preview

Smells And Warning Bells Of Wmd Analysis

Decent Essays

Know the Smells and Warning Bells of WMD: In the article “Know the Smells and Warning Bells of WMD”, the author, John Linstrom’s principal point is that the fire departments should better prepare to respond to incidents involving weapons of mass destruction (WMD). Historically, explosive or WMD incidents were handled by law enforcement, while fire assumed a support role, but with increased terroristic occurrences, firefighters have been finding themselves in situations where they have been first on scene. Mr. Linstrom stresses that firefighters need to be mindful of the threat of explosives and WMD’s when responding to incidents (Linstrom, 2004). Firefighters need to familiarize themselves with terrorist tactics and beware of potential high-risk …show more content…

Linstrom’s arguments support his main point stressing firefighters must change their normal routine and think like terrorists to be in the right state of mind to combat potential attacks. One of the biggest threats that first responders face during an incident is potential collapses or the threat of secondary improvised explosive devices (Linstrom, 2004). In the event of an attack by WMD’s, firefighters and law enforcement will find themselves working side-by-side in the “hot zone”, which is the contaminated area, conducting rescues, triage, and decontamination of victims. To assist firefighters with remembering the contributing agents that are associated in a WMD event, the acronym B-NICE has been established. B-NICE stands for: biological, nuclear, incendiary, chemical, and explosives (Linstrom, 2004). As a result of their training, firefighters are already reasonably versed when it comes to dealing with explosives and incendiary devices, but lack the training and knowledge of dealing with WMD’s. Mr. Linstrom supports his main point with the evidence highlighting the fact that government buildings, historic monuments, churches, sporting events, transit stations, and malls are elevated targets of terrorist attacks due to their symbolism or the fact that they draw large crowds of people (Linstrom,

Get Access