Which action is included in the termination steps after decon has been completed?

• A. Notify the public
• B. Document the incident
• C. Conduct a post-incident critique
• D. Release the area to jurisdiction without documentation

Answer: (C)

Concluding a hazmat response requires a formal review that captures what happened, what was done well, and what needs to improve. This post-incident critique is the structured debrief that closes the incident, identifies lessons learned, and feeds into an after-action report to prevent recurrence of gaps in training, procedures, or equipment. It provides the essential feedback loop for continuous improvement.

Notifying the public and documenting the incident are important parts of the overall response, but they occur as separate activities or records rather than the formal closeout. Releasing the area to jurisdiction without proper documentation would skip necessary records and handover steps, which is not appropriate.