The management of mass burn casualties and fire disasters : proceedings of the First International Conference on Burns and Fire Disasters [held September 25-28, 1990, in Palermo

Thermal harm is one of the most traumatizing assaults on man and his environment. Whether suffered by living beings as burn injury, or sustained by societal structures as fire damage, the resulting physical pain and material loss can be extremely distressing both to the person and to society. The health professions and in particular burn specialists have been continually developing effective means of combating burn disease and promoting rehabili­ tation of the victims, especially in mass casualty situations. In parallel, various levels of the community have been mobilizing fire prevention and fire-fighting mechanisms that protect society and the environment from the ever-increasing hazards of fire disasters. It is therefore surprising that, while aiming at the same objective, the two sectors have rarely come together; doctor has rarely worked with fire chief. Yet both disciplines have so much to learn from and contribute to each other's efforts. The Mediterranean Burns Club is a professional organization that brings together persons concerned with burn therapy and fire safety in all forms, especially in the countries of the Mediterranean basin. It is honoured to have been identified by the United Nations as a premier scientific body in its field within the programme of the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction. It is therefore natural that it should have initiated an international gathering of specialists engaged in burns as a surgical, clinical problem, and of counterparts dealing with fires as a societal, disaster management problem. Front Matter....Pages i-xii Overview The First International Conference on Burns and Fire Disasters....Pages 1-3 Front Matter....Pages 5-5 Thermal agent disaster and fire disaster: definition, damage, assessment and relief operations....Pages 7-12 The scientific basis of disaster medicine....Pages 13-18 Overcoming the mythology of disaster....Pages 19-23 Analysis of severe fire disasters....Pages 24-33 Front Matter....Pages 35-35 Fire disasters in Osaka....Pages 37-44 Lessons from the Dublin 1981 fire catastrophe....Pages 45-50 Forest fires and the danger to fire-fighters....Pages 51-59 Forest fires in Sicily....Pages 60-63 Safety regulations in high-risk industries. The situation in petrochemical plants in Sicily....Pages 64-69 Domestic fire problems in Third World countries....Pages 70-76 Domestic burns in children caused by butane gas explosion....Pages 77-78 Accidents due to electricity and burns. A statistical analysis of events occurring at the National Electricity Energy Board during the period 1988–1989....Pages 79-88 Fire in port....Pages 89-92 Fire on board ship....Pages 93-105 Marine fire casualties in merchant ships: the Greek statistics....Pages 106-109 Fire services at a motor racing track....Pages 110-112 Fire emergency in a hospital....Pages 113-115 Fire prevention countermeasures for cultural properties in Nara City....Pages 116-117 Front Matter....Pages 119-119 Immediate assistance and first aid on the spot in fire disasters — education of the public and self-sufficiency training....Pages 121-132 Front Matter....Pages 119-119 Health education in disaster medicine....Pages 133-139 System of postgraduate training in burn emergencies in Prague....Pages 140-144 Training of specialists for burn care in Turkey....Pages 145-146 The organization of safety and fire The organization of safety and fire prevention in a multidisciplinary research centre....Pages 147-161 Personal protective equipment in operations involving burn risks: theory and practice....Pages 162-169 Risks and protection of fire-fighters in forests. An outline....Pages 170-171 Front Matter....Pages 173-173 Problems of search and rescue in disasters....Pages 175-176 Planning of rescue work in mass fire disasters. The Paris Red Plan....Pages 177-179 Field logistical organization in the Italian Army Medical Corps....Pages 180-182 The commitment of the Italian Army Medical Corps to relief of the civilian population in the event of public disasters....Pages 183-184 The organization of the Italian Army Medical Corps in relation to contributions to civil defence in the event of disasters....Pages 185-186 The use of aircraft in fire disasters: the Italian Air Force Medical Corps in burn emergencies....Pages 187-189 Infobrul — the value of a telematic databank for burns and burns centres in the event of a disaster....Pages 190-194 Organizational criteria for setting up a field hospital after a fire disaster....Pages 195-197 Clinical file and protocol for general doctors and for non-specialized hospital doctors to assist burn patients....Pages 198-221 Medical care of mass burn victims: the Vishnevsky principles and organization in the Ufa disaster....Pages 222-223 On-site treatment of severely burned patients....Pages 224-226 The early cooling of burns....Pages 227-230 Therapeutic kit and procedures for fluid resuscitation in disasters....Pages 231-238 Ready-to-use emergency kit for treatment of severe burns: definition and specifications....Pages 239-242 Front Matter....Pages 173-173 Physiopathology of burn disease during air evacuation....Pages 243-245 The use of helicopters in integrated rescue work and medical transport....Pages 246-248 Rescue of the burn patient and on-site medical assistance by a helicopter rescue service....Pages 249-250 The burn patient and medically assisted helicopter transport....Pages 251-252 The ARGO satellite system: a network for severe burns and disasters....Pages 253-259 The Italian Army Medical Corps in the field: flexibility of mobile organization....Pages 260-262 Burn treatment facilities in Turkey....Pages 263-264 The establishment of a burns centre at a general hospital: the Naples experience....Pages 265-267 Cyanide compounds in fire gas toxicity and the role of hydroxycobalamin....Pages 268-270 Front Matter....Pages 271-271 Early management of the critically burned patient....Pages 273-277 Psychological reactions in fire disaster emergencies: hypotheses and operational guidelines....Pages 278-281 Prevention and treatment of acute renal failure in the severely burned patient....Pages 282-284 Early and late immunological changes in burn patients....Pages 285-287 An approach to the management of hand burns using semipermeable membranes....Pages 288-291 Care of traumatic tattoos associated with gunpowder explosions and blast burns....Pages 292-295 Clinical technology in small hospitals....Pages 296-298 Front Matter....Pages 299-299 Mass media and serious emergencies....Pages 301-304 The mass media and fire disasters — information according to medical and psychological criteria....Pages 305-310 The role of the mass media in burn prevention campaigns — psychological considerations....Pages 311-313 The philosophy of a burns prevention campaign....Pages 314-316 Front Matter....Pages 299-299 Communications in the prevention of natural and man-made disasters: the role of the national and international Red Cross and Red Crescent organizations....Pages 317-327 The action of the European Community for civil defence....Pages 328-330 Japan’s international disaster relief....Pages 331-335 The role of the Italian Red Cross in emergencies....Pages 336-337 Back Matter....Pages 339-339 The health professionals are continually developing effective techniques of burns and mass casualty management. In parallel, fire prevention and fire-fighting techniques have developed considerably in most communities. It is therefore surprising that, while aiming at the same objective, the two sectors have rarely come together. The Mediterranean Burns Club is a professional organization that brings together persons concerned with burns therapy and with fire safety in all forms. Identified by the United Nations as a premier scientific body in its field within the programme of the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction, it initiated the first international gathering of specialists in burns as a surgical, clinical problem, and of counterparts dealing with fires as a social, disaster problem. This novel approach and symbiosis proved timely and succesful. This, the resulting book, reflects the commitment of all concerned to the reduction of fire disasters and the improvement of burns therapy