HSE Emergency Response and Preparedness 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which of the following best describes the purpose of a 'pre-incident plan' (pre-fire plan) for an industrial facility?
- To document all chemicals present on-site for regulatory compliance
- To provide responding fire departments with facility-specific information to improve emergency response (Correct answer)
- To establish evacuation routes and assembly points for employees
- To identify required personal protective equipment for normal operations
Correct answer: To provide responding fire departments with facility-specific information to improve emergency response
Pre-incident plans provide first responders with critical facility information—layout, hazards, utilities, access points—before an emergency occurs to improve response effectiveness.
Question 2: The RACE acronym used in healthcare and industrial fire response stands for:
- Remove, Activate, Contain, Extinguish/Evacuate (Correct answer)
- Report, Assess, Control, Evacuate
- Rescue, Alert, Confine, Extinguish
- Recognize, Act, Call, Escape
Correct answer: Remove, Activate, Contain, Extinguish/Evacuate
RACE stands for Remove (people in danger), Activate (the alarm), Contain (close doors to limit spread), and Extinguish or Evacuate depending on fire size.
Question 3: When a confined space rescue is required, OSHA 29 CFR 1910.146 requires that rescue be performed by:
- Any trained employee with a rope and safety harness available
- Trained rescue services, either on-site or an outside service evaluated for adequacy (Correct answer)
- The local fire department — on-site rescue is prohibited by OSHA
- At least two attendants working simultaneously inside the space
Correct answer: Trained rescue services, either on-site or an outside service evaluated for adequacy
OSHA requires that employers either have an on-site rescue team that meets training and equipment requirements, or contract an outside rescue service that has been evaluated for capability.
Question 4: During an ammonia refrigerant release at a food processing plant, the MOST appropriate initial personal protective equipment for the first responder at the operations level would be:
- Supplied-air respirator (SAR) with splash-proof chemical suit
- Self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) with chemical-resistant suit (Correct answer)
- Air-purifying respirator (APR) with P100 particulate filter
- Half-face respirator with ammonia cartridges and splash goggles only
Correct answer: Self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) with chemical-resistant suit
Ammonia is IDLH at 300 ppm and can cause severe burns; SCBA with appropriate chemical-resistant PPE is required for operations-level defensive response near the release.
Question 5: Under the National Response Framework (NRF), which Emergency Support Function (ESF) is responsible for coordinating mass care, emergency assistance, and housing after a disaster?
- ESF #6 — Mass Care, Emergency Assistance, Temporary Housing, and Human Services (Correct answer)
- ESF #8 — Public Health and Medical Services
- ESF #13 — Public Safety and Security
- ESF #1 — Transportation
Correct answer: ESF #6 — Mass Care, Emergency Assistance, Temporary Housing, and Human Services
ESF #6 coordinates federal support for mass care services including sheltering, feeding, emergency supplies, and human services for survivors of major disasters.
Question 6: A facility uses the OSHA Hazard Communication Standard's Globally Harmonized System (GHS). During an emergency, which section of a Safety Data Sheet provides first aid measures?
- Section 2 — Hazard Identification
- Section 4 — First-Aid Measures (Correct answer)
- Section 6 — Accidental Release Measures
- Section 8 — Exposure Controls/Personal Protection
Correct answer: Section 4 — First-Aid Measures
GHS-formatted SDS Section 4 contains first-aid measures for routes of exposure including inhalation, skin contact, eye contact, and ingestion.
Question 7: The concept of 'all-hazards' emergency preparedness means that an organization's emergency plan should:
- Address every possible specific emergency scenario with a dedicated response protocol
- Focus exclusively on the highest-probability risks identified in the hazard vulnerability analysis
- Develop core response capabilities applicable across a wide range of emergencies (Correct answer)
- Prioritize natural disasters over man-made or technological hazards
Correct answer: Develop core response capabilities applicable across a wide range of emergencies
All-hazards preparedness builds flexible, scalable core capabilities (communications, command, evacuation, shelter) that apply across many types of emergencies rather than scripting every scenario.
HSE Emergency Response and Preparedness 5
Which of the following best describes the purpose of a 'pre-incident plan' (pre-fire plan) for an industrial facility?