Dynamic Risk Assessments (DRA's) are a vital component of any operation if we are to really embrace the "Everyone Goes Home" philosphy.

Do we undertake a dangerous task? Yes!

Are there risks in everything we do? Yes!

Will we ever eliminate every risk we face? No!

However we can do more to recognise the issues we face?

One LODD is one too many in my eyes.

A DRA is about stepping back for a moment and assessing what we're confronted with, what we need to do and how we're going to do it.

The Service I belong to, has adopted the following DRA cycle:

Step 1: Observe the Situation.

Take a moment to step back and observe. Our senses can tell us so much.

What do we see?

What can we hear?

What can we smell?

Are they failsafe? No way! But they're a good start.

We need to take a moment before we get tunnel visioned and rush into any scene and observe.

We must identify what is actually happening. Is it a fire, MVA, shooting or another of the myriad of high risk jobs we are often confronted with.

We then need to identify what we actually need to do, to complete the job. This includes a full scense size up.

If it's a structure fire, then assessing all four sides of the building. If it's an MVA, then undertaking inner and outer circle surveys of the whole scene and so on.

Step 2: Identify the Hazards

Hazards can take on many forms and obviously can't be listed here, however we need to consider threats to:

• Our safety
• Other responder on scene
• The people we're tryign to help
• The environment around us
• Our equipment and apparatus

Step 3: Assess the Risks

We need to be mindful that the sky is not falling down with every identified hazard. We do however, need to categorise our risks. The obvious is High, Medium and Low. In industry (such as manufacturing, chemical processsing, etc), they offer the following as a guide, which can be adapted/modified to suit the emergency services:

• LOW: No injury, no spill, no public impact
• MEDIUM: First Aid, Community Complaint, Spill <200 litres to land
• HIGH: MTI/LTI, License Breach, Spill to land <200 litres, Spill to water

It is important that whatever we define a level of risk as, that we benchmark it against clear guidelines so as every person in charge of a scene is on the same page. It's about consistency.

We also need to be careful of the mindset, "Risk a lot to save a lot" and other variations. Our priority must be that everyone does in fact go home.

Goes home in one piece.

Goes home without injury.

There will be days, where we cannot possibly save every single person or every single structure that we're confronted with.

It is interesting that when we discuss operations on major highways for example, where lives are just as at risk as those in a structure fire (but from a different hazard), we openly talk about protecting the scene, and how we will not operate there unless we block roads, etc. Yet, when confronted with a fire, we seem to accept without question that we have to enter without proper water supplies, RIT teams, command and communications and so on. In both instances, aren't both our lives and the victims at risk, and just as important? (Hope that makes sense....)

STEP 4: Implement Safety Controls

There's no use identifying a hazard and not doing anything about it. Seems pretty simple to me.

We do however need to be mindful that in some instances, an implemented control measure can introduce additional or new hazards to responders.

STEP 5: Ongoing Monitoring and Review

We must continuously monitor and review the hazards, level of risk and implemented control measures whilst on scene, and for the duration of the task.

As we move through the phases of RECEO for example, there's different hazards associated with each step.

We are just as at risk operating on a major highway when we arrive and begin extrication, as we are when the rescue is completed and we're packing up to return to the station.

Conclusion

Is your department on board with safety?

Are we really serious about reducing LODD rates?

Is the DRA process a part of every training drill?

Do you have documented processes and procedures for risk management?

Does every member full understand the risks they face?