Second responder

A second responder is a worker who operates during recovery following manmade and natural disasters. These people are vital to the restoration of disaster sites after recovery operations, as well as enabling businesses to get "back to normal" as soon as practicable.

Second responders include skilled construction workers, who support police, fire, medical and other “first responders,” performing demolition, electrical and pipeline maintenance, hazardous waste cleanup and equipment operations.

Others handle traffic control, and a great number of second responders work on restarting business activities and public services, such as information technology systems, privately owned public infrastructure, building operations, and health care organizations. The overriding objective of these designated professionals is to quickly enable people to get back to work and ensure the viability, continuity and recovery of economic life for public and private-sector organizations.

Because identifying and empowering second responders helps make the difference between lingering disruption and the necessary and timely restoration of daily life, many state and local governments are adopting the unique “second responder” identification protocol known as the Corporate Emergency Access System(CEAS).

CEAS was developed in New York State during the 1990’s by the Business Network of Emergency Resources, a not-for-profit organization which pioneered this emergency-identification-card-based capability.