First responders as crime scene investigators

DEFINITION: Specifically trained persons who are first to arrive at emergency or disaster scenes, including military personnel, law enforcement personnel, firefighters, emergency medical technicians and paramedics, health care professionals, public works officials, and professionals who work with animals trained in search and rescue.

SIGNIFICANCE: First responders not only carry out search-and-rescue missions but also preserve forensic evidence at emergency and disaster scenes to enable investigators to identify the dead, determine the causes of the events, and conduct related criminal investigations.

Many different kinds of professionals classified as first responders work for private, public, or governmental agencies—federal, state, and local governments; the private sector; and nongovernmental entities and organizations. As first responders, they are usually certified to carry out specific emergency management tasks. First responders in the United States receive training concerning the National Incident Management System (NIMS), which uses the Incident Command System to ensure coordinated responses at scenes of emergencies or disasters. Some states, such as California, mandate by law that all first responders have a certain level of emergency medical training. The federal government, especially the Department of Homeland Security, provides much of the funding for such training and for the equipment necessary to respond to emergencies and disasters; however, training can be funded through state or local agencies and other federal grants.

First responders can be found at the scenes of crimes, terrorist attacks, fires, vehicle accidents, hazardous spills at manufacturing plants, contagious disease outbreaks, downed utility lines, and natural or human-made disasters involving thousands of people. Not all persons who are the first to arrive at emergency scenes are traditional first responders. Nontraditional first responders might include flight attendants, sports coaches, lifeguards, and teachers, who may have no training in any emergency procedures beyond simple first aid. After the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City and on the Pentagon, lay rescuers became increasingly involved in early responses to emergencies in the United States. The enormity of the response and recovery needs experienced as a result of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 added to this trend, and many people in positions to become lay responders began to receive training in fire safety, first aid, the Heimlich maneuver, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), and the use of automated external defibrillators (AEDs).

Roles and Responsibilities

Although first responders can be found around the globe, the public became more aware of the roles of first responders in the United States after the 2001 terrorist attacks that caused the collapse of the World Trade Center towers in New York City. In 2003, in response to those attacks, US president George W. Bush issued a presidential directive that established the NIMS and National Response Plan (replaced by the National Response Framework in 2008) to define a standard approach to manage emergencies such as natural disasters or terrorist attacks in the United States. Another presidential directive defined first responders as those skilled individuals involved in the first stages of an incident who carry out many roles for the purposes of protecting and preserving people and property, evidence, and the environment. The foremost objective of first responders is to protect humans from injury and death. First responders also protect animals. In addition, first responders play major roles in protecting property from damage and destruction and in preserving forensic evidence.

First responders participate in the multiple phases of the disaster management cycle, which include planning, prevention and mitigation, response, and recovery. First responders take specific actions depending on the types of emergencies or disasters that have taken place, whether natural or human-made. The duties of first responders are usually established in the federal, state, local, and private emergency response plans adopted by the governmental or nongovernmental entities that engage the services of the responders or volunteers. The National Response Framework describes fifteen emergency support functions (ESFs); these further delineate the roles of first responders at the various levels of government when the president declares a national emergency.

Second Responders

First responders may become overwhelmed during serious disasters and may need to call on others for assistance. These others, sometimes known as second responders, include people from charitable organizations such as the Red Cross. In 2002, President Bush encouraged all Americans to volunteer service through the USA Freedom Corps during times of emergencies and disasters. Some of the newest emergency response volunteer organizations in the United States are part of the Citizen Corps, which was established after the September 11, 2001, attacks. Other organizations, such as faith-based and secular service organizations, also stepped up in greater numbers after the 2001 attacks to offer their services in assisting first responders.

Because first responders may need to rely on second responders, the US Department of Homeland Security works with state and local governments and nongovernmental entities to provide training and certification for persons who are likely to participate in emergency and disaster response before they partner with first responders. Such training and certification enable second responders to partner effectively with first responders and to follow the Incident Command System. Moreover, second responders who receive this training learn how to protect victims and property, thus ensuring the preservation of forensic evidence at emergency and disaster scenes.

Bibliography

Alexander, David. Principles of Emergency Planning and Management. Oxford UP, 2002.

Bergeron, J. David, et al. First Responder. 7th ed., Prentice Hall, 2004.

Bullock, Jane, and George Haddow. Introduction to Emergency Management. 2nd ed., Butterworth-Heinemann, 2005.

Bullock, Jane, et al. Introduction to Homeland Security. 4th ed., Butterworth-Heinemann, 2012.

“Homeland Security Presidential Directive–5: Management of Domestic Incidents.” US Department of Homeland Security, 28 Feb. 2003, www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/Homeland%20Security%20Presidential%20Directive%205.pdf. Accessed 20 Jan. 2026.

“Homeland Security Presidential Directive–8: National Preparedness.” US Department of Homeland Security, 17 Dec. 2003, irp.fas.org/offdocs/nspd/hspd-8.html. Accessed 20 Jan. 2026.

Limmer, Daniel, et al. First Responder: A Skills Approach. 7th ed., Prentice Hall, 2006.

“National Response Framework.” Library of Congress, 2015, www.loc.gov/item/2023693107/. Accessed 20 Jan. 2026.

Price, Timothy, and Rory M. O’Neill. "EMS Crime Scene Responsibility." StatPearls, National Library of Medicine, 28 Mar. 2025, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK499999/. Accessed 27 Jan. 2026.