Trial by Fire: Insights from the Frontlines of a Burn Disaster Response

Following an urban residential explosion, an ethics approved anonymous 15-question digital REDCap survey was provided to management or administrative support personnel for distribution in the Emergency Department, Intensive Care Unit, Inpatient Burn Unit, and Outpatient Burn Clinic of a level one trauma and burn centre to assess the strengths and issues identified from an all hazards disaster response for distribution of each respective service area. Sixteen responses to the multiselected and free text questions were collected. Thematic analysis of free text answers was completed by all three authors independently and compared for consistency. Participants were evenly distributed related to their time of interaction with response to incident. Respondents indicated strong initial response capacity, with minimal/nonexistent challenges identified in the earliest phases. However, supply availability, staffing, and physical space were challenging in the 2 weeks to 6 months phase. The lack of recognition of the ongoing challenges faced by staff in the long-term following the incident was highlighted as a concern. However, across all phases, teamwork was consistently rated highly. The results have been applied to evolving the burn mass casualty incident plan and future table top exercises to address centre needs beyond the initial response phase.