Public security

The Role Of Emergency Services in Emergency Scenarios

Last Tuesday a dangerous substance leaked from a vehicle in a main street of one of the neighborhoods in Jerusalem.  The incident caused great panic and uncertainty as to how to conduct. The incident took place during the morning, where there is much traffic with private vehicles, the light rail passing nearby, schools and shopping centers around. Instructions were to stay home and turn off the air conditioning – and we should remember that these are very hot days. Unfortunately the incident did not occur the day before, when Jerusalem saw a heat wave. Had it did, an instruction to close the air conditioning would have made the levels of anxiety and chaos rise even higher.

The responsibility for managing such an incident is the Israeli Police, as stated by a law for emergency management in fields in which it is in charge of home security. The incident combines many different services, from the fire department, to medical and rescue services, to the ministry of environmental protection, and of course the local authorities.