Factors influencing the pre-hospital management of civilian burn mass casualty incidents in the 21st century: a scoping review
Abstract Background Burn mass casualty incidents (BMCI) are unique and catastrophic events that are uncommon but recurring and comprehensively challenge all emergency services involved. The causes range from forces of nature to accidental or intentional explosions, indoor fires and chemical burns. A...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
BMC
2025-05-01
|
| Series: | Scandinavian Journal of Trauma, Resuscitation and Emergency Medicine |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s13049-025-01380-9 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1850284557658488832 |
|---|---|
| author | Andreas Lindquist Resha Al-Azzawi Torsten Risør Lasse Raatiniemi |
| author_facet | Andreas Lindquist Resha Al-Azzawi Torsten Risør Lasse Raatiniemi |
| author_sort | Andreas Lindquist |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Burn mass casualty incidents (BMCI) are unique and catastrophic events that are uncommon but recurring and comprehensively challenge all emergency services involved. The causes range from forces of nature to accidental or intentional explosions, indoor fires and chemical burns. A growing population, climate change exacerbated fire weather, increasing industrial activity and a rising threat of worldwide transnational terrorism all increase the risk of BMCIs. Emergency response strategies are thus of critical importance and can be improved upon by learning from previous incidents through the identification of recurrent themes. Objectives Identify, categorise, and describe key themes and factors reported as having a favourable or detrimental influence on the professional management of civilian BMCIs. Materials and methods A scoping review following the Arksey and O’Malley framework with enhancements by Levac, Colquhoun and O’Brien, and PRISMA-ScR, was conducted using six electronic databases, including a search for grey literature from January 2001 to March 2024. A total of 51 documents, containing descriptions, discussions, and/or experiences of the pre-hospital management of burn mass casualty incidents in civilian, non-war settings, were included and analysed using thematic analysis for qualitative data and labelled for themes and factors. Results Thirteen key themes and 71 factors were identified to influence the pre-hospital management of BMCIs. The key themes were Command, Communication, Contextual, Education, Environment, Evacuation, Fortuity, Human Factors, Preparedness, Response Tactics, Safety, Triage, and Volunteer. The 71 identified factors were for example self-evacuation, varied non-medical transport methods, traffic congestion and decontamination. Conclusion The identified themes and factors provide insights from real-life incidents on what is reported to influence the situation at hand. The identified factors can be used to target specific areas for further improvement in future BMCIs, particularly in preparedness planning and training, for example by taking self-evacuation into account in future disaster plans. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-8a94d67ec748450699aadfc8cbc686c7 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1757-7241 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scandinavian Journal of Trauma, Resuscitation and Emergency Medicine |
| spelling | doaj-art-8a94d67ec748450699aadfc8cbc686c72025-08-20T01:47:32ZengBMCScandinavian Journal of Trauma, Resuscitation and Emergency Medicine1757-72412025-05-0133111610.1186/s13049-025-01380-9Factors influencing the pre-hospital management of civilian burn mass casualty incidents in the 21st century: a scoping reviewAndreas Lindquist0Resha Al-Azzawi1Torsten Risør2Lasse Raatiniemi3Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health Science, UiT The Arctic University of NorwayDepartment of Community Medicine, Faculty of Health Science, UiT The Arctic University of NorwaySection for General Practice & Research Unit for General Practice Zealand, Department of Public Health, University of CopenhagenDepartment of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health Science, UiT The Arctic University of NorwayAbstract Background Burn mass casualty incidents (BMCI) are unique and catastrophic events that are uncommon but recurring and comprehensively challenge all emergency services involved. The causes range from forces of nature to accidental or intentional explosions, indoor fires and chemical burns. A growing population, climate change exacerbated fire weather, increasing industrial activity and a rising threat of worldwide transnational terrorism all increase the risk of BMCIs. Emergency response strategies are thus of critical importance and can be improved upon by learning from previous incidents through the identification of recurrent themes. Objectives Identify, categorise, and describe key themes and factors reported as having a favourable or detrimental influence on the professional management of civilian BMCIs. Materials and methods A scoping review following the Arksey and O’Malley framework with enhancements by Levac, Colquhoun and O’Brien, and PRISMA-ScR, was conducted using six electronic databases, including a search for grey literature from January 2001 to March 2024. A total of 51 documents, containing descriptions, discussions, and/or experiences of the pre-hospital management of burn mass casualty incidents in civilian, non-war settings, were included and analysed using thematic analysis for qualitative data and labelled for themes and factors. Results Thirteen key themes and 71 factors were identified to influence the pre-hospital management of BMCIs. The key themes were Command, Communication, Contextual, Education, Environment, Evacuation, Fortuity, Human Factors, Preparedness, Response Tactics, Safety, Triage, and Volunteer. The 71 identified factors were for example self-evacuation, varied non-medical transport methods, traffic congestion and decontamination. Conclusion The identified themes and factors provide insights from real-life incidents on what is reported to influence the situation at hand. The identified factors can be used to target specific areas for further improvement in future BMCIs, particularly in preparedness planning and training, for example by taking self-evacuation into account in future disaster plans.https://doi.org/10.1186/s13049-025-01380-9Burn mass casualty incidentsMass casualty incidentsEmergency servicesEmergency responseResponse strategyPre-hospital management |
| spellingShingle | Andreas Lindquist Resha Al-Azzawi Torsten Risør Lasse Raatiniemi Factors influencing the pre-hospital management of civilian burn mass casualty incidents in the 21st century: a scoping review Scandinavian Journal of Trauma, Resuscitation and Emergency Medicine Burn mass casualty incidents Mass casualty incidents Emergency services Emergency response Response strategy Pre-hospital management |
| title | Factors influencing the pre-hospital management of civilian burn mass casualty incidents in the 21st century: a scoping review |
| title_full | Factors influencing the pre-hospital management of civilian burn mass casualty incidents in the 21st century: a scoping review |
| title_fullStr | Factors influencing the pre-hospital management of civilian burn mass casualty incidents in the 21st century: a scoping review |
| title_full_unstemmed | Factors influencing the pre-hospital management of civilian burn mass casualty incidents in the 21st century: a scoping review |
| title_short | Factors influencing the pre-hospital management of civilian burn mass casualty incidents in the 21st century: a scoping review |
| title_sort | factors influencing the pre hospital management of civilian burn mass casualty incidents in the 21st century a scoping review |
| topic | Burn mass casualty incidents Mass casualty incidents Emergency services Emergency response Response strategy Pre-hospital management |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s13049-025-01380-9 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT andreaslindquist factorsinfluencingtheprehospitalmanagementofcivilianburnmasscasualtyincidentsinthe21stcenturyascopingreview AT reshaalazzawi factorsinfluencingtheprehospitalmanagementofcivilianburnmasscasualtyincidentsinthe21stcenturyascopingreview AT torstenrisør factorsinfluencingtheprehospitalmanagementofcivilianburnmasscasualtyincidentsinthe21stcenturyascopingreview AT lasseraatiniemi factorsinfluencingtheprehospitalmanagementofcivilianburnmasscasualtyincidentsinthe21stcenturyascopingreview |