Emergency Services Interoperability at Incidents

1. Emergency Services Interoperabilityat Incidents

2. Aim: To ensure on-scene commanders have an understanding of the roles, structures, responsibilities, expectations and capabilities of each service.

3. Objectives: To help Emergency Service personnel to: • Appreciate common emergency response objectives for all services. • Understand all the Emergency Services’ command, capabilities and responsibilities. • Achieve common situational awareness during an incident. • Effectively interact between Services to bring incidents to a successful conclusion.

4. Multi-Agency Interoperability ‘The extent to which organisations can work together coherently as a matter of routine’ It is necessary for all involved in the achievement of interoperability to understand that: • The Emergency Services are not interchangeable. • Each Service has different, but complementary, roles and responsibilities. • Each Service has developed different approaches to managing risk. • Each Service has access to specialist capabilities which may not be immediately available at a local level. • The co-ordinating agency may depend on the needs of the incident.

5. Multi-Agency Interoperability ‘The extent to which organisations can work together coherently as a matter of routine’ To achieve interoperability, at all levels of the Emergency Services there needs to be: • An understanding of respective roles and responsibilities (capability, capacity and limitations) • Familiarity between the emergency services; and • An ability for the emergency services to communicate meaningfully and work together

6. Common Objectives: • Priority 1 To Save and Preserve Life • Priority 2 Mitigate/minimise the impact of the incident • Priority 3 Support a return to a new normality In order to deliver these, a further common objective is: • To support the work of emergency service partners For clarity of purpose, the following slides set out the key roles and responsibilities for each Service

7. Roles and Responsibilities - Police • Police • Protect life and property • Co-ordinate the multi-agency response • Protect and preserve the scene and investigate the incident • Prevent crime and disorder • Collate and disseminate casualty information • Fire • Save Life • Protect Property • Protect the Environment • Provide assistance in support of local communities • Ambulance • Save Life and prevent further suffering • Facilitate Patient Triage • Provide casualty treatment and transport to the most appropriate facility • Co-ordinate all health resources supporting the incident

8. Roles and Responsibilities - Fire • Police • Protect life and property • Co-ordinate the multi-agency response • Protect and preserve the scene and investigate the incident • Prevent crime and disorder • Collate and disseminate casualty information • Fire • Save Life • Protect Property • Protect the Environment • Provide assistance in support of local communities • Ambulance • Save Life and prevent further suffering • Facilitate Patient Triage • Provide casualty treatment and transport to the most appropriate facility • Co-ordinate all health resources supporting the incident

9. Roles and Responsibilities - Ambulance • Police • Protect life and property • Co-ordinate the multi-agency response • Protect and preserve the scene and investigate the incident • Prevent crime and disorder • Collate and disseminate casualty information • Fire • Save Life • Protect Property • Protect the Environment • Provide assistance in support of local communities • Ambulance • Save Life and prevent further suffering • Facilitate Patient Triage • Provide casualty treatment and transport to the most appropriate facility • Co-ordinate all health resources supporting the incident

10. Service Capabilities - Police Specific capabilities that the Police Service can provide include the following: • Road Policing/Traffic Officers • ‘Beat’ Officers and PCSOs – outer cordon and traffic control. • Mounted Officers • Dog Units • Public order • Firearms units • Surveillance • Crime Scene Investigation (Forensics) • Chemical, Biological, Radioactive and Nuclear (CBRN) • Air Support • Underwater Search • Disaster Victim Identification • Counter Terrorism Network

11. Service Capabilities - Fire Specific capabilities that the Fire and Rescue Service can provide include the following: • Fire-fighting • Road Traffic Collisions • Rescues from height and depth • Water Rescue • Environmental Protection (1st Response) • Hazardous Material Incidents • Canine Search (Live Bodies) • Aerial Ladder Appliances • Specialist Response to Firearm Incidents • National - Inter Agency Liaison Officer (N-ILO) • Detection, Identification & Monitoring (National Resilience) • Mass Decontamination of Public/Emergency Responders (National Resilience) • Rescues from collapsed structures, trenches and heavy transport incidents (Urban Search and Rescue - National Resilience) • High Volume Pumps (National Resilience)

12. Service Capabilities - Ambulance Specific capabilities that the Ambulance Service can provide include the following: • Paramedics and Emergency Medical Technicians crewing Ambulances or Solo responder vehicles (Cars , Motorbikes and Pedal Cycles) • Advanced Paramedics and Emergency Care Practitioners • Incident Management including Patient Triage, Emergency medical treatment and transport to definitive care • Temporary Structures (Casualty Clearing and Decontamination facilities) • Clinical Decontamination • Hazard Area Response Teams (HART) • Urban Search and Rescue, Inland Water Rescue, Inner Cordon Response& Safe Working at Height • Specialist Response to Firearms Incidents • Inter-agency Liaison Officers (N-ILO)/Tactical Advisors • Radiation Protection Supervisors/Advisors • BASICS/Medical Advisors • Community Responders • Air Ambulance

13. Command Structures – Bronze • Initial Response • Manage front line operations at the scene • Also known as Operational • Implement safe systems of work • Manage front line operations and tactical plan • Assess need for further resources

14. On Scene Command • Identify and establish a dialogue with the on-scene commander from each Service • Identify a suitable Forward Control Point for co-ordination of on scene activities • This may be at scene or nearby dependent upon incident • This should preferably be a physical asset e.g. A Command vehicle • Communications • Use ‘Plain English’ • Consider the need for a common Airwave command channel • Consider the need for Airwave tactical advice • Many Fire and Ambulance Services have Inter Agency Liaison Officers (ILOs) specifically trained to understand and communicate with the other Services

15. On Scene Risk Assessment • Each service is required to identify hazards, assess risks and take action to eliminate or reduce risk. • Each service has a different model, but • Sharing information on hazards, risks and control measures will deliver a more robust outcome, and • The shared risk assessment will require monitoring and review due to the dynamic nature of emergency incidents. • Information must be shared and amendments made as necessary.

16. Risk Assessment – all emergency responders must consider the following: • Attitude to risk will vary as each service has varying capabilities, systems and processes to control the risks. • The focus for all responders IS on saving and protecting life – balancing the risks posed to responders with the potential to save a saveable life is a key consideration for commanders. • The risks of not acting must be taken into account. • The recording of decisions, must not take precedence over the need for physical activity and intervention i.e. there is a positive duty to act!

17. Situational Awareness Establishing a common understanding of the situation and its consequences is an early priority for Emergency Service commanders. This may be termed Shared Situational Awareness, or a Common Operating Picture and ‘CHALETS’ is one system that can be used for common information messaging to and from the incident scene: • Casualties - approximate number of casualties dead, injured, uninjured, number trapped. • Hazards - present and potential • Access - best access routes for emergency services and suitable provisional RV points. • Location - the exact location of the incident using postcode or OS map reference if possible. • Emergency - services present and required, consider attendance of hospital medical teams, specialist equipment and services. • Type - of incident with brief details of any vehicles, trains, buildings, or aircraft of involved including type and numbers • Safety - wear personal protective clothing and ensure you are in a safe area.

18. Command Structures – Silver Also known as the Tactical - will determine priorities, obtain and allocate resources Silver command will: • Plan, co-ordinate and command single service assets • Identify, manage and mitigate risk to those assets For incidents involving fire and/or rescue • Fire Silver will be at the scene • Police will be at the nominated Silver location • Ambulance will co-locate with the co-ordinating agency (This may or may not be at the scene) • Fire will send liaison to the nominated Silver location • The Fire Command vehicle will be showing blue lights For Firearms/Public Order Only • Police will be on scene • Incident Liaison Officer (fire & ambulance) will liaise with Police Silver • Fire & Ambulance will be at the Police nominated Silver location

19. Command Structures - Gold • Also known as Strategic • Some incidents may have Single Agency Gold • Multi-agency – Strategic Co-ordinating Group • Strategic Co-ordinating Centre • Establish strategic objectives and overall management framework • Look at long term resourcing and expertise • Pre-planned location – usually Police Headquarters • Recover and return to a new normality

20. NOTE: Please refer to the speaker notes for this slide First on scene

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22. National Co-ordination Advisory Framework (NCAF) for Significant Events NOTE: Please refer to the speaker notes for this slide

23. NOTE: Please refer to the speaker notes for this slide

24. Conclusion: Greater interoperability will enable the emergency services to: • Provide a co-ordinated response to all emergencies as a matter of routine. • Respond to emerging threats more quickly. • Effectively share and disseminate information between services. • Have an improved awareness of the situation and required actions. • Conduct joint risk assessments leading to effective decision making. • Handle multi-agency incidents irrespective of organisational boundaries. Understanding and acting on what is set out in this presentation will enable you to achieve interoperability in practice.