French red plan
Encyclopedia
The French red plan is a French
emergency plan used if an emergency has a significant number of casualties
in a limited area. Its aim is to organize the rescue
resources to cope
with the concentrated casualties.
It is different from the French white plan
(plan blanc), which is designed to face a sudden and unpredicted rise of the activity of a hospital
. It also differs from the Orsec plan
(plan Orsec), which is designed to face insufficient emergency resources. In a red plan, the emergency resources are sufficient. The difficulty is coordinating them.
The white plan is often launched along with the red plan in order to face the massive arrival of casualties evacuated by the red plan.
The red plan is based on four concepts:
(Brigade des sapeurs-pompiers de Paris, BSPP), after explosion
s during an urban fire
(rue Raynouard, Paris 16e), that resulted in 13 dead and a great number of casualties.
It was then extended to the whole French territory by the 28th October 1986 the circulaire (ministerial instruction) #86-318 (ministry of Interior/French Home Office).
The name "red
plan" refers to the traditional color of the French firefighters, and to the color of danger (blood
/fire
).
The red plan is defined by each département and thus can slightly vary from a dépertement to the other, but all the red plans are very similar.
Since 2007, the plan rouge is a specific case of the plan Orsec.
of the département (or, in case of Paris and its suburbs, by the préfet de police of Paris).
These situations are various:
The prerequisite for a plan rouge is a great number of casualties. This estimation can vary from département to département. In Paris, the following rules apply:
Due to the complexity of these three missions, two command chains are formed, under the authority of the "commander of the rescue operations" (COS: commandant des opérations de secours) : the fire-and-rescue chain, and the medical chain:
The chief officer of the local fire and rescue department (SDIS: service départemental d'incendie et de secours) is the "commander of the rescue operations" (COS: commandant des opérations de secours). He is assisted by the "director of fire and rescue" (DSIS: directeur des secours incendie et sauvetage), and by the "director of medical rescue" (DSM: directeur des secours médicaux). The DSM is usually the chief-physician of the firefighters or the director of samu
(French EMS).
The main resources are the firefighters and Samu, but other organisations can contribute, such as the first aid associations
(e.g. French Red Cross, volunteers of the civil protection/FNCP), who can contribute to the non-medical evacuations or deal with the relative emergencies, light wounded people and logistic for psychological aid (CUMP: cellule d'urgence médico-psichologique).
He must be easily-spotted and has thus a yellow chasuble-like jacket on his clothes, with the inscription "Commandant les Opérations de Secours". He has an operational head-quarter (PCO: poste de commandement opérationnel) near the site of the disaster. The OHQ has communications with all the resources and administratrions, including the police
.
He has a yellow chasuble-like jacket with the inscription Directeur des Secours Incendie et Sauvetage.
He has a yellow chasuble-like jacket with the inscription Directeur des Secours Médicaux.
This officer has a red chasuble-like jacket with the inscription "Directeur des Secours Médicaux", and the personal have a red armband.
This part is also called "scoop noria" (noria de ramassage) or "small noria".
He has to manage:
He commands:
In urban environments, the advanced medical post (PMA) is often placed in a public location (bar, restaurant, hall of sports…). In wilderness or on a road away from any building, it is an inflatable structure.
The advanced medical post (PMA) is organized in three zones corresponding to the triage:
Two additional zones can be created, besides the advanced medical (PMA) post but under the responsibility of the director of medical rescue (DSM):
The chief physician of the advanced medical post has a white chasuble-like jacket with the inscription "Médecin PMA"; the firefighter officer has a white chasuble-like jacket with the inscription "PMA". The other staff members have a white armband.
The staff takes care that the instructions given by the chief physician are obeyed.
The officer of this zone has a blue chasuble-like jacket with the inscription "évacuation", and the staff members have a blue armband.
This part is also called "evacuation noria" (noria d'évacuation) or "great noria".
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
emergency plan used if an emergency has a significant number of casualties
Casualty (person)
A casualty is a person who is the victim of an accident, injury, or trauma. The word casualties is most often used by the news media to describe deaths and injuries resulting from wars or disasters...
in a limited area. Its aim is to organize the rescue
Rescue
Rescue refers to responsive operations that usually involve the saving of life, or prevention of injury during an incident or dangerous situation....
resources to cope
Cope
The cope is a liturgical vestment, a very long mantle or cloak, open in front and fastened at the breast with a band or clasp. It may be of any liturgical colour....
with the concentrated casualties.
It is different from the French white plan
French white plan
The French white plan is, in France, the emergency plan to face a sudden increase of activity in an hospital, such as a massive arrival of casualties due to an accident or a disaster , an epidemic or a lasting climatic event that becomes deadly for fragile people such as a...
(plan blanc), which is designed to face a sudden and unpredicted rise of the activity of a hospital
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
. It also differs from the Orsec plan
Orsec plan
The Orsec plan is the French generic emergency plan in case of disaster, when the local means are not sufficient . "Orsec" stands for , i.e. "rescue organization"....
(plan Orsec), which is designed to face insufficient emergency resources. In a red plan, the emergency resources are sufficient. The difficulty is coordinating them.
The white plan is often launched along with the red plan in order to face the massive arrival of casualties evacuated by the red plan.
The red plan is based on four concepts:
- The resources should be rationally organized: The resources should not hamper each other, or deplete resources needed by another emergency. This implies coordination of the different forces (firefighterFirefighterFirefighters are rescuers extensively trained primarily to put out hazardous fires that threaten civilian populations and property, to rescue people from car incidents, collapsed and burning buildings and other such situations...
s, samuSamuSamu may refer to:* Samu, nickname for a Homo erectus man found in Vértesszőlős, Hungary* SAMU - Service d'Aide Médicale d'Urgence, an emergency medical service in France.* Servicio de Atencion Medica Urgente, also an emergency medical service...
/emergency medical service, policePoliceThe police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
), and assignment of roles (hierarchical sorting); - There should be two chains of rescue, one focused on managing the site, the other focused on caring for the casualties;
- A field hospitalField hospitalA field hospital is a large mobile medical unit that temporarily takes care of casualties on-site before they can be safely transported to more permanent hospital facilities...
(or advanced medical post) should be installed next to the casualties, to perform triageTriageTriage or ) is the process of determining the priority of patients' treatments based on the severity of their condition. This rations patient treatment efficiently when resources are insufficient for all to be treated immediately. The term comes from the French verb trier, meaning to separate,...
and stabilisation before the evacuation; - There should be two commands, one on-site that deals with the management of the rescue operations, the other in a remote site (usually the préfecturePréfectureA prefecture in France can refer to :*the Chef-lieu de département, the town in which the administration of a department is located;*the Chef-lieu de région, the town in which the administration of a region is located;...
) that deals with the reinforcement, the logistics... etc.
History
The "plan rouge" was created in 1978 by the fire brigade of ParisParis Fire Brigade
The Paris Fire Brigade , is a French Army unit which serves as the fire service for Paris and certain sites of national strategic importance....
(Brigade des sapeurs-pompiers de Paris, BSPP), after explosion
Explosion
An explosion is a rapid increase in volume and release of energy in an extreme manner, usually with the generation of high temperatures and the release of gases. An explosion creates a shock wave. If the shock wave is a supersonic detonation, then the source of the blast is called a "high explosive"...
s during an urban fire
Fire
Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material in the chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. Slower oxidative processes like rusting or digestion are not included by this definition....
(rue Raynouard, Paris 16e), that resulted in 13 dead and a great number of casualties.
It was then extended to the whole French territory by the 28th October 1986 the circulaire (ministerial instruction) #86-318 (ministry of Interior/French Home Office).
The name "red
Red
Red is any of a number of similar colors evoked by light consisting predominantly of the longest wavelengths of light discernible by the human eye, in the wavelength range of roughly 630–740 nm. Longer wavelengths than this are called infrared , and cannot be seen by the naked eye...
plan" refers to the traditional color of the French firefighters, and to the color of danger (blood
Blood
Blood is a specialized bodily fluid in animals that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells....
/fire
Fire
Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material in the chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. Slower oxidative processes like rusting or digestion are not included by this definition....
).
The red plan is defined by each département and thus can slightly vary from a dépertement to the other, but all the red plans are very similar.
Since 2007, the plan rouge is a specific case of the plan Orsec.
When is the plan rouge started?
The red plan is started in case of a disaster with limited consequences (accident catastrophique à effet limité, acel), when there are – or when there might be – numerous casualties. This plan is started by the préfetPréfet
A prefect in France is the State's representative in a department or region. Sub-prefects are responsible for the subdivisions of departments, arrondissements...
of the département (or, in case of Paris and its suburbs, by the préfet de police of Paris).
These situations are various:
- fireFireFire is the rapid oxidation of a material in the chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. Slower oxidative processes like rusting or digestion are not included by this definition....
of great intensity with immediate risks for the population - building collapse
- road accident, train accident, or airplane accidentAviation accidents and incidentsAn aviation accident is defined in the Convention on International Civil Aviation Annex 13 as an occurrence associated with the operation of an aircraft which takes place between the time any person boards the aircraft with the intention of flight and all such persons have disembarked, in which a...
- criminal act (collective aggression by firearmFirearmA firearm is a weapon that launches one, or many, projectile at high velocity through confined burning of a propellant. This subsonic burning process is technically known as deflagration, as opposed to supersonic combustion known as a detonation. In older firearms, the propellant was typically...
, explosives, hostage-taking, terroristTerrorismTerrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
attack...) - industrial injuryIndustrial injuryAn occupational injury is bodily damage resulting from working.In the United States in 2007, 5,488 workers died from job injuries, 92% of which were men, and 49,000 died from work-related injuries. NIOSH estimates that 4 million workers in the U.S...
- natural disasterNatural disasterA natural disaster is the effect of a natural hazard . It leads to financial, environmental or human losses...
The prerequisite for a plan rouge is a great number of casualties. This estimation can vary from département to département. In Paris, the following rules apply:
- the situation involves a field hospitalField hospitalA field hospital is a large mobile medical unit that temporarily takes care of casualties on-site before they can be safely transported to more permanent hospital facilities...
, and at least 15 persons must be evacuated to a hospital. - The notion of "number of casualties" is different depending on the situation, and is evaluated from the initial assessment (the red plan must be started quickly, i.e. before all the casualties are counted):
- for a fire, the number of casualties in the initial assessment is multiplied by 2: i.e. when the rescuers arrive, and count 6 to 8 casualties, there are usually about 15 casualties by the end of the operation;.
- for a terrorist bombing, the multiplication factor is 3, sometimes 4 or 5;
- for the other accidents, amongst which the public transport accident, the factor is 3 to 4.
- In some specific situations, the risks (risk of explosion, of intoxication etc.), or the organizational constraints can lead to a red plan although there are only few casualties.
General concept
In case of a red plan, it is necessary to simultaneously:- fight the initial disaster and its direct and indirect consequences;
- extract the casualties from the hostile environment;
- care for the casualties.
Due to the complexity of these three missions, two command chains are formed, under the authority of the "commander of the rescue operations" (COS: commandant des opérations de secours) : the fire-and-rescue chain, and the medical chain:
- the fire-and-rescue chain has the charge to fight the initial disaster; the rescuers are entirely devoted to this task, and participate to the search and rescueSearch and rescueSearch and rescue is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger.The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, mostly based upon terrain considerations...
, locating the casualties, extraction/extrication of the casualties and possibly perform first aidFirst aidFirst aid is the provision of initial care for an illness or injury. It is usually performed by non-expert, but trained personnel to a sick or injured person until definitive medical treatment can be accessed. Certain self-limiting illnesses or minor injuries may not require further medical care...
onsite; - the medical chain has three functions:
- the first aidFirst aidFirst aid is the provision of initial care for an illness or injury. It is usually performed by non-expert, but trained personnel to a sick or injured person until definitive medical treatment can be accessed. Certain self-limiting illnesses or minor injuries may not require further medical care...
onsite, casualty liftingCasualty liftingCasualty lifting is the first step of casualty movement, an early aspect of emergency medical care. It is the procedure used to put the casualty on a stretcher....
(scoop) and movementCasualty movementThe casualty movement is the procedures used to move a casualty from the initial location to the ambulance....
from the disaster location to the field hospital (called "advanced medical post", or PMA: poste médical avancé); - triageTriageTriage or ) is the process of determining the priority of patients' treatments based on the severity of their condition. This rations patient treatment efficiently when resources are insufficient for all to be treated immediately. The term comes from the French verb trier, meaning to separate,...
and stabilising the casualties for the evacuation; - the evacuation of the casualties to adapted care structures (hospitals).
- the first aid
Distribution of the responsibilities
The préfet of the département (or the préfet de police for Paris and its suburbs) is the director of rescue operations (DOS: directeur des opérations de secours). He starts the red plan; usually, the red plan is started by the firefighter or medical dispatch and then officialized by the préfet.The chief officer of the local fire and rescue department (SDIS: service départemental d'incendie et de secours) is the "commander of the rescue operations" (COS: commandant des opérations de secours). He is assisted by the "director of fire and rescue" (DSIS: directeur des secours incendie et sauvetage), and by the "director of medical rescue" (DSM: directeur des secours médicaux). The DSM is usually the chief-physician of the firefighters or the director of samu
Samu
Samu may refer to:* Samu, nickname for a Homo erectus man found in Vértesszőlős, Hungary* SAMU - Service d'Aide Médicale d'Urgence, an emergency medical service in France.* Servicio de Atencion Medica Urgente, also an emergency medical service...
(French EMS).
The main resources are the firefighters and Samu, but other organisations can contribute, such as the first aid associations
Voluntary association
A voluntary association or union is a group of individuals who enter into an agreement as volunteers to form a body to accomplish a purpose.Strictly speaking, in many jurisdictions no formalities are necessary to start an association...
(e.g. French Red Cross, volunteers of the civil protection/FNCP), who can contribute to the non-medical evacuations or deal with the relative emergencies, light wounded people and logistic for psychological aid (CUMP: cellule d'urgence médico-psichologique).
The operational command
The commander of rescue operation (COS) coordinates the rescue resources on site (public, private or associations).He must be easily-spotted and has thus a yellow chasuble-like jacket on his clothes, with the inscription "Commandant les Opérations de Secours". He has an operational head-quarter (PCO: poste de commandement opérationnel) near the site of the disaster. The OHQ has communications with all the resources and administratrions, including the police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
.
The director of fire and rescue (DSIS)
The director of fire and rescue (DSIS) is a firefighter officer. He manages:- the fighting against the initial disaster;
- the search-and-rescue operations;
- in the beginning, the scoop operations, before the medical chain is fully operational (increasing the resources)
He has a yellow chasuble-like jacket with the inscription Directeur des Secours Incendie et Sauvetage.
The director of medical rescue (DSM)
The director of medical rescue (DSM) manages the medical chain described below.He has a yellow chasuble-like jacket with the inscription Directeur des Secours Médicaux.
The medical chain
The medical chain is organized in three parts. The personal attributed to each part are identified by a colour armband: red-white-blue. These are the colours of the French flag, and are also the symbol of:- red: danger zone;
- white: medical zone;
- blue: secured zone (away from the disaster site).
The scoop
The scoop follows of the extraction/extrication operations. It the responsibility of a firefighter officer. The casualties are transported to the advanced medical post (field hospital).This officer has a red chasuble-like jacket with the inscription "Directeur des Secours Médicaux", and the personal have a red armband.
This part is also called "scoop noria" (noria de ramassage) or "small noria".
The advanced medical post (PMA)
The casualties are gathered at the advanced medical post (PMA), managed by a physician chosen by the director of medical rescue (DSM).He has to manage:
- the care to the casualties;
- the triage;
- to search for a destination (hospital) adapted to the different affections (medical regulation).
He commands:
- a firefighter officer (officier PMA) chosen by the commander of rescue operations (COS): he deals with the organization and logistics of the PMA
- first responders, paramedical (nurses, ambulanceAmbulanceAn ambulance is a vehicle for transportation of sick or injured people to, from or between places of treatment for an illness or injury, and in some instances will also provide out of hospital medical care to the patient...
men) and medical staff - a secretaryship made of firefighters, who deal with:
- the establishment of the list of casualties;
- filling the identification forms (FMA: fiches médicales de l'avant);
- transmitting the list of casualties to the operational head-quarter (PCO).
In urban environments, the advanced medical post (PMA) is often placed in a public location (bar, restaurant, hall of sports…). In wilderness or on a road away from any building, it is an inflatable structure.
The advanced medical post (PMA) is organized in three zones corresponding to the triage:
- Absolute emergency zone (UA: urgences absolues): prehospital resuscitation unit for very serious cases: extreme emergencies (EU: extrème urgence) and grave injuries (U1);
- Relative emergency zone (UR: urgences relatives): for the seriously (U2) and lightly injured (U3)
- Mortuary zone (dépot mortuaire) for the deceased casualties. This zone is under the responsibility of the judicial police.
Two additional zones can be created, besides the advanced medical (PMA) post but under the responsibility of the director of medical rescue (DSM):
- a gathering zone for non-injured people, managed by volunteer (non-professional, association) first aiders
- a zone for psychological support under the responsibility of physicians and psychatrists (CUMP).
The chief physician of the advanced medical post has a white chasuble-like jacket with the inscription "Médecin PMA"; the firefighter officer has a white chasuble-like jacket with the inscription "PMA". The other staff members have a white armband.
The evacuation
The mission of the evacuation part is to gather and manage the patient evacuation resources, according to the needs expressed by the chief physician of the PMA. This area is managed by a firefighter officer. The evacuation resources can be firefighter rescue vehicles, private ambulance societies, vehicles from an association, helicopters, etc.The staff takes care that the instructions given by the chief physician are obeyed.
The officer of this zone has a blue chasuble-like jacket with the inscription "évacuation", and the staff members have a blue armband.
This part is also called "evacuation noria" (noria d'évacuation) or "great noria".
See also
- Cabinet Office Briefing RoomsCabinet Office Briefing RoomsCabinet Office Briefing Room is a term used to describe the formation of a crisis response committee, coordinating the actions of bodies within the government of the United Kingdom in response to instances of national or regional crisis, or during events abroad with major implications for the UK...
(UK) - Incident Command SystemIncident Command SystemThe Incident Command System is "a systematic tool used for the command, control, and coordination of emergency response" according to the United States Federal Highway Administration...
, Local Mitigation Strategies (USA)