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This week, the Empowering the U.S. Fire Administration Act was signed into law. This new legislation authorizes the United States Fire Administration (USFA) to conduct on-site investigations of major fires.
In the case of a major fire, the USFA may send incident investigators to the site. These investigators could be from a variety of fire-related disciplines, including safety specialists, fire protection engineers, codes and standards experts, researchers, and fire training specialists.
Additionally, the USFA may send fire investigators to conduct investigations at the site of any fire with unusual or remarkable context that results in losses, even if these losses are less severe than those occurring as a result of a major fire.
According to the new legislation, these USFA investigations shall (1) be conducted in coordination and cooperation with appropriate federal, state, and local authorities; and (2) examine the determined cause and origin of the fire and assess broader systematic matters.
After completing an investigation, the USFA must either issue a public report to local, state, and federal authorities on the findings or collaborate with another investigating federal agency on that agency's report.
The new law was written in response to the Twin Parks North West apartment building fire, which occurred on January 9, 2022, in the Bronx, New York City. That fire killed 17 people and injured many more. It was the third worst residential fire in the United States in four decades in terms of loss of life. Subsequent investigations of the fire found that many fire hazards in the building contributed to this loss of life and could have been prevented.
The new law will give the USFA more power to impact the nation’s fire problem through these fire investigations and associated reports.
(Source: Congress.gov, Pulitzer Center)
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a Health Advisory on Nov. 4 warning that healthcare systems will likely continue to be strained this winter. The U.S. is experiencing a seasonally early surge and co-circulation of respiratory viruses, with high levels of viral activity among children.
The surge is overwhelming healthcare systems, which were already strained by burnout and staffing shortages after two years of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Currently, the two dominant co-circulating viruses are respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and influenza (flu), but COVID-19 cases are on the rise too. Although RSV circulation is now declining after an unusually early and severe peak in November, influenza circulation is very high for this time of year. The CDC estimates that the disease burden from influenza in the 2022-23 season will be severe. CDC also expects SARS-CoV-2 activity to increase in the winter as has been observed in previous years.
One possible cause of the early surge of both RSV and flu this season is immunity debt, brought on by a lack of exposure to these two viruses during the past two years due to COVID-19 infection control measures.
The co-circulation of very high levels of RSV and flu has hit children and older adults the hardest so far this season. According to the CDC, the age group most likely to be infected by both RSV and flu is young children, although RSV also infects a significant number of older adults each year.
The pediatric surge has resulted in a drastic increase in pediatric hospitalizations and shortages of pediatric hospital beds, which were already dwindling in number over the past few years due to hospitals’ financial constraints. Healthcare Ready is reporting that pediatric hospital bed utilization rates are declining but still high, with most states reporting rates at 70% or above, according to its most recent Situation Report.
The Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) wrote a letter to all U.S. governors on Dec. 2 with information on the federal resources currently available to states to strengthen their hospital systems’ surge capacity. Regulatory flexibilities are now in place so that federal resources and funding that have already been made available to states for response to COVID-19 can now be used to address needs related to any of these respiratory viruses.
For EMS providers, two primary concerns will be (1) hospital surge and increased demand for emergency medical services, and (2) ensuring effective infection prevention and control measures are in place.
To address challenges due to hospital surge, ASPR’s Technical Resources, Assistance Center, and Information Exchange (TRACIE) has helpful guidance, including a new Pediatric Surge resource collection for healthcare systems. EMS providers may also benefit from the 2021 article series by EMS1, Ambulances Held Hostage. This series discusses all aspects of how EMS systems are impacted by hospital bed delays and strategies for reducing ambulance offload times.
To address infection prevention and control measures, much of the guidance developed during the COVID-19 pandemic will be applicable to the surge in these other respiratory viruses.
Proper disinfection of ambulances and EMS equipment between patient contacts is extremely important. COVID-19, influenza, and RSV can remain viable on surfaces that aren’t properly decontaminated for many hours or even days. Effective disinfection along with use of proper personal protective equipment (PPE) will keep EMS crews from getting sick or transmitting these diseases to other patients. The following are some resources for guidance on disinfection and PPE for EMS providers:
(Sources: CDC, HHS, ASPR, EMS1)
On January 25, 2023, the United States Secret Service’s (USSS’) National Threat Assessment Center (NTAC) will publish “Mass Attacks in Public Spaces: 2016 – 2020.” On the same day of publication, the USSS will hold a virtual rollout event via Microsoft Teams to discuss the new report. This virtual event will feature presentations from NTAC researchers and special guest speakers.
NTAC’s “Mass Attacks in Public Spaces: 2016 – 2020” examines 173 mass attacks perpetrated from 2016 through 2020 in public and semi-public spaces, including businesses, restaurants, bars, retail outlets, houses of worship, schools, open spaces, and more. The forthcoming report highlights commonalities in attackers' planning and behaviors, and the importance of proactive and preventative approaches to mitigate the risk of mass violence in our communities.
This report is NTAC’s fourth analysis of mass attacks that were carried out in public spaces. NTAC published reports in 2018, 2019, and 2020 that examined mass attacks which occurred in years 2017, 2018, and 2019, respectively. This year’s report will be the first to examine incidents over a five-year span.
This virtual rollout event for the new publication will take place on Jan. 25, 2023, from 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. EST. Visit NTAC’s registration page for more information on the event and to register.
(Source: USSS)
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