Emergency Management practice questions

Answer: A) Damaged cells can return to thermal runaway and reignite hours after the flames appear to be out

In a large lithium-ion pack, thermal runaway spreads from cell to cell and internal reactions can continue after the flames are knocked down. A fire that looks extinguished can reignite hours later, so plans need sustained cooling, isolation and post-fire monitoring.

• ACorrect. Heat from failing cells can drive neighboring cells into thermal runaway, and internal reactions can continue after the flames are knocked down. Responders need sustained cooling, isolation of the damaged pack and post-fire monitoring.
• BIncorrect. Thermal runaway is a chain reaction. Heat from one failing cell damages nearby cells, and a burning pack can spread fire to nearby packs.
• CIncorrect. Cells vent flammable and toxic gases, such as hydrogen and hydrogen fluoride, during thermal runaway, well before any casing melts. Early events are an inhalation and ignition hazard.
• DIncorrect. NIOSH research found that dry chemical agents did not cool batteries enough to stop the internal heat-producing reactions, so the fire can reignite.

Answer: A) Assess the facility's risk by considering its vulnerabilities, recognized threats, and anticipated consequences

OSHA's Evacuation Planning Matrix says terrorism preparedness starts with assessing the risk at the site (vulnerabilities, threats and consequences). That assessment then guides the choice of controls, equipment and exercises.

• ACorrect. OSHA says an employer must first assess the risk of a terrorist release in the workplace. It defines that risk as a combination of vulnerabilities, recognized threat and anticipated consequences, and it suggests consulting law enforcement, the FBI or the LEPC.
• BIncorrect. Building protective measures may come later, but they should be chosen based on the risk assessment, not before it.
• CIncorrect. OSHA recommends exercises with community responders, but an exercise tests a plan that is built after the risk is understood. It is not the first step.
• DIncorrect. Choosing protective equipment depends on the threats and exposures found in the risk assessment, so it cannot reasonably come first.

Answer: A) The period within which a function or system must be restored after an outage

The RTO is the time within which a function or system must be recovered after an outage. It is set in the business impact analysis alongside the RPO (acceptable data loss) and MTD (the longest tolerable outage).

• ACorrect. The RTO is the target time for getting a function, system or application back after a disruption (for example, one business day). It drives the choice of recovery strategy.
• BIncorrect. This is the recovery point objective (RPO). The RPO sets how much data loss is acceptable, not how fast operations must resume.
• CIncorrect. This describes maximum tolerable downtime (MTD), the outer limit the organization can survive. The RTO is a recovery target set within that limit.
• DIncorrect. How often the plan is tested and reviewed is a maintenance requirement. It is not a recovery objective for a disrupted function.

Answer: A) Top respiratory but less skin protection

• ACorrect. It uses SCBA and a splash suit.
• BIncorrect. That isn't Level B.
• CIncorrect. That's Level A.
• DIncorrect. That's Level C.

Answer: A) Responders from different organizations work within one common structure, using shared terminology and processes, so the response stays coordinated

NIMS and its Incident Command System give all responding organizations a common structure, terminology and planning processes. This lets agencies from different jurisdictions, along with private-sector responders, combine into one coordinated response.

• ACorrect. ICS, part of NIMS, brings personnel, equipment and communications into one common organizational structure. It enables a coordinated response among jurisdictions and organizations, both public and private.
• BIncorrect. NIMS is used at all levels of government and in the private sector. It does not automatically give command to federal officials, and multi-agency incidents often use unified command.
• CIncorrect. OSHA notes that using ICS as defined by NIMS is consistent with HAZWOPER. It does not replace the employer's emergency response plan or its regulatory duties.
• DIncorrect. This describes the fragmented response that NIMS is designed to prevent. ICS uses common terminology and an integrated structure during the incident itself.

Answer: B) The organization's essential functions and the alternate sites where they would be performed

A continuity of operations plan names the organization's essential functions and how to keep them going, including alternate facilities and protected copies of vital records, if the main site is disrupted.

• AIncorrect. Exit routes and assembly areas belong in the emergency action plan, which protects people during the event. They don't explain how the organization keeps its critical work going.
• BCorrect. A COOP plan is about keeping essential functions running when the main facility can't be used. It names those functions and the alternate facilities, records and resources needed to keep doing them.
• CIncorrect. These are parts of a hazard communication program. They tell workers about chemical hazards, not how to keep operations going after a disruption.
• DIncorrect. These belong in a permit-required confined space program, which controls a specific work hazard. They aren't continuity planning.

Answer: B) A single operational period, with a new plan prepared for each following period

In ICS, an incident action plan sets objectives, assignments and support activities for one operational period. The planning section prepares a new IAP for each following period.

• AIncorrect. An IAP is not one plan for the whole incident. A new IAP is prepared for each operational period, and longer incidents carry over into the next period's plan.
• BCorrect. In ICS, the incident commander approves the IAP and sets objectives for an operational period. The planning section prepares the IAP for each operational period.
• CIncorrect. A transfer of command changes who is in charge, but it does not define the IAP's planning period. Plans are built around operational periods, whoever is in command.
• DIncorrect. Safety monitoring supports the plan but does not set its time frame. IAP objectives and assignments are tied to the operational period.

Answer: B) Decontaminating responders and equipment leaving the contaminated area

The warm zone (contamination reduction zone) is the transition area between the hot and cold zones, where decontamination corridors are set up. Command and support functions sit in the cold zone, and the release itself is in the hot zone.

• AIncorrect. The command post and support functions are in the cold (support) zone, the clean area outside the warm zone that is kept free of contamination.
• BCorrect. The warm zone, also called the contamination reduction zone, is the transition area between the hot (exclusion) zone and the cold (support) zone. Decontamination corridors are set up there so people and equipment are cleaned before entering the clean area.
• CIncorrect. The point of release is in the hot (exclusion) zone, where contamination and exposure potential are highest.
• DIncorrect. Sheltering in place or evacuating the public is a protective action for areas downwind of the scene. It isn't a function of the warm zone, which is part of on-scene control for responders.

Answer: A) Add satellite phones as a backup that does not depend on local networks, and test them on a regular schedule

Backup communications work only if they don't share the primary system's failure mode. Satellite phones bypass damaged local towers and lines, while spare cell phones, cloud files, and call forwarding all rely on the same networks.

• ACorrect. Satellite phones bypass local towers and lines. That gives real redundancy against the failure identified in the review, and regular testing confirms they will work when needed.
• BIncorrect. A spare handset only covers a broken phone. It still depends on the same towers, which are the expected point of failure.
• CIncorrect. Opening a cloud folder needs the same cellular or wired connection that is expected to fail, and a contact list is not a way to communicate.
• DIncorrect. Call forwarding is useful when staff are away from their desks. It still needs both the phone lines and the cell network, so it adds no independent path.

Answer: A) Observed strengths and weaknesses of the plan, with recommended improvements and assigned corrective actions

An after-action report records what went well, what didn't, and what needs to improve after a drill or real event. Those findings drive corrective actions and updates to the emergency plan.

• ACorrect. OSHA advises evaluating each drill to find the plan's strengths and weaknesses and ways to improve it. The AAR records these findings so the emergency plan can be updated and corrective actions tracked.
• BIncorrect. An AAR may include a timeline as supporting detail, but its purpose is to learn and improve, not to certify compliance.
• CIncorrect. Attendance and training sign-offs belong in training records. A list of participants doesn't evaluate how well the plan worked.
• DIncorrect. An AAR is meant to improve the plan and system, not to assign blame. Using it for discipline discourages honest reporting of problems.