal span of control of 3 to 7 subordinates, with 5 being the ideal, to maintain effective supervision.
Question 3: A facility's emergency muster drill reveals that 3 employees are unaccounted for. The incident commander should FIRST:
- Assume the missing employees left the site before the drill
- Immediately send emergency responders into the building to search
- Verify with HR records whether the employees were scheduled that day (Correct answer)
- Wait 10 minutes and recount before taking any action
Correct answer: Verify with HR records whether the employees were scheduled that day
The first step is to verify whether the missing employees were present on-site before committing emergency search resources, as they may not have been scheduled.
Question 4: When decontaminating a victim of a nerve agent exposure, the MOST critical immediate action is:
- Administer atropine and pralidoxime before removing clothing
- Remove and bag all clothing, then flush skin with copious water (Correct answer)
- Place victim in the recovery position and monitor airway
- Apply activated charcoal to absorb the agent through the skin
Correct answer: Remove and bag all clothing, then flush skin with copious water
Removing contaminated clothing eliminates up to 80% of the exposure hazard, and flushing with water dilutes and removes residual agent from the skin.
Question 5: Under NFPA 10, portable fire extinguishers used for Class B fires (flammable liquids) should have a minimum travel distance of no more than:
- 30 feet
- 50 feet (Correct answer)
- 75 feet
- 100 feet
Correct answer: 50 feet
NFPA 10 requires Class B extinguishers to be placed so the maximum travel distance is no more than 50 feet for high-hazard occupancies.
Question 6: A 'tabletop exercise' in emergency preparedness is best described as:
- A full-scale simulation with actual equipment deployment and personnel mobilization
- A discussion-based session where stakeholders walk through an emergency scenario (Correct answer)
- A functional drill testing specific emergency response functions without full deployment
- An unannounced drill to test real-time response capabilities
Correct answer: A discussion-based session where stakeholders walk through an emergency scenario
Tabletop exercises are facilitated, low-stress discussions around a hypothetical scenario used to evaluate plans, identify gaps, and train personnel without physical deployment.
Question 7: The primary purpose of the OSHA Process Safety Management (PSM) standard's Emergency Planning requirement is to:
- Ensure all employees can operate fire suppression systems independently
- Establish procedures for handling a release from a process containing highly hazardous chemicals (Correct answer)
- Comply with EPA's Risk Management Program reporting requirements
- Train all employees to first-responder operations level
Correct answer: Establish procedures for handling a release from a process containing highly hazardous chemicals
PSM's emergency planning element (29 CFR 1910.119(n)) requires facilities to develop and implement an emergency action plan for the entire plant and procedures for handling small releases.
HSE Emergency Response and Preparedness 4
Which agency administers the National Incident Management System (NIMS), which standardizes emergency response across all levels of government?