Emergency Response Work Research Articles

Analysis of Fire Emergency Response Readiness at Oil and Gas Company

Introduction: Fire is one of the dangers that is often found in the oil and gas industry. A fire preparedness system is needed by companies to avoid dangers and risks that have the potential to cause damage, injury or death. Objective: This research aims to see the readiness of Fire Emergency Response system. The results of this research can be used as a basis for developing policies and programs Fire Emergency Response work. Method: This research uses the FERRAT Form as the basis for the research. The instrument used in this research is the FERRAT Form. Field observations were carried out to see directly the field conditions and the form filling process. Result: The results of this research show that the company's readiness in implementing the Fire Emergency Response system as a whole has reached an average of <90% with an overall value of 40.33%. Conclusion: It is hoped that with this research, companies can carry out independent evaluations and immediately initiate improvements related to risk-based system design, adequacy levels according to potential fire risks and ensuring emergency response equipment is always in a ready-to-operate and alert condition

Высокоширотная полярная станция "Бухта Тихая" на Земле Франца-Иосифа как музей под открытым небом

The article discusses the experience of the National Park "Russian Arctic" and the Arctic Museum and Exhibition Center in creating a museum and tourist complex and carrying out emergency work at a number of historical sites of the high-latitude polar station “Tikhaya Bay” on Franz Josef Land (Arkhangelsk region of the Russian Federation). The polar station, created in the initial period of the development of the Soviet Arctic (1929), has been preserved almost in its original form and was declared in 2015 “a newly identified object of the cultural heritage of the Russian Federation”. The polar station is visited by tourists on Russian nuclear-powered icebreakers during their trips to the North Pole in the summer. Since 2011, work has been underway at the station to restore it and create an open-air museum and tourist complex in order to demonstrate it to tourists. Particular attention is paid to the issues of emergency response work at the largest object of the station - an aircraft hangar, which was built in 1932–1933 under the guidance of the famous Soviet polar explorer Ivan Papanin. This is one of the most recognizable buildings in the high-latitude Arctic, associated with the first steps of Soviet aviation in the Polar Regions. At the start of work in 2017, the building was in disrepair and required urgent measures to strengthen it. For the 2019–2020 seasons, work was carried out to replace the rotted parts of the hangar, physically remove the resulting glacier and sheath the hangar with waterproof plywood. Completion of the work was planned for 2020, but due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic, tourist flights to Franz Josef Land were canceled. In 2021, the situation repeated itself, it was only possible to monitor the state of objects, which showed that they are in a stable state. The article highlights the methods and approaches to the preservation and presentation of the historical complex of the station in the face of a number of restrictions due to the inaccessibility of the station, complex natural and climatic factors and the need to combine the functions of preserving objects with their further utilitarian operation as household objects. The main conceptual approach in such conditions is the desire to create not a Skansen-type open air museum showing “frozen time”, but to create a “living museum”, an eco-museum, a museum of activity that respects the historical and cultural heritage, strives to preserve the historical appearance of the station, while saturated with various activities, including the display of modern and historical life at the station, the organization of various kinds of observations and research, including the cultural and natural heritage of Franz Josef Land.

Science Laboratory Learning Environment and Students’ Practices on Laboratory Safety

This paper aims to identify the significant relationship between the science laboratory learning environment and students’ practices on laboratory safety for education students who took at least one subject or course with laboratory unit in face-to-face classes. The data from this study came from 201 education students, collected through an online survey using Google Forms. The non-experimental descriptive correlational design, census approach was used to select the study participants, and standardised questionnaires were also utilised. The weighted mean, standard deviation, Pearson product-moment correlation design, and linear regression analysis were employed as statistical techniques. The study found that the science laboratory learning environment is at a very high level. Meanwhile, the students’ practices on laboratory safety, especially emergency response plans, work procedures, and chemical waste management, are at a very high level, while safety equipment and handling of experiments are observed at a high level. The results also showed a significant relationship between the science laboratory learning environment and students’ practices on laboratory safety. The domain of science laboratory learning environment that significantly predicts students’ practices is the material environment. The result implied that the institution may provide and maintain a conducive laboratory learning environment, which is essential for students to perform laboratory safety, enhance the handling of experiments, and upgrade the safety equipment in the science laboratory.

The magnitude 6.1 earthquake at the border between China and Kazakhstan on December 1st, 2003, and its seismic damage characteristics

The magnitude 6.1 earthquake that occurred on December 1, 2003, at the border between China and Kazakhstan marked the first significant earthquake in the central Tianshan region of this century. This study presents an on-site investigation of this earthquake, including assessment of house damage and surface deformation, with a specific focus on the destructive impact on different types of houses. The Isoseismal map of the earthquake was drawn based on the survey data in China and the survey results of Kazakhstan's counterparts abroad. We also analyzed the tectonic structure of this earthquake based on geological data. The earthquake sequence's focal mechanism and characteristics were analyzed based on the seismic records. This study provides a comprehensive introduction to the main features of this earthquake and its disasters, which has important reference value for understanding the destructive effects of such earthquakes. Furthermore, it also sheds light on the emergency response work of Chinese earthquake workers during such earthquakes.

A study on dynamic simulation and improvement strategies of flood resilience for urban road system

As one of the most important and directly affected infrastructure by flood disasters in urban areas, the road system plays a crucial role in maintaining the order of human production and life, as well as providing a foundation for the implementation of emergency response work in disaster scenarios. The existing flood resilience quantification methods based on maximum inundation depths of each individual road unit neglects the influences on flood resilience caused by the connectivity of road system. Therefore, this paper focuses on the road system, simulates the flood resilience of the road system in multiple disaster scenarios based on the functionality curve of road system under rainfall-inundation processes, then quantifies the improvement effect of Low Impact Development (LID) measures on flood resilience. A case study is conducted in Yunmen community, Jingdezhen city in China. The results indicate that: (1) The flood resilience of the road system decreases with the increase of rainfall intensity under different scenarios, and the magnitude of the decrease reduces. (2) The road system exhibits strong adaptability during the early stages of rainfall; The duration of functionality loss increases with increasing of rainfall intensity in different scenarios. (3) Implementation of LID measures can significantly improve system robustness by enhancing the reliability of the roads around critical nodes, thereby effectively enhancing flood resilience. The conclusions can provide a theoretical basis for decision-makers to develop urban flood mitigation engineering plans and resilience strategies tailored to local conditions.

Underwater Acoustic Technology-Based Monitoring of Oil Spill: A Review

Acoustic monitoring is an efficient technique for oil spill detection, and the development of acoustic technology is conducive to achieving real-time monitoring of underwater oil spills, providing data references and guidance for emergency response work. Starting from the research background of oil spills, this review summarizes and evaluates the existing research on acoustic technology for monitoring underwater oil spills. Underwater oil spills are more complex than surface oil spills, and further research is needed to investigate the feasibility of acoustic technology in underwater oil spill monitoring, verify the accuracy of monitoring data, and assess its value. In the future, the impact mechanism and dynamic research of acoustic technology in oil spill monitoring should be explored, and the advantages and differences between acoustic technology and other detection techniques should be compared. The significance of auxiliary mechanisms combined with acoustic technology in oil spill monitoring should be studied. Moreover, acoustic research methods and experimental techniques should be enriched and improved to fully tap into the future value of acoustic technology.

Monitoring the Catastrophic Flood With GRACE-FO and Near-Real-Time Precipitation Data in Northern Henan Province of China in July 2021

Zhengzhou and its surrounding areas, located in northern Henan Province, China, receive continuous extreme rainfall from July 17 to July 22, 2021. Northern Henan Province experiences extensive flash floods and urban floods, causing severe casualties and property damage. Understanding the variation of hydrologic features during this flood event could be valuable for future flood emergency response work and flood risk management. This study first demonstrates the rainstorm process based on near-real-time precipitation data from the China Meteorological Administration Land Data Assimilation System (CLDAS-V2.0). To meet the temporal resolution required for monitoring this short-term flood event, reconstructed daily terrestrial water storage anomalies (TWSAs) based on GRACE and GRACE-FO data and CLDAS-V2.0 datasets are first introduced. The spatial and temporal evolution of the reconstructed daily TWSA is analyzed in the study area during this heavy rainfall event. We further employ a wetness index based on the reconstructed daily TWSA for flood warnings. Furthermore, the modeled soil moisture data and daily runoff data are used for flood monitoring. Results show that the reconstructed daily TWSA increases by 437.7 mm in just six days (from July 17 to July 22, 2021), with a terrestrial water storage increment of 9.4 km <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3</sup> . Compared with ITSG-Grace2018, the reconstructed daily TWSA has better potential for near-real-time flood monitoring for short-term events in a small region. The wetness index derived from reconstructed daily TWSA is potential for flood early warning.

A robust model for emergency supplies prepositioning and transportation considering road disruptions

Proper prepositioning of emergency supplies can dramatically improve the efficiency of emergency response work. However, the uncertainties of emergency demands and road conditions bring difficulties to the prepositioning of emergency supplies. This paper proposes a two-stage robust model to locate emergency supply points and preposition the corresponding storage amount of emergency supplies, in which we presented two budget sets to describe the uncertainties of demands and road conditions, respectively. The innovative use of variables in the model to limit road capacities addresses the representation of different road interruption scenarios. We proposed an algorithm based on Benders decomposition by transforming the second-stage model into a binary linear programming model. Computational experiments based on the Sioux Falls network demonstrate the validity of the model and algorithm. We conducted sensitivity analyses for some important parameters in the model, such as two uncertainty control parameters, unit transportation cost, budget for the construction of emergency supply points, etc. We find that the uncertainty of road disruptions has a greater impact on the model than the uncertainty of demands. In addition, when the control parameter of the road disruptions exceeds a certain threshold, its influence on the model remains essentially constant.

Towards an understanding of learning within the Norwegian fire and rescue services – focusing on tunnel fire safety

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to study how learning within the fire and rescue services may be conceptualized, with special attention paid to tunnel fire safety. Previous studies have developed a model to understand learning in emergency response work. The concept of learning is extended from observed changes in relevant settings to also encompass confirmation of existing knowledge and comprehension of existing practices. We are interested in investigating the properties of the learning model and identifying the mechanisms that influence fire and rescue personnel’s experiences of change, confirmation and/or comprehension.Design/methodology/approachThis study relies on quantitative data obtained from a questionnaire answered by 939 Norwegian fire and rescue personnel. Multivariate methods have been used to identify the measurement model and the structural relations of the factors.FindingsThe results confirm the theoretical model and indicate that the outcome of learning is influenced by elements of content, context, commitment, decision-making and response and reflection, and that the influence of content and commitment on the outcome of learning is partially indirect and mediated through reflection.Originality/valueTo date, no systematic analysis has been conducted to investigate the factorial structure, as well as the interactions and relationship between the model’s components. This study makes an important contribution to a detailed understanding of learning within the fire and rescue services.

Index establishment and capability evaluation of space–air–ground remote sensing cooperation in geohazard emergency response

Abstract. Geohazard emergency response is a disaster event management act that is multifactorial, time critical, task intensive and socially significant. To improve the rationalization and standardization of space–air–ground remote sensing collaborative observations in geohazard emergency responses, this paper comprehensively analyzes the technical resources of remote sensors and emergency service systems and establishes a database of technical and service evaluation indexes using MySQL (Structured Query Language). Based on the database, we propose the method of using the technique for order preference by similarity to an ideal solution (TOPSIS) and a Bayesian network to evaluate the synergistic observation effectiveness and service capability of remote sensing technology in geohazard emergency response, respectively. We demonstrate through experiments that using this evaluation can effectively grasp the operation and task completion of remote sensing cooperative technology in geohazard emergency response. This provides a decision basis for the synergistic planning work of heterogeneous sensors in geohazard emergency response.

РЕГУЛИРУЮЩИЕ СООРУЖЕНИЯ ПРИГИДРОУЗЛОВЫХ РЫБОХОДНО-НЕРЕСТОВЫХ КАНАЛОВ

Purpose: development of recommendations for the control structure design arranged as part of fish passage and spawning channels at river waterworks. Materials and methods. The empirical basis for developing recommendations was the materials of the author's survey of regulatory structures arranged and used on the fish-spawning canals of the low-head Nikolaevsky and Konstantinovsky Lower-Don hydroelectric facilities, and the developed design of the head regulator for the Bagaevsky fish-spawning channel on the river Don. Results and discussion. The necessity of installation of fish passage and spawning channels of regulating structures (“main head regulators”) in waterworks was determined, which provide regulated water supply to the fish passage during the period of anadromous migrations and fish spawning, stop water supply to the canal during inter-spawning periods, during emergency response and repair work. The absence of a generally accepted and commonly used methodological approach to the design and selection of the location of control structures on the tracts of fish passage and spawning canals at waterworks, the absence of the necessary recommendations on their layout and design solutions, and the need to develop appropriate recommendations for their design were determined. Information and results of the analysis of constructive solutions and sizes of regulators on current and projected fish-passage and spawning canals art waterworks are given, their advantages and disadvantages are assessed. Conclusions. The technical and technological characteristics of the current layout and design solutions for control structures, arranged as part of fish passage and spawning channels at waterworks are given. A list of requirements for the layout and design solutions of head regulators is formulated, and options for their design improvements are recommended. Recommendations for the design of control structures, arranged on fish passage and spawning canals at waterworks are proposed.

Enhancement of Urban Floodwater Mapping From Aerial Imagery With Dense Shadows via Semisupervised Learning

Timely and accurate mapping of floodwater in urban areas from aerial imagery is critical to support emergency response and rescue work. However, massive shadows cast by buildings and trees over dense built-up urban areas can cause a significant underestimation of flood outcomes, and few studies for flood monitoring explore this in current state-of-the-art approaches. Meanwhile, recent deep learning (DL) algorithms have reported superior performance in flood mapping over conventional machine learning methods. Nevertheless, acquiring a large amount of training data remains challenging in the DL paradigm. In this study, to exploit the potential of the DL algorithm in detecting all visible (including shadowed and nonshadowed) floodwater with limited training samples from aerial imagery, we designed a modified fully convolutional network and combined it with a deep semisupervised learning framework integrating consistency regularization and RandMix strategy into the floodwater detection workflow. Besides, the test-time augmentation technique was leveraged to improve the model performance in the evaluation phase. Extensive experiments on the 2013 Calgary flood demonstrated the effectiveness of our approach on extracting visible floodwater in urban areas with dense shadows. Notably, our method could accurately detect more floodwater with a largely reduced number of labeled training samples, which is a considerable enhancement in the applicability and availability of DL algorithms for flood monitoring in densely shadowed urban areas.

Swift Water Oil Spill Response Techniques

ABSTRACT Swift water oil spill response (SWSR) has many different aspects that present more of a challenge than slow moving or static water oil spills. The American Petroleum Institute (API)/Association of Oil Pipelines (AOPL) Emergency Response Work Group's inland SWSR Guide will be a compilation of industry best practices describing initial spill response management and operational tactics in these uniquely challenging conditions. This paper will summarize the API Guide which focuses on the highest priorities of spill response including people, environment, and assets. The intended audience for this paper are responders that have baseline spill response knowledge. Operations managers will be able to use the API Guide to develop timely Incident Command System (ICS) 201 briefs, organizational structures, and Incident Action Plan (IAP) operational work assignments. Safety of responders will be emphasized, particularly site safety, and personal protective equipment (PPE). Site safety and job specific hazard identification best practices will inform responders, managers, and Incident Commanders of the important aspects of overall safety management. Site evaluation topics will cover the following areas: access, staging area, boat launches, shoreline composition, and wildlife considerations. Response strategies involving equipment for containment and recovery will be described for effective SWSR. Additional factors that must be considered include riverbed composition, current velocity, flow pattern, water depth, water course width, and obstructions. There is a limited amount of literature on the unique response techniques of SWSR developed by industry groups or governmental agencies.

Factors That Affect Emergency Responder Wellbeing: Considerations for Public Health Responders.

The purpose of this study is to identify key risk factors that could negatively affect public health emergency responders' health and wellbeing. We seek to use this information to provide recommendations and strategies to mitigate such risks. A narrative review of the peer-reviewed literature on wellbeing of military personnel and other responders was conducted. Data was grouped and categorized according to overarching domains. Factors associated with wellbeing were categorized into 5 domains: (1) demographics; (2) mental health concerns; (3) social networks; (4) work environment; and (5) postdeployment life. The strategies identified to promote wellbeing included mental health assessments, preparedness trainings, debriefs in the field, postdeployment debriefs, resources in the field, and further postdeployment decompression strategies. This study provides a unique understanding of the risk factors associated with poor health and wellbeing outcomes in public health emergency response work by extending the body of knowledge that focuses on other types of emergency and military response.

Psychological reactions of healthcare workers deployed to Wuhan from Shanxi province and how they cope during coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak

Psychological reactions of healthcare workers deployed to Wuhan from Shanxi province and how they cope during coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak

Needs To Be in Port Accident Emergency System Construction and Assessment Technology Research

In this paper, the urgency and necessity of the research on the construction and evaluation technology of China’s port accident emergency response system are fully expounded and demonstrated from the level of the policies and documents of the administrative departments, the research level of experts and scholars, and the actual situation of the port industry emergency response work. Based on sorting out the problems existing in the construction and evaluation of China’s port accident emergency response system, the research ideas and main contents of the research on the construction and evaluation technology of port accident emergency response system are put forward.

Ontology modeling and case database construction of subway emergency plan knowledge

In order to improve the effectiveness and timeliness of the subway emergency plan knowledge, it is necessary to standardize and semantically express the emergency plan knowledge and promote the emergency response work to play a more efficient and timely role. Firstly, an ontology-based emergency planning knowledge modeling is proposed, and a unified and standardized metrology database for the emergency planning ontology is constructed. Secondly, drawing on the case reasoning method MyCBR, combined with the established subway operation accident case knowledge base, a case retrieval method based on semantic similarity is proposed to achieve efficient retrieval of subway emergency accident cases. Finally, Protégé software and MyCBR are used to realize the emergency reasoning knowledge reasoning and case retrieval function, which significantly improves the application efficiency of emergency response knowledge.

On the Specifics of Fire Extinguishing During Dangerous Goods Transportation in the Northern Regions

The article considers the variants of emergency situations that occur during railway transportation of oil and petroleum products in the Northern regions. Options for implementing measures to eliminate fires and explosions related to these events are given. It is demonstrated that the railways in Russia in the Arctic zone are long and carry a large number of different cargoes, including dangerous ones. The analysis of the most resonant large fires in railway transport was performed; the causes of these emergency events were determined. The peculiarities of fire extinguishing during transportation of dangerous goods by rail were considered, and some difficulties in extinguishing fires at low temperatures (below-10oC) were analyzed. Some national samples of fire engines (multi-purpose fire truck and GAZ-59402 “Purga”) were analyzed in relation to their use in firefighting in the Arctic zone. Proposals for responsibilities distribution between railway and fire services in case of emergency response and recovery work have been developed. Possible ways for solvation of the problems arising during firefighting on railway transport at low temperatures were suggested.

Florida Keys Mosquito Control District Comprehensive Hurricane Plan.

The hurricane plan developed by the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District and approved by vote of the Board of Commissioners is presented. The plan is intended to facilitate prompt resumption of services after a tropical cyclone (tropical storm or hurricane) and to give direction and instructions to District staff who evacuate before a storm makes landfall. Specific procedures are documented for before and after storms, including communication, preparation of buildings and vehicles, and evacuation. The need for food and water for staff immediately after a storm is specifically mentioned in the plan. The plan is composed of five main sections: general preparedness, Lower Keys procedures, Middle Keys procedures, Upper Keys procedures, and aerial operations procedures. Also included is a section covering satellite telephone operation and a list of telephone contacts for local government and law enforcement agencies. An addendum details the District's policy for compensation for public emergency response work so all employees are aware of how they will be paid during the storm recovery period.

Flood Prevention and Emergency Response System Powered by Google Earth Engine

This paper reviews the efforts made and experiences gained in developing the Flood Prevention and Emergency Response System (FPERS) powered by Google Earth Engine, focusing on its applications at the three stages of floods. At the post-flood stage, FPERS integrates various remote sensing imageries, including Formosat-2 optical imagery to detect and monitor barrier lakes, synthetic aperture radar imagery to derive an inundation map, and high-spatial-resolution photographs taken by unmanned aerial vehicles to evaluate damage to river channels and structures. At the pre-flood stage, a huge amount of geospatial data are integrated in FPERS and are categorized as typhoon forecast and archive, disaster prevention and warning, disaster events and analysis, or basic data and layers. At the during-flood stage, three strategies are implemented to facilitate the access of the real-time data: presenting the key information, making a sound recommendation, and supporting the decision-making. The example of Typhoon Soudelor in August of 2015 is used to demonstrate how FPERS was employed to support the work of flood prevention and emergency response from 2013 to 2016. The capability of switching among different topographic models and the flexibility of managing and searching data through a geospatial database are also explained, and suggestions are made for future works.