The 2^nd International Meeting on Disaster Response was held in Toulouse on April 24, 25 and 26, 2024. Over 400 participants took part in the event (at the SDIS Colomiers and the congress center of Toulouse University Hospital) to attend :

• conferences,
• workshops,
• demonstrations.

The world’s leading experts in disaster response were present, and over 30 nationalities came together over the 3 days to discuss disaster management training.

The CRC (Center of Disaster Response) was at the heart of this organization, bringing together :

• SDIS 31,
• prefecture of the Occitanie region,
• ARS Occitanie,
• Paul Sabatier University,
• Toulouse University Hospital with SAMU 31.

The organizing and scientific committees benefited from the support of the BIDMC Disaster Fellowship, with which Toulouse University Hospital has a partnership since 2019.

The SFMC, SFMU and WADEM (World Association for Emergency and Disaster Medicine) contributed their scientific partnership, and the Occitanie region contributed to its dissemination.

To mark the occasion, the new environmental and neurosensory simulation center (SENS) of Toulouse University Hospital was inaugurated on April 25, with a simulation exercise involving a chemical plant explosion and first aid intervention. The event was widely covered by the media and broadcast on international news channels.

Demonstrations

On the afternoon of April 24, 2024, participants were able to attend demonstrations of :

• PCO and mobile hospital set-up,
• decontamination and extrication with SDIS 31 and SAMU 31,
• terrorist risk security with RAID,
• verticality demonstration with the High Mountain Platoon,
• floor rescue with SDIS,
• explosive effects and robot means with CID

Workshops

Interactive and participative workshops were offered to congress participants on April 25 and 26, and proved a great success.

These included :

• A CBRN tabletop exercise led by the BIDMC Disaster Fellowship teaching team, involving all the players from the Toulouse CRC. The aim was to compare the American and French models of response to a CBRN situation.
• Hospital crisis management (Marie Ged and Christophe Van der Linde -EHESP),
• Human factors in crisis situations (Marie Pery -BSPP) presented,
• A tool to assist the dispatching center facing an exceptional health situation (Antoine Aubrion)
• SINUS/SIVIC victim assessment (ARS Occitanie),
• A civil security risk simulation tool (Euro-Mediterranean Risk Simulation Center),
• Demonstrations of SENS functionalities.

Conference sessions

The conference sessions focused on the major current themes in disaster medicine, such as:

• pedagogical innovations in disaster preparedness,
• disaster response around the world,
• gathering event preparation,
• training and crisis anticipation,
• how to cope with major disasters ?

Lectures of the highest quality were given by :

• Pr. Gregory Ciottone of Harvard Medical School,
• Pr. Kobi Peleg of Tel Aviv University,
• Dr Don Donahue, WADEM president,
• Pr. Shinichi Egawa of Tokohu University,
• Pr. Frédéric Dorandeu of the Service de Santé des Armées,
• Dr. Flavio Salio of WHO and many other outstanding speakers.

An European session was dedicated to trans-Pyrenean organization and response, with conferences focusing on :

• cross-border healthcare cooperation,
• its achievements for the partners in the EGALURG project,
• the newly-funded SA-URG thanks to the INTERREG VI-A POCTEFA France-Andorra-Spain program.

The session brought together representatives from :

• SALUD Aragon,
• SEM Barcelona,
• Navarrabiomed.

Enthusiastic feedback from participants

By the end of the 2^nd International Meeting on Disaster Response, feedback were unanimous on :

• the quality of the speakers,
• the interest of the lectures,
• the innovative nature of the workshops.

The World Organization for Emergency and Disaster Medicine (WADEM) also praised the excellence of the event, awarding it its «approved by WADEM» label, a guarantee of the event’s quality and international standing.