BLU-MED Disaster Preparedness
A BLU-MED Fabric Building with a portable ECU is used as a temporary emergency room in 2011 in Joplin, Missouri, after a deadly tornado severely damaged the city’s medical infrastructure.
For more than a decade, disaster management specialists around the world have counted on BLU-MED Response Systems® to provide rapidly deployable emergency response systems and facilities for man-made and natural disasters.
BLU-MED Fabric Buildings have been used as field hospitals, triage centers, hospital surge facilities, command centers and dozens of other disaster response and recovery applications in places such as Haiti, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Chile, Mississippi, Missouri and the Philippines.
The worldwide need for rapidly deployable tensioned membrane structures is as great as it’s ever been, and that need is putting pressure on emergency response organizations.
Disaster response and recovery costs continue to increase at a time when governmental agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGO) are seeing their budgets slashed. In response, many organizations are creating disaster preparedness plans that include emergency response stockpiles to save time and money.
With emergency response systems and fabric buildings that are easy to transport and quickly install, BLU-MED offers a wide range of field-tested products for your governmental or NGO disaster preparedness stockpile.
Two BLU-MED Response Systems in particular — the XP and the EXT Medical Trailer System — stand out for their rapid deployment capabilities.
BLU-MED® XP MEDICAL RESPONSE PACKAGES
(Left) A BLU-MED EXT Medical Trailer System featuring a tensioned membrane shelter and plug-and-play trailer. (Right) A laborer connects an XP power cable to a trailer-mounted power distribution unit.
EXT Medical Trailer Systems are designed for emergency and disaster response teams that need a rapidly deployable, turnkey shelter. XP feature the same ease of installation and rapid transportation characteristics of the BLU-MED EXT Medical Trailer System, but on a smaller scale. XP fabric tension shelters with 520 square feet of floor space can be set up in less than 10 minutes. The XP’s vinyl fabric meets military specifications for durability and has been successfully tested for use in extreme weather. XP packages include HVAC, electrical and lighting systems, as well as a trailer-mounted generator and power distribution system.
BLU-MED’s EXT Medical Trailer System trailer is 7 feet long, 14 feet wide and can be towed by pickup trucks or SUVs. The complete package weighs less than 5,000 pounds. You can add an additional 1,500-pound payload. Each trailer is outfitted with all-terrain tires that meet military specifications for safety and durability. Trailers also feature a rear door and ramp system for quick unloading.
EXT Medical Trailer System
The BLU-MED EXT Medical Trailer System includes a fabric tension structure, environmental control unit and a secure trailer. No shelter system is easier to deploy or store.
BLU-MED’s EXT Medical Trailer System provides up to 1,700 square feet of instant ward space in portable, easy-to-install shelters. The EXT Medical Trailer System is packaged into secure, ready-to-haul cargo trailers. HVAC, electrical and lighting systems are included. Portable generators can be added. BLU-MED provides multiple heavy-duty patient bed options for nursing care, special needs or intensive care. IV poles, mattresses and linens are included with each bed.
The stow-and-tow design of the EXT Medical Trailer System allows for timely response whenever disaster strikes. The EXT Medical Trailer System is easy to transport and can be towed behind pickup trucks. Equipment sets are pre-packed for hand carrying. You can safely and securely anchor your EXT Medical Trailer System to any surface with minimal to no site preparation. Once on-site, the trailer can be used for secure storage, workspace or sleeping quarters.
BLU-MED RESPONSE SYSTEMS IN THE FIELD
EARTHQUAKES
BLU-MED Fabric Structures were used for emergency response after a magnitude 7.0 earthquake devastated Haiti in 2010.
After a powerful earthquake destroyed much of Haiti’s infrastructure and killed more than 230,000 people in 2010, BLU-MED field hospitals were an integral part of the emergency medical response. Plug-and-play BLU-MED power generation and HVAC systems combined with durable fabric shelters allowed doctors and nurses to safely and effectively treat patients injured in the quake.
TORNADOES
BLU-MED Response systems were used in the wake of a deadly tornado that struck Joplin, Missouri, in 2011.
BLU-MED Medical Facilities replaced damaged hospitals and clinics after a powerful tornado in 2011 killed more than 150 people in Joplin, Missouri. Versatile BLU-MED fabric tension structures are ideal for use as intensive care units, emergency rooms, triage and isolation facilities, immunization and drug distribution centers, and ancillary clinical support buildings.
HURRICANES AND FLOODS
Plug-and-play BLU-MED shelters with environmental control units were crucial to the medical response in Mississippi after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
After Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast in 2005, BLU-MED provided emergency response systems with environmental control units and power distribution systems to bridge the gap between the number of people who needed medical care and the limited number of functioning hospitals and clinics.
TEMPORARY FACILITIES REPLACEMENT
A medical facility in Joplin, Missouri, was severely damaged in a 2011 tornado.
If medical facilities in your area are damaged in natural or man-made disasters, the BLU-MED field hospitals and medical facilities in your disaster preparedness stockpile are engineered and designed to serve as capable replacements until existing hospitals and clinics are back online, even if it takes several years.
– See more at: BLU-MED Disaster Preparedness
BLU-MED Response Systems® (BLU-MED) was formed in 2004 as a division of Alaska Defense™ – the military division of AKS Industries, Inc.
Alaska Structures (AKS) is an industry leader in designing camp; engineering fabric building systems for extreme climates. Our shelters have undergone extensive tests and have been deployed in over 85 countries with more than 28,000 Alaska Military Shelters being installed worldwide.
For more information about BLU-MED or Alaska Structures call a representative at +1-888-680-7181 or 425-739-2795.