TERF INCIDENT--EMERGENCY REPORTING FORM

PURPOSE: To obtain non-confidential information from specific incidents that can be used to assist TERF Emergency Response Team (ERT) members and their organization leaders to proactively:

• Educate TERF members and their management
• Prepare our teams and their members for similar situations
• Employ best practices when called upon to respond
• Define skill sets needed by ERT personnel to better address incidents and emergencies
• Provide equipment suggestions and guidance for properly equipping an ERT
• Offer training ideas for an organization's ERT practice drills

Remember, all incidents and emergency situations are UNIQUE - so their details will also be specific to each situation being reported upon. Include enough detail to be educational without finding fault or placing yourself or your employer's organization in a potentially embarrassing position. Historical definitions and differences between incidental and emergency response are contained in Occupational Health and safety Administration (OSHA) Letters of Interpretation from 1990 at the following Universal Resource Locator (URL):

http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=INTERPRETATIONS&p_id=20052

By simple definition, please use the following when deciding if a situation was an incident or an emergency:

INCIDENT: Any unusual or unplanned occurrence that ...

• could be addressed by trained employees within their normal work area, AND
• would not be expected to escalate into an emergency

EMERGENCY: Any unusual or unplanned occurrence that ...

• required operational personnel and equipment from outside their normal work area, AND
• would reasonably be expected to produce major health/safety, structural and/or environmental damage if left unmitigated by these responders

SUBMITTING YOUR REPORT:

• Click here to download the form and submit your completed report BY MAIL.

The TERF Incident-Emergency Report form has several sections designed to help collect information that will lead to meaningful and useful statistics for TERF members. Complete those sections which are applicable and within your comfort level in terms of information sharing. Remember - the more detailed information you provide, the more benefit will be derived from your report.

You do not need to sign the report or otherwise identify yourself or your organization. When received by TERF, your report will be edited to ensure anonymity, the data summarized, and the original destroyed.

STATISTICS: The information you submit with each TERF Incident/Emergency Report will be entered into a database for use by TERF members as an aid to better understand what decisions and responses were made by other ERTs in their roles and duties. Every effort will be made to keep specific information about an organization and its personnel anonymous will be made. We encourage you to complete as much of the form as your organization will permit.

MAIL YOUR COMPLETED REPORT TO:

TERF Incident-Emergency Report
SESHA Secretariat
1313 Dolley Madison Blvd. Suite 402
McLean VA 22101
USA