ABSTRACT
Underlying everything that rst responders and critical incident managers do is the concept of risk mitigation. We start this chapter with a close look at risk mitigation because risk pervades everything else that follows in the subsequent chapters. Understanding risk and risk mitigation is the bulwark of critical incident management. As stated in Chapter 1, risk mitigation is something that is done before, during, and aer an incident. It is the fourth “phase” of the FEMA model that is really not a phase. Risk mitigation is something that all persons and organizations do on a daily basis, even if most of the time we are not consciously aware that we are doing it. e key to understanding risk and risk mitigation starts with seeing it in action in the routines of the day in the life of one person. In this chapter, we will break down the concept of risk into its basic elements so that we can better understand how it aects every aspect of critical incident management-and as we will see in Vignette 2.1-how it aects almost every aspect of our daily lives as well. As you read this story, take note of the number of times that the main character does things to mitigate risk in a day of her life. Consider whether her actions are intended to minimize the probability of something adverse happening, or whether her actions are taken to minimize the effects of the bad thing if and when it should happen. Finally, as you read this vignette, categorize the mitigation actions into three phases: preparedness (the things we do before an incident), response (the things we do during an incident), and recovery (the things we do aer an incident). Understand that the boundaries between the phases are sometimes blurred, and that the things that we do in the recovery phase are likely to overlap into the preparedness phase for the next cycle. For optimal learning eect, it is recommended that you write on a blank piece of paper three separate columns (labeled before, during, and after), then list each of the risk mitigation actions under the most appropriate column.
