To the uninitiated, an emergency response operation can be per- ceived as a confusion of vehicles, equipment, personnel, smoke and injured people. There are cries for help, rescue personnel rush about with no apparent plan and vehicles are positioned more or less at haphazardly. But behind this apparent chaos, there is a plan, a thought or concept for how rescue personnel, along with their equipment, will be able to accomplish certain objectives at the incident site in a manner that is as effective as possible. The personnel are highly trained and motivation is often high.
Conducting emergency response operations is based to a large extent on proven experience, and the training of rescue personnel has a substantial element of practical training. In recent years, how ever, there has been increased interest in addressing basic safety engineering problems, including those encountered in emergency response operations, in a more scientific manner based on both technical and humanistic aspects.
