Emergency medical services (EMS) providers are ill-prepared in the areas of training and equipment for weapons of mass destruction (WMD) events and other public health emergencies.

A nationally representative sample of the basic and paramedic emergency medical service providers in the United States was surveyed to assess whether they had received training in WMD and/or public health emergencies, as part of their initial provider training and as continuing medical education (CME) within the past 24 months. Providers also were surveyed as to whether their primary EMS agency had the necessary specialty equipment to respond to these specific events.

More than half of EMS providers had some training in WMD response. Hands-on training was associated with EMS provider comfort in responding to chemical, biological and radiological events and public health emergencies (OR = 3.2; 95% CI = 3.1–3.3). Only a small portion (18.1%) of providers surveyed indicated that their agencies had the necessary equipment to respond to a WMD event. The comfort level and having equipment to respond these incidents was not as highly associated as the comfort level and having had training to respond to these incidents.

Lack of training and education as well as the lack of necessary equipment to respond to WMD events is associated with decreased comfort among emergency medical services providers in responding to chemical, biological, and radiological incidents. Better training and access to appropriate equipment may increase provider comfort in responding to these types of incidents.