Who is responsible to assure gross decon is established and oversee the gross decon area?

• A. First arriving rescue chief
• B. Incident commander
• C. Fire marshal
• D. Decon supervisor

Answer: (A)

Gross decontamination must be stood up immediately to stop contaminants from spreading and to protect both victims and responders. The first arriving rescue chief is in the lead on scene and has the authority to establish critical safety controls right away. Because they set the initial incident command, they’re the one who ensures a gross decon area is created, properly located just outside the hot zone, and staffed with the people and resources needed to run it effectively. This rapid setup helps prevent secondary exposure and keeps operations moving safely.

A later incident commander would take overall command as the scene evolves, and a decon supervisor would manage the decon area day-to-day once it’s up and running. The fire marshal generally isn’t tasked with directing on-scene decon operations during active incident response.