FDNY Search & Rescue Field Medicine Symposium

The FDNY and the FDNY Foundation are proud to invite all first responders to the FDNY Search & Rescue Field Medicine Symposium (SRFM).

Each year, the FDNY SRFM Symposium brings together military, federal, state, and local medical responders to share their experiences and best practices. FDNY SRFM Symposium includes discussions on current hot topics, updates on the latest medical technology, and recent case studies from around the world.

The FDNY SRFM Symposium takes place over four days with workshops, lectures, panel discussions, hands-on skills scenarios, and a vendor showcase with the latest equipment and products.

4 Day Package ($450)

• Two-day course or two pre-symposium workshops
• WTC Ceremony
• Welcome reception
• Symposium

3 Day Package ($350)

• One pre-symposium workshop on May 14 or May 15
• WTC Ceremony
• Welcome reception
• Symposium

2 Day Package ($200)

• Symposium

1-DAY WORKSHOPS

THURSDAY, MAY 14:

The Algorithm Won’t Run My Command Post, But It Can Write the Script: Ethical AI for High-Stakes MCI Simulation, Preparedness, and Training for Field EMS - MAY 14

• Field provider augmentation: Learn to use available and near-future AI tools to enhance triage accuracy, optimize patient transport logistics, and rapidly access critical decision support protocols

• Training and instruction: Gain hands-on experience using generative AI (e.g. large language models) to create dynamic, geographically-specific, and adaptive MCI scenarios for tabletop exercises (TTXs) and didactic instruction that move beyond static case studies. Participants will learn how to produce supporting videos, graphics, and scenarios

• System-level preparedness: Utilize predictive AI principles and immersive tools to stress-test your organization's resources, communication pathways, and inter-agency coordination protocols before the real event occurs

Field Management of Diving Injuries: What Every Public Safety Dive Team Must Know! - MAY 14

• Understand the physiological effects of diving and the pathophysiology of dive-related illnesses

• Identify and manage common and uncommon dive emergencies, including: decompression sickness (DCS); arterial gas embolism (AGE); barotrauma (ear, sinus, pulmonary); near-drowning/drowning; hypothermia and environmental hazards; and, working in a contaminated water environment

• Master pre-hospital assessment techniques for dive emergencies

• Understand on-scene management and rapid evacuation including indications when to transport to a hyperbaric center

Bioskills: Critical Life-Saving Procedures - MAY 14

• Learn the critical decision-making process and procedure for field limb amputations delivered by NYC’s leading trauma surgeons

• Review other critical procedural skills such as surgical airway, finger thoracostomy, thoracotomy, lateral canthotomy, post-mortem c-section

• Participate in a critical procedural skills practical lab

Bronx Zoo: Bite Me! Bites, Stings and Envenomation - MAY 14

• This workshop takes place at the Bronx Zoo, the largest metropolitan zoo in the United States

• Learn from world-renowned experts on the assessment and management of commonly encountered insects, spiders and snake bites, including a demonstration of administering antivenom for snake bites

• Participate in a guided tour of the Bronx Zoo “World of Reptiles” and exhibits of other things that bite.

FRIDAY, MAY 15:

The ABC’s of Field Blood Transfusion - MAY 15

• This workshop is taught by experienced military and civilian subject matter experts in field blood transfusion

• Examine the strategic stakeholders and steps required to establish a prehospital blood transfusion program

• Explain established standard operations procedures, protocols and guidelines

• Review several existing successful national programs

• Demonstrate and provide hands-on experience through realistic scenarios utilizing high fidelity manikins

Prehospital Point-of-Care Ultrasound - MAY 15

• Learn from some of NYC’s leading emergency medicine ultrasound faculty

• Use the latest portable devices and learn the fundamentals of point-of-care ultrasound and its application

• Participate in ultrasound applications with realistic scenarios with live models

Advanced Field Burn Care: The William Randolph Hearst Burn Center at Weill Cornell - MAY 15

• Learn from experts at the nationally renowned William Randolph Hearst Burn Center at Weill Cornell

• Review the priorities of evaluating and managing a severely burned patient with limited resources including but not limited to triaging and prioritizing the management of burned patients, airway management and ventilation support, fluid resuscitation strategies, effective pain management, and best wound care practices

Prolonged Care in Contested Environments: Decision-Making Beyond the Golden Hour - MAY 15

• Demonstrate the ability to provide safe, effective medical care for 12–48 hours with limited supplies, including triage, airway management, hemorrhage control, analgesia, fluid resuscitation, and monitoring while adapting interventions to austere, resource-denied environments

• Integrate tactical considerations such as threat, terrain, communications, and team movement—into medical decision-making, including when and how to intervene, when to move, when to hold, and how to maintain patient security during extended evacuation delays

• Maintain a casualty over prolonged timeframes, including wound care, infection prevention, hypothermia mitigation, nutrition/hydration strategies, and documentation while coordinating with team leadership and higher care assets to prepare for delayed or contested evacuation

Hands-Free Ventilation: Leveraging Mechanical Ventilation in the Out-of-Hospital and Austere Environments - MAY 15

• Review airway anatomy as it relates to ventilatory physiology

• Understand the difference between negative and positive pressure ventilation and their effects on the body

• Discuss common ventilation modes and their application to adult and pediatric patients

• Apply basic ventilation strategy to ventilator set-up and guide titration strategies

• Leverage mechanical ventilation during vertical and horizontal patient movement in complex environments

2-DAY COURSES - May 14 - May 15:

Advanced K-9 Veterinary Care Course

• Course taught by nationally recognized veterinarians in partnership with the Animal Medical Center, the world’s largest veterinary teaching hospital.-

• Learn to provide medical care for our four-legged Task Force members! The course includes both basic and advanced assessment, management, and procedures

• Features live tissue and simulated hands-on experience

• Certification provided with completion of the course

NAEMT TECC: Hands-On Active Threat Scenario

• NAEMT certification course on Tactical Emergency Casualty Care (TECC) taught by members of FDNY, NYPD and former military personnel

• Review best practice treatment guidelines for trauma care in the high-threat prehospital environment

• Participate in realistic simulated hands-on scenarios

CONFERENCE LECTURES (May 16-17):

SYMPOSIUM DAY 1

1. Keynote: Trauma Lessons Learned from Ukraine and its Application to the U.S. Prehospital Environment

• Discuss some of the trauma lessons learned on the Ukraine battlefield

• Review the need for tourniquet replacement and conversion

• Discuss the impact of modern drone warfare on prehospital care

2. Will You Ditch the Saltwater? Plasma is the Next Revolution in TBI Management

• Explain the pathophysiologic role of endothelial damage and glycocalyx degradation in traumatic brain injury and how these mechanisms influence outcomes

• Compare and contrast the effects of crystalloids, colloids, and plasma on vascular permeability, inflammation, and tissue oxygenation in TBI resuscitation

• Evaluate emerging evidence from animal models and early human trials supporting plasma as a neuroprotective resuscitation fluid in prehospital TBI management

• Identify operational and clinical considerations for implementing prehospital plasma use, including logistics, safety, and system-level coordination

3. Navy Medicine 2.0: Military-Civilian Alignment in EMS

• Discuss the intricacies, nuances, and unique operational environments of military installation EMS

• Discuss the improvements and initiatives applied to Navy and Marine Corps Federal Fire Service EMS

• Identify key lessons learned and how they can apply generally to other EMS system

4. The Bleeding Edge of Innovations in Hemorrhage Control

• Review the pathophysiology of hemorrhagic shock and the importance of effective hemorrhage control

• Review the history of the management of hemorrhage in the prehospital field to current best practices

• Examine recent advancements in blood products and biological meditators

• Explore emerging technological advancements in hemorrhage control including the use of nerve stimulators, nanotechnology and artificial intelligence

5. HALO Procedures - Why “Good Enough” is Not Good Enough

• Discuss the pitfalls of minimal compliance

• Explore what goes into developing a mastery-focused mindset

• Review strategies for effective cognitive load awareness and management

• Discuss how to promote a culture of excellence and accountability

6. Mayday! Member Down-When the Rescuer Becomes the Patient

• Discuss the integration of Mayday procedures into high-threat scenarios to improve survivability and team coordination during Mayday events

• Review suggested “high-rise” medical equipment and patient care management

SYMPOSIUM DAY 2:

1. From Chaos to Command-New Orleans EMS Response to the New Years Day Terror Attack

• Review the timeline of the attack in New Orleans

• Discuss the response provided by New Orleans EMS

• Provide an overview of the lessons learned from the attack

2. Urban Chaos, Unified Response: Prehospital Strategies for Complex Coordinated Terrorist Attacks

• Define the operational characteristics of a complex coordinated terrorist attack (CCTA) and how this differs from conventional mass casualty incidents

• Identify key prehospital challenges in CCTA scenarios, including multi-site response, responder safety, communication breakdowns, and resource saturation

• Review the principles of single command and control to optimize EMS coordination with law enforcement, fire, and emergency management during dynamic threat environments

• Review threat-informed triage and transport strategies that balance survivability, responder safety, and dynamic scene control under active threat conditions

• Evaluate lessons learned from domestic and international CCTAs and how this translates into actionable protocols

3. Life or Limb: Field Amputation to Rescue Trapped Patient

• Identify the operational and clinical challenges of performing a field amputation

• Discuss the process of performing a field amputation

• Review post-amputation care management

4. Time to Re-Set: Orthopedic Damage Control in the Field

• Assess and prioritize orthopedic injuries in the context of prolonged field care, including identification of limb-threatening versus non–limb-threatening fractures and dislocations.

• Understand effective splinting and immobilization techniques using both standard and improvised materials suitable for austere or remote environments.

• Describe the principles of fracture and joint reduction in the field, including indications, contraindications, and post-reduction assessment.

• Develop a management plan for extended care and evacuation delays, addressing pain control, neurovascular monitoring, infection prevention, and patient comfort during prolonged immobilization.

5. Next-Generation Casualty Movement: The Role of Public Safety Air Mobility in Emergency Medical Response

• Describe the emerging technologies and capabilities enabling uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) to function as drone ambulances for rapid patient and casualty transport

• Discuss potential applications of drone ambulances in mass casualty incidents (MCI), remote area response, and urban emergency medical services.

• Analyze the operational, logistical, and ethical considerations in deploying drones for medical evacuation and supply delivery

• Evaluate future integration models between drone ambulances, traditional EMS systems, and hospital-based receiving facilities

6. Artificial Intelligence in Trauma

• Review the meaning of abbreviations commonly used in AI

• Discuss the potential concerns and potential errors that can occur when using AI to care for patients

• Explore how AI can aid in documentation

• Discuss how AI can provide decision support in the field and in the hospital

7. Panel Discussion: Challenges and Opportunities for Medical Special Operations

LECTURE TRACK:

SYMPOSIUM AFTERNOON LECTURE TRACKS

1. Goal-Based Preparedness: Building the Medical Formation for 2026

• Review the event structure for the FIFA World Cup 2026

• Discuss mega sporting event medical preparedness

• Describe regional medical organization and preparation for the World Cup

2. Beyond Chaos: Modern Best Practices for Managing Mass Casualty Incidents in EMS

• Describe the five phases of modern MCI response and the key decision points in each

• Review evidence-based triage, treatment, transport, and tracking strategies during MASCAL events

• Review command and control structures that work reliably in chaotic, multiagency environments

• Explore resource deployment and staging to reduce congestion and streamline patient flow

• Review communication strategies that prevent information collapse under stress

• Discuss the integration of fire, EMS, police, and hospitals into a unified MCI operational framework

3. Optimizing Human Performance at Fires and Other Emergencies

• Identify those characteristics and attributes which are associated with operational performance (and leadership) at fires and other emergencies of consequence

• Develop an increasingly nuanced appreciation for the effects and impacts of operational stress on tactical performance

• Review the efforts needed to quantify the levels of psychophysiological stress and key takeaways

4. High-Acuity Patient Care and Operational Complexities of Mass Gathering Medicine: Lessons from the TCS NYC Marathon and Major Music Festivals

• Compare medical planning and resource deployment for geographically dispersed (Marathons) versus high-density (Festivals) event environments

• Detail the seamless integration of event medical services into a Unified Command structure for Mass Casualty Incident (MCI) response

• Explain the use of real-time situational awareness technology to extend advanced life support capabilities in austere and rapidly changing field conditions

AFTERNOON HANDS-ON SCENARIOS TRACK

High fidelity, virtual reality and realistic hands-on simulated incidents with instructor-lead training and multiple skills stations including subway simulator and high-rise building scenarios

A. Rotation - Mayday Operations

• Demonstrate correct firefighter packaging and removal from an IDLH environment by securing a downed member and moving them along a designated egress route to a safe area

• Learn emergent doffing of PPE by using the “hockey jersey” and cutting methods as appropriate to rapidly remove gear from a downed firefighter while protecting the airway and minimizing further injury

• Review the approach to difficult airway management in a downed firefighter by performing basic airway maneuvers, placing appropriate adjuncts, and securing an advanced airway device with confirmation of placement

• Understand burn assessment and management, including removing constricting items, applying appropriate dressings, and initiating fluid and pain management measures on a simulated firefighter burn patient

• Review the assessment and indications for the treatment of smoke inhalation, including the preparation of antidotes, obtaining IV access, and administering medications to a simulated smoke-inhalation victim

B. Rotation - Response to Terrorism (RTE)

• Display correct subterranean patient movement by packaging and transporting a simulated patient using a sked, wheeled litter, and Nolan cart through a subway environment while maintaining spinal alignment, scene safety while using effective team communication

• Operate in an active shooter subway scenario by safely entering the train and platforms, locate simulated casualties, perform appropriate drags/carries to designated safe areas

• Demonstrate proper hemorrhage control by identifying life-threatening bleeding on a blast-injured high-fidelity manikin and apply tourniquets, wound packing, and direct pressure using TCCC/MARCH principles, in addition to simulated field blood transfusion

FDNY Robotis Unit

• Review the various equipment the FDNY Robotics Unit uses to help manage operations in NYC including fire and EMS operations, water rescue, beach life safety

• Observe demonstrations of robotics use in reconnaissance, aerial triage, and the delivery of equipment in areas of difficult access

• Integrate robotics into live search and rescue scenarios to simulate complex, high risk environments and evaluate how robotic platforms extend human reach, improve situational awareness, and reduce responder exposure to hazards

Training, Innovation & Leadership Institute (TILI) Hercules Trailer

• Use the mobile medical training and simulation suite that is configurable for interior trauma lanes, MARCH sequence training, airway and hemorrhage control stations, moulage preparation, and high-fidelity manikin integration

• Utilize the scenario enhancement systems that integrate smoke, sound, and visual cues for Laser Shot® / Shot Box™ active-threat simulations

• Review field classroom capabilities such as convertible space for briefings, hot-washes, instructional sessions, and small-group learning with seating, monitors, and training aids.

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