Incident control point

Incident or site-level coordination tends to occur close to the area of impact and focus of response, from what is usually referred to as an incident command post, incident control point, or similar. Incident management at this level is usually populated by low-level managers of the agencies contributing to the response and may include supervisors of field components of critical infrastructure providers. Despite this use of the term incident, the same term is often applied to all levels of emergency and disaster. 

The first priority is to establish control of the incident site and organise an appropriate command structure. This includes the establishment of a clearly marked location as an incident control point (ICP), sometimes referred to as the Joint Emergency Services Command Centre (JESCC), where the emergency services can meet to coordinate the response. In the case of a chemical incident this should be positioned upwind of fhe chemical release area and preferably in a hard-standing covered location. Specially designed mobile major incident rooms (MMIR) may be available. 

To facilitate workflow, the areas around an emergency incident are divided into three zones exclusion zone, contamination reduction zone (CRZ), and support zone (see Figure 18-3). The zones should be located upwind of the emergency site. To minimize spread of contamination, workers should not cross from one zone to another except at approved points, called access control points. 

On the morning of January 22, 1972, a 44-car cut was being classified. One car, an empty hopper, was humped without incident but stopped approximately 400 m (1300 ft) short of its planned coupling point. Later, three tank cars containing propylene were humped as a unit and directed onto the same track as the empty hopper. The cars should have been slowed by the speed control system, but were not, probably because of greasy wheels. An overspeed alarm was given. The unit ran into the empty hopper at a speed of approximately 25 km/h (15 mph). 

The initial trial establishing safety and efficacy was a randomized, placebo-controlled study involving 212 patients. The treated group received 60 pg kg-1 day-1 of the product for 6 days. The primary end-point measured was the number of days during which the patients experienced severe oral mucositis, which treatment reduced from 9 to 3 days. The incidence of mucositis was also reduced from 98 per cent to 63 per cent. 

Entry Point A specified and controlled access into a hot zone at a hazardous materials incident. 

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