How Immediate Is Immediately Dangerous to Life or Health?

摘要

WHEN DISPATCHED TO A hazardous materials incident, responders must identify and comprehend the hazards and risks associated with the chemicals they may be exposed to at the scene. "Immediately dangerous to life or health" (IDLH) is a critical term in the fire service lexicon and one that we should be familiar with and understand. Firefighters may describe the conditions inside a burning structure as IDLH: Smoke, superheated gases, and the toxic by-products of combustion may all be characterized as IDLH conditions that threaten the survivability of occupants inside. In his article "Remove the IDLH, Not the Victims," Assistant Chief (Ret.) John Coleman from the Toledo (OH) Department of Fire writes, "Our normal thought process would be to remove the victims from the immediately dangerous to life or health atmosphere by going in and blindly searching for (heavy smoke conditions) and removing victims, perhaps while one or two members attempt horizontal or vertical ventilation."