blue canary

n. an emergency worker (especially a police officer or first responder) whose death alerts other personnel to a hazardous situation. Subjects: English, Firefighting, Police, Slang

Etymological Note: From the use of canaries in coal mines, whose death would alert miners to the presence of dangerous gases.

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Citations: 1995 Harry Fell Usenet: misc.emerg-services (Sept. 14) “Re: COPS last saturday”: I’ve got to admit I was only a little surprised by the fact that the cops ran in the building without gear, common sense, etc. Have you ever seen cops approach the scene of a possible Haz-Mat incident? They’re not called “Blue Canaries” for nothing! 1997 Ron Martz Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Georgia) (June 29) “Army giving cities fighting chance against chemical weapons attack” p. B06: Altschul said that the first responders to any terrorist attack would likely be police or firefighters. Like the canaries once used by miners to detect poisonous methane gas, the “blue canaries,” as police and firefighters are sometimes called, would probably suffer heavy casualties until the agent is identified. 2000 Pat Reavy Deseret News (Salt Lake City, Utah) (Oct. 5) “Software shields UDOT from hazards” p. E06: Col. Rich Greenwood, UHP deputy director, said the troopers who arrive at an accident first are usually the ones in the most danger. He said the program will prevent those first-responding officers from becoming victims. “Officers will no longer be a blue canary.” 2001 John Drake Washington Times (District of Columbia) (Aug. 28) “Report criticizes ‘hazmat’ training Crews seen ‘woefully’ unprepared” p. C1: The report says the department does not outfit all its vehicles with gas detectors or binoculars, which would enable rescue workers to identify a hazardous material by a placard from a safe distance. Instead, some rescue workers say they would use the “blue canary” system, relying on the reactions of other personnel. “It’s a terrible thing, but if the police officers are falling over next to the scene, then you know not to go near it,” one medic said. 2001 Monica Rhor Miami Herald (Florida) (Nov. 11) “Terror Incident Rewrites Police Manuals” p. 1B: “This is a different kind of training, because usually an officer rushes right in. Here, we get them to approach slowly and size up the situation,” said Chinn, a former narcotics officer who first got anti-terrorism training to deal with threats from Colombian drug lords. “We don’t want firefighters to use police officers like blue canaries. If a firefighter counts down until he finds the last police officer, that’s not a good thing."…"Identify. Isolate. Notify. Stay uphill, upwind, upstream and at least 300 feet away.…Don’t be a blue canary. Don’t be a coptometer.” 2003 Phillip O'Connor St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Missouri) (Mar. 23) “Homeland Security In St. Louis” p. B6: As miners once used caged canaries to warn them of poisonous gas underground, the greatest fear of these two streetwise veterans is a “blue canary,” a police officer or emergency worker who unknowingly walks into his or her demise.

Posted 5 Jun 06 | Permalink | Tell a Friend

Reader comments:

While the word “respondent” does in fact, according to merriam-webster.com mean “one who responds,” I believe it is more common among those in the heroic professions to refer to themselvese as first responders as opposed to first respondents. Though I’m certainly no authority on the subject, I most often hear the word “respondent” in connection with civil proceedings at law or surveys.

by stephen 05 Jun 06, 0959 GMT

I think you’re right. I’ll change the definition accordingly.

by Grant Barrett 05 Jun 06, 1114 GMT