Web site shares critical "blast injury" information for 1st responders

EmailPrintTalk BackRegisterBookmarkRSSWhat's This

Leadership, Technology and Tactics: Themes from the Street with Lt. Raymond E. Foster, LAPD (ret.)

A group of academic, university-based emergency physicians with an interest in blast injuries has launched a comprehensive web-based resources for first responders. Because first responders (in particular emergency medical technicians and emergency room physicians) have only limited experience in the evaluation and treatment of blast related injuries, BlastInjury.org has created the website as a one-stop educational and training resource.

This information can be helpful for law enforcement officers as well should you be first on the scene of an explosion.

As an example, one of their Web pages includes information on Blast Injury Basics:

• Bombs and explosions can cause unique patterns of injury seldom seen outside combat.
• The predominant post explosion injuries among survivors involve standard penetrating and blunt trauma. Blast lung is the most common fatal injury among initial survivors.
• Explosions in confined spaces (mines, buildings, or large vehicles) and/or structural collapse are associated with greater morbidity and mortality.
• Half of all initial casualties will seek medical care over a one-hour period. This can be useful to predict demand for care and resource needs.
• Expect an "upside-down" triage - the most severely injured arrive after the less injured, who bypass EMS triage and go directly to the closest hospitals

Other resources on the site include historical perspectives, blast physics, selected injuries and a literature database. Visit their Web site.

About the Author

Lt. Raymond E. Foster, LAPD (ret.), MPA is the author of Police Technology (Prentice Hall); the co-author of Leadership: Texas Hold 'em Style (Quill Driver Books/Word Dancer Press); and From NYPD to LAPD: An Introduction to Policing (Prentice Hall).

Raymond's current major project is co-authoring the upcoming book, "Homeland Security and the New Threats of Global Terrorism: From Cold War to Flaming-Hot War (Prentice Hall, February 2007)" with Major General Dror Itzhaki, Israeli Security Agency (ret), a senior Israeli expert on security, protection, operations and prevention of criminal and terror acts and Dr. Reuven Paz, Ph.D., an Israeli expert on militant and radical Islam and Islamist movements. Additionally, his is in contract negotiations on a third book - An Introduction to Policing. You can view Lieutenant Foster's Complete CV Here.

Raymond can be reached on the Criminal Justice Forum or at raymond@hitechcj.com.

EmailPrintTalk BackRegisterBookmarkRSSWhat's This