SHS Emergency Response & Preparedness 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under NFPA 1600 (Standard on Continuity, Emergency, and Crisis Management), a Business Impact Analysis (BIA) is primarily used to identify what?
- The cost of emergency response equipment
- Critical business functions and the impact of their disruption (Correct answer)
- Employee emergency contact information
- Evacuation route maps for all facilities
Correct answer: Critical business functions and the impact of their disruption
A BIA identifies critical business functions, the interdependencies between them, and the operational and financial impacts of their disruption.
Question 2: Which decontamination zone in a HAZMAT response is where personnel enter and exit the hot zone and perform gross decontamination?
- Cold zone (support zone)
- Exclusion zone (hot zone)
- Contamination reduction zone (warm zone) (Correct answer)
- Unified command zone
Correct answer: Contamination reduction zone (warm zone)
The warm zone (contamination reduction zone) is where decontamination operations take place between the hot zone and the clean cold zone.
Question 3: A Safety and Health Specialist is reviewing a facility's emergency response plan. The plan lacks a designated assembly area outside the 300-foot radius of the building. Which standard is MOST directly violated?
- OSHA 29 CFR 1910.157 (Portable Fire Extinguishers)
- OSHA 29 CFR 1910.38 (Emergency Action Plans) (Correct answer)
- ANSI Z10 (Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems)
- NFPA 72 (National Fire Alarm Code)
Correct answer: OSHA 29 CFR 1910.38 (Emergency Action Plans)
OSHA 29 CFR 1910.38 requires EAPs to include procedures for accounting for all employees after evacuation, which necessitates designated assembly areas.
Question 4: The 'span of control' principle in ICS recommends that one supervisor should manage how many subordinates?
- 2–4 individuals
- 3–7 individuals (Correct answer)
- 8–12 individuals
- 10–15 individuals
Correct answer: 3–7 individuals
ICS recommends a span of control of 3 to 7 subordinates per supervisor, with 5 being the optimal number.
Question 5: Which type of emergency drill is MOST effective for testing an organization's decision-making and coordination without activating physical resources?
- Full-scale exercise
- Functional exercise
- Tabletop exercise (Correct answer)
- Evacuation drill
Correct answer: Tabletop exercise
A tabletop exercise tests decision-making and coordination through discussion of a simulated scenario without deployment of actual resources.
Question 6: When a facility receives a bomb threat by phone, which action should be the FIRST priority for the person receiving the call?
- Immediately hang up and call 911
- Signal a coworker to alert security while keeping the caller on the line (Correct answer)
- Evacuate the building using the nearest exit
- Transfer the call to the facility's emergency coordinator
Correct answer: Signal a coworker to alert security while keeping the caller on the line
The receiver should keep the caller on the line as long as possible while signaling for help, gathering information about the threat using a bomb threat checklist.
Question 7: Which FEMA Comprehensive Preparedness Guide (CPG) 101 step involves determining what assets are available to address identified hazards?
- Risk assessment
- Capability assessment (Correct answer)
- Plan development
- Plan review and approval
Correct answer: Capability assessment
Capability assessment evaluates existing resources, personnel, systems, and equipment available to address risks identified during the risk assessment phase.
SHS Emergency Response & Preparedness 3
Under NFPA 1600 (Standard on Continuity, Emergency, and Crisis Management), a Business Impact Analysis (BIA) is primarily used to identify what?