As such, the next step that they will take is to establish three incident zones to minimize the risk of spreading contamination from the incident site.
The Hot Zone includes the incident scene and the contaminated area around the scene. If the incident is outdoors, the Hot Zone will spread downwind, taking wind speed into consideration.
The Warm Zone is upwind (and upstream if the contaminant is waterborne) from the Hot Zone and is used to isolate victims during decontamination. Professional responders will hold those who require decontamination in the Warm Zone until decontamination is complete so that contaminants do not spread.
The Cold Zone is located upwind and beyond the Warm Zone. Those who are not contaminated or who have been decontaminated will be kept there until professional responders authorize them to leave.
