EMT: Ch. 36 - Gaining Access

structure fire

a fire in a house, apartment building, office, school, plant, warehouse, or other building

tactical situation

a hostage, robbery, or other situation in which armed conflict is threatened or shots have been fired and the threat of violence remains

technical rescue situation

a rescue that requires special technical skills and equipment in one of many specialized rescue areas, such as technical rope rescue, cave rescue, and dive rescue

special weapons and tactics team (SWAT)

a specialized law enforcement tactical unit

technical rescue group

a team of individuals from one or more departments in a region who are trained and on call for certain types of technical rescue

simple access

access that is easily achieved without the use of tools or force

danger zone (hot zone)

an area where individuals can be exposed to sharp metal edges, broken glass, toxic substances, lethal rays. or ignition or explosion of hazardous material

hazardous material

any substance that is toxic, poisonous, radioactive, flammable, or explosive and causes injury or death with exposure

complex access

complicated entry that requires special tools and training and includes breaking windows or using other force

extrication

removal of a patient from entrapment or a dangerous situation or position, such as a removal from a wrecked vehicle industrial accident, or building collapse

self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA)

respirator with independent air supply by fire fighters to enter toxic and otherwise dangerous atmosphere

access

the ability to gain entry to an enclosed area and reach a patient

incident commander

the individual who has overall command of the scene in the field

command post

the location of the incident commander at the scene of an emergency and where command, coordination, control, and communication are centralized

disentanglement

the removal of a motor vehicle from around the patient

entrapment

to be caught (trapped) within a vehicle, room, or container with no way out or to have a limb or other body part trapped