dental identification in multiple Fatality incidents 251
should address the problem of proper decontamination of materials being
sent to the morgue area.
12.5 Interagency Relations
The initial response to any mass disaster is with local assets. There are, in most
cases, emergency plans of action in place by the local emergency response
office to activate police, fire protection, and medical services. Local agencies
may also include hazmat responders to address safety of the site. These local
agencies should be in close communication and would be best organized if
one person is assigned to supervise the operation. There should also be con-
tingency plans for contacting outside resources for assistance if the situation
becomes too complex for the local responders to handle.
Within the United States the National Disaster Medical System (NDMS)
can be activated if needed. Included in the NDMS structure is the Disaster
Mortuary Operational Response Team (DMORT). DMORT has the ability
to aid local response teams in recovering, storing, identifying, and casketing
of victims. DMORT can provide and manage a stand-alone morgue facil-
ity and supply the human resources for an extremely large MFI. DMORT
has been used effectively in responses in 2001 to the combined World Trade
Center/American Airlines Flight 587 incidents and in 2005 to the after-
maths of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. DMORT will tailor its response to the
needs of the local authorities. DMORT has three disaster-portable morgue
units (DPMUs) stored in California, Texas, and Maryland for deployment
at any time of need. In times of natural disaster the state agencies work with
their state governor to seek this aid through a presidential declaration. This
declaration sets the National Response Plan (NRP) into action, activates the
NDMS and DMORT, and releases federal funding for operations.
In the early and middle 1990s several complaints were lodged by family
members of victims killed in airplane crashes. The complaints revolved
around poor treatment and lack of communication with the families.
Congress felt strong enough about these complaints that they enacted the
Family Assistance Act of 1996. This allows the National Transportation
Board to evaluate the performance of local teams to care for these family
members and, if the response is deemed inadequate, to activate DMORT to
provide family and identification services.
In other parts of the world disaster victim identification (DVI) teams
provide services much like DMORT. They use Interpol systems for charting
and record keeping. DVI teams have been used in situations such as the Bali
bombings and the December 26, 2004 tsunami in the Indian Ocean. Most of
these units act as a resource for each country but work together in an inter-
national response when needed.