EMERGENCY BRIGADES: COMPOSITION, FUNCTIONS, TYPES - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

The emergency brigades are groups of people organized and trained to prevent or control risk or emergency situations. They are made up of professionals from the security forces, who are prepared to intervene in the face of contingency scenarios, such as fires, attacks, earthquakes, floods, epidemics or serious accidents.

Within a company, employees or officials who were duly trained to safeguard and assist others in times of danger or insecurity are also called emergency brigades.

The emergency brigades are in charge of offering first aid, fighting fires and leading the evacuation of buildings. Source: pixabay.com

Among other tasks, these crisis specialists are more than qualified to offer first aid, lead an evacuation, search and rescue people, fight fires.

In many countries, companies, schools and other public and private institutions are required by law to have brigades that allow them to prevent and manage safety and health in their establishments.

Formation of emergency brigades

In general, the emergency brigades are made up of a security committee, a general leader, group leaders, and brigade members.

Safety committee

It is the area in charge of designing contingency plans that are put into operation during crisis situations.

Among their tasks are to train and train the brigade members, so that they can act efficiently and in an organized manner in these types of circumstances.

In addition, the safety committee is also in charge of analyzing possible risk scenarios within the establishments, in order to take preventive measures before they occur.

General leader

He is the person in charge of making decisions and guiding operations during emergency situations.

When these are presented, you need to quickly bring the group leaders together to convey the action plan and next steps. Then she takes care of supervising that the tasks are carried out correctly.

Group leaders

They are responsible for keeping the brigade ready and operational before, during and after crisis situations.

They are in charge of assigning tasks and distributing responsibilities to the members of their groups, in addition to motivating them and keeping morale high in the face of the emergency.

They must be people with command capacity and ability to direct activities.

Brigadistas

The profile of the brigade members includes people with a willingness to serve, aptitude for teamwork, responsibility and commitment to assigned tasks.

Its members must apply of their own free will and be trained in different techniques and skills to act in emergency situations.

On the other hand, each member must be in good physical condition and be recognized by their peers and colleagues.

In addition, it is important that you do not suffer from claustrophobia, vertigo or another similar condition, as well as that you have emotional stability, self-control and organizational skills.

Brigade functions

The members of the brigade have to implement and assume different functions before, during and after the emergency.

Before the emergency

Before any catastrophe or crisis situation occurs, its members must be trained in prevention and control tasks. This includes first aid, evacuation plans, fire fighting and rescue of people, among other initiatives.

In addition, it is important that its members are familiar with the location of emergency exits and that they have adequate materials for the different actions, such as a medical kit to treat wounds, fire extinguishers, protective helmets and suitable clothing.

In turn, this equipment must be inspected periodically to guarantee its operation.

On the other hand, it is key to do evacuation drills so that both team members and the rest of the staff gain experience and know how to act in each case.

During the emergency

Faced with the crisis situation, the members of the brigade must go to the meeting points to meet with the rest of the team.

Depending on the assigned task, they will have to trigger the alarm, communicate with internal and external authorities, act against the focus of the conflict, provide relief or protect and evacuate the rest of the people.

It is essential that all members act in a coordinated manner and follow the directives of the leader and group leaders.

After the emergency

Once all the people are in a safe place, the brigadista should do a count to make sure that nobody is missing.

In addition, when the crisis is over, it is important to take stock of the team's performance to make any adjustments or modifications that are necessary in the contingency plan.

On the other hand, all the materials used must be replaced so that they are again available in any other situation that may arise.

Types of brigades

The first aid brigade takes care of people who have suffered some kind of accident until the arrival of a professional doctor. Source: pixabay.com

The brigades are generally divided into three teams: first aid, evacuation, and fire control.

First aid brigade

Its members must be trained to provide the necessary help to people who have suffered some type of accident or illness until the arrival of a professional doctor.

This includes checking the general state of consciousness and vital signs, and treating possible injuries. In the event of failure to breathe or cardiac arrest, they must be prepared to carry out resuscitation techniques.

It is important that the members of this brigade have a list of the chronic diseases of the people in their charge and have refills of the specific drugs for these purposes.

In the same way, first aid kits must be current and complete. This includes material for the cleaning and protection of tissues, solutions for disinfection, elastic bandages and tables for immobilization and other complementary elements.

The first aid brigade is identified by the color white.

Evacuation brigade

Its members are in charge of organizing and coordinating the evacuation in case of collapse, fire or other situations in which it is necessary to vacate a property.

For this they must be familiar with all possible routes and exits and know how to move in sensitive areas.

Before any crisis, they should post markers in offices, rooms, stairs and doors, and designate a meeting point outside the building.

During the march, some members of the team usually stand in front of the group to guide it, others in the middle to speed up the movement and eliminate possible obstacles, and the rest in the rear to ensure that no one is left in the way.

The evacuation brigade is identified by the color orange.

Fire control brigade

Its members are in charge of preventing and controlling possible sources of fire.

For this they must be trained to distinguish between different types of fire and know how to operate hoses, fire extinguishers and other extinguishing equipment.

In addition, this brigade also takes care of rescue tasks, if necessary. It is identified with the color red.

Emergency brigades in Colombia, Mexico and Peru

Colombia

In that country, the current regulations establish that companies must develop activities for the prevention and control of occupational accidents and occupational diseases.

Law 9 of 1979, for example, determines that "in every workplace it must have trained personnel, methods, equipment, and adequate and sufficient materials for the prevention and extinction of fires."

Meanwhile, resolution 2400 of the same year decrees that the companies "will establish among their workers a brigade made up of volunteer personnel duly trained for the work of extinguishing fires within the work zone."

On the other hand, resolution 1016 of 1989 indicates the need to establish contingency plans and select and train brigade members for evacuation in cases of emergency.

Mexico

In this country, the Ministry of Health approved a regulation on basic sanitary and environmental conditions in the workplace.

In its article 110 b.9 it determines that these “must have an emergency brigade, the number of which will be determined by the administration in accordance with the extent of the tasks and the number of workers, which will be responsible for acting only in case of emergency to attend to the injured until they obtain professional attention.

On the other hand, the norm establishes that its members “must receive instruction annually, lasting two hours, in the following subjects:

a) Attention to injured persons, first aid, basic management of multiple injuries and extrication.

b) Standard precautions in health care, such as protection from pathogens in the blood.

c) Basic concepts of physiological alterations and pathologies produced and related to altitude.

d) Basic concepts of confined space, chemical leaks, fire and spills ”.

Peru

In this country, the occupational health and safety law number 29783 of 2011, and its respective regulations, indicate that companies are required to have a health and safety management system.

In turn, within this plan the regulations determine that they must "organize trained and trained first aid teams or brigades to respond to emergency situations."

References

1. Mining Safety Magazine (2018). How to form emergency brigades? Chile. Available at: revistaseguridadminera.com
2. Cooperative University of colombia. Emergency Brigades. Available at: ucc.edu.co
3. Sanchez Abril, Alejandro (2018). Manual of first intervention in emergencies: Action and management of risk situations. Editorial Tébar Flores. Madrid. Spain.
4. Flores, Rafael (2017). Objectives of emergency brigade training. El Siglo newspaper. Guatemala.
5. Colombian Red Cross. Emergency Brigades. Available at: cruzrojacolombiana.org