General Info
This is a guide for responding to a mass casualty incident. This is not a complete list of all factors required to be
considered.
A Mass Casualty Incident (MCI) is an event where normal day-to-day incident response personnel and/or
equipment are or may be overwhelmed by the number and severity of casualties caused by the event. The size of
the event that could create a MCI will vary based on location and time of the event.
Depending on your location, each emergency medical service (EMS) may use a different triage method. Check with
your local EMS service for the preferred method to ensure alignment.
Mitigation/Prevention
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Incident-specific mitigation & prevention measures should be put into place. See individual incidents for
these considerations.
Follow emergency action requests communicated from public safety agencies (e.g., evacuate, shelter).
Universal evacuation, severe weather sheltering, and shelter-in-place procedures should be posted in
every room at eye level, near the door and in hallways.
Preparedness
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Have students & staff carry IDs on them so they can be identified.
Train the School Nurse/Aide and those on the first aid team how to triage patients.
Train all staff on some basics of triage so they can provide initial assistance.
Ensure ample triage supplies (e.g., tape, tags, bands, checklists) are stocked in the medical emergency kit.
Ensure ample personal protective equipment (PPE) is available in the medical emergency kit or with first
aid team members.
Store color-coded tarps in the office emergency kit for easy area identification.
Consider training select staff that are not on the first aid team how to make calls to parents/guardians of
injured children during an incident.
Response
Incident Commander
 Take a quick, estimated count of victims as able to do so.
 Call 911 and provide them with the estimated victim count and any specifics on types of injuries you are
able to provide.
 Ensure uninjured occupants are moved away from the triage and incident area. Direct staff to control the
evacuation assembly point.
 As necessary, provide additional staff to Medical/First Aid and Security for assistance.
 Debrief public safety agencies once they arrive on scene.
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Send staff to each receiving hospital and medical center to answer questions from and meet
parents/guardians upon arrival.
Request assistance for reunification activities from district or external resources
Public Information Officer
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Report to the IC and receive information about the incident.
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Provide initial communication of the incident to parents/guardians through appropriate means.
Create a script to use when calling parents/guardians/emergency contacts of injured.
Contact parents/guardians/emergency contacts of injured and provide hospital/medical center
information.
Request additional staff to make notification calls as needed.
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Safety Officer
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Report to the IC and receive a briefing on the situation.
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Monitor the incident and advise accordingly.
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Be alert for signs of a hazardous air environment incident.
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Assist Medical/First Aid and the Incident Commander in determining the safety of the scene and ability
to continue triage.
Liaison Officer
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Report to the IC and receive a report of the incident.
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Log all outside agencies contacted and direct them to the appropriate access point for the incident and
the Incident Commander for a briefing upon their arrival.
Work with emergency medical services to ensure names are cataloged for all patients transported.
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Buildings & Infrastructure
 Report to the IC for instructions.
Medical/First Aid
 Evaluate the scene (size-up).
 Assure safety of responders by determining if the scene is safe prior to entering. Attempt to make it safe
prior to entry; request assistance from Safety Officer.
 If several individuals identify the same symptoms/complaints, consider the possibility of a hazardous air
environment. Determine if it is safe to continue with assistance from the Incident Commander and Safety
Officer.
 Don appropriate PPE.
 Direct any individuals self-evacuating to an appropriate assembly point for monitoring and evaluation.
 Request any remaining “walking wounded” move to the assembly point unless these individuals can be of
assistance to you. Announce “If anyone is well enough to stand up and walk out, please go to [assembly
point].”
 Conduct triage based on local EMS procedures.
 Do not move deceased unless authorized by the medical examiner.
Security
 Assign staff to maintain a perimeter around and the incident and triage areas.
 Assign staff to control movement between the triage areas.
Student Care Team Leader
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Sign-in with the Incident Commander or Operations Section Chief, as appropriate, and receive an
incident briefing from this team member.
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Keep a log of all actions taken during the incident.
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Monitor the assembly point.
Notify Incident Commander if any persons in the assembly point have any issues.
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Take attendance of all occupants as best as possible. Note location of each occupant accounted for.
Crisis Support Team Leader
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Report to the IC and receive a briefing on the situation.
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Contact Crisis Support Team for additional assistance.
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Offer assistance to persons in the assembly point and their family as you are able to do so.
Light Search & Rescue
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Report to IC or other designated staging area for assignment.
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The team leader will direct which teams will search each area of the building or incident scene as
needed. It is imperative that each team properly search their area. If a team cannot complete their
search for any reason, report why and what specific area(s) to the team leader so that an accurate log
can be kept.
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Report back to the team leader once your area has been completed. Notify them of any persons
(evacuated or unable to evacuate – note location) and issues found in the area.
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Searches are to be done quickly and thoroughly. The team leader will establish a warning signal that will
notify search teams to immediately abort their search efforts and retreat back to the staging area.
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Team leader will notify the Incident Commander once all sweeps have been completed.
Staff
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Assist Student Care Team Leader with taking attendance of occupants in the assembly point.
Assist with secondary triage of occupants in the assembly point as trained to do so.
Attempt to calm students in the assembly point.
Stand by for further instructions from the Incident Commander.
Recovery
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Debrief appropriate district, school, and community stakeholders.
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The Crisis Support Team should ensure the critical incident stress management program is
implemented.
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Provide any pertinent information to the Incident Commander for preparation of the incident report.
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Participate in the post-incident critique.
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Restock medical and office emergency kits.