1. Emergency Services Interoperability at 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.
Interoperability enhances the response from all emergency services to an incident and can only lead to a better outcome for casualties and a swifter resolution to the emergency situation.
To achieve this, all responders need to have a common understanding of each others’ roles, responsibilities and capabilities.

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
The Cabinet Office guidance entitled Emergency Response and Recovery highlights several common operating objectives which may be employed during the multi-agency response to an incident. These are not set in stone and can be added to or disregarded depending upon the nature of any particular incident. When the group of common operating objectives are considered, there is little doubt that ‘To Save and Preserve Life’ would be the first priority. The 2nd and 3rd would be dependent upon the nature of a particular incident.

7. Roles and Responsibilities - 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
To deliver the required response from each service in today’s complex world, requires a range of specialist capabilities.
However, it must be remembered that not all services host all of the capabilities and thus responders at the local level need to liaise with their counterparts to gain an understanding of what is immediately available and what can be called upon with indicative timescales for delivery of specialist resources and trained personnel.

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
As stated in SLIDE 6 the primary objective of the UK Fire and Rescue Service (FRS), in common with all other Emergency Responders is to SAVE LIFE, for which Firefighters will dynamically asses both the situation and risk and then in a controlled manner take the appropriate action. Firefighters accept that such action may well impose a calculated risk to their own safety and that of their colleagues.
The protection of property and the environment are important factors which Firefighters will once again take a degree of personal and organisational risk to protect, however this acceptance of risk is at a lower level than that accepted for life safety operations.
In addition FRS respond to a wide variety of calls to render assistance to support local communities, these range from “traditional” calls such as those to assist with flood water removal which is not a specific role or responsibility conferred on FRS by current legislation, to assisting partner agencies within Local Resilience Forums (LRF) such as Police or Ambulance Services, for example assisting with the movement of bariatric patients or even assisting Local Authority departments on humanitarian grounds such as helping to deliver “Meals on Wheels” services during extreme weather conditions i.e. heavy snowfalls – providing our front line response is not affected by such actions.

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
To deliver the required response from each service in today’s complex world, requires a range of specialist capabilities.
However, it must be remembered that not all services host all of the capabilities and thus responders at the local level need to liaise with their counterparts to gain an understanding of what is immediately available and what can be called upon with indicative timescales for delivery of specialist resources and trained personnel.

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
To deliver the required response from each service in today’s complex world, requires a range of specialist capabilities.
However, it must be remembered that not all services host all of the capabilities and thus responders at the local level need to liaise with their counterparts to gain an understanding of what is immediately available and what can be called upon with indicative timescales for delivery of specialist resources and trained personnel.

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)
To deliver the required response from each service in today’s complex world, requires a range of specialist capabilities.
However, it must be remembered that not all services host all of the capabilities and thus responders at the local level need to liaise with their counterparts to gain an understanding of what is immediately available and what can be called upon with indicative timescales for delivery of specialist resources and trained personnel.
National Resilience is a reference to the National resilience Programme that is one part of Communities for Local Government contribution to the Governments Civil Contingencies Capabilities Programme. The strategic aim is to continue to enhance preparedness and resilience of the Fire and Rescue Services in England and Wales by maintaining and improving the capability of the National Assets. The programme consists of a number of distinct capabilities. These are:
CBRN(E)
Urban Search & Rescue
Water & High Volume Pumping
Command and Control

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
The HART capability for Urban Search and Rescue, Inland Water Rescue and Safe Working at Height is to work alongside the Fire & Rescue Service for the treatment of casualties. That is to say that the Fire & Rescue Service undertake the rescues and HART undertake treatment once rescued. This capability allows the HART to use these capabilities with the Fire & Rescue Service but not without their attendance.
To deliver the required response from each service in today’s complex world, requires a range of specialist capabilities.
However, it must be remembered that not all services host all of the capabilities and thus responders at the local level need to liaise with their counterparts to gain an understanding of what is immediately available and what can be called upon with indicative timescales for delivery of specialist resources and trained personnel.

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
All services use the accepted terminology for differing levels of command.
Command structures will vary from service to service dependant on the type, size and scale of the incident.
Whether each Service identifies their on scene commander as a Bronze or a Silver, it is vital that the on scene commanders work together, share information and co-ordinate plans.
‘Bronze Commanders must motivate and control crews doing difficult, dangerous and sometimes distressing work. They frequently have to lead and command in dynamic situations. Consequently, their time frames are typically short, with quick decisions and on-going appraisals of the developing risks being necessary.’

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
The ‘On Scene Commander’ is the most senior person on the incident ground from each service and in the initial stages of an incident may be a Police Constable from the Police, an Ambulance Technician/Paramedic from the Ambulance Service and a Crew or Watch Commander from the Fire and Rescue Service
At any particular time during the response to an incident there will be different demands and priorities. It is accepted that it is generally the role of the Police to co-ordinate the multi-agency response to incidents/emergencies. However, no agency has executive authority over another.
All on-scene commanders should co-locate at or near the Forward Control Point, however where a Commander needs to leave to tend to a service issue, then an agreed further meeting time should be agreed between all agencies.
Should an incident develop and become protracted, all of the blue light services will implement more formal command structures with ‘On Scene Command’ passing to on coming officers of a more senior nature.
Local Authority
No complex incident will ultimately be concluded without some involvement of the local authority who can supply resources and assist the safe conclusion of the incident. These include provision of alternative accommodation, transport, rest centres, heavy plant, or access to plant. Local Authority’s have legal powers relating to building safety, public health and the environment which support the emergency response. There maybe local contact for on-scene commanders regarding building and people safety and every effort should be made to communicate with the local authority representative.

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.
It is clearly understood that we all have a legal duty in terms of health and safety, both for ourselves and for others whom our actions may effect.
The risk assessment will influence the activity/response from the attending Services. Therefore it is essential that the attending Services establish a common operating picture i.e. a common picture of what is happening
It is also vital that information is shared and any changes to intelligence and Service plans are also shared.

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!
The key point here is that the focus must be on saving and protecting life – we should not be risk averse nor spend inordinate amounts of time recording risk assessments instead of acting in the best interests of any casualties.

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
All services use the accepted terminology for differing levels of command.
Command structures will vary from service to service dependant on the type, size and scale of the incident.
Although all 3 Services will have an on scene commander their ‘label’ may differ. If the level of Fire response requires a Fire Silver then they will be at the scene. It is possible that the Police will have an on scene commander at the scene but the designated Silver maybe at a remote location. Ambulance command will locate at the most appropriate location. It is imperative that communication is established and maintained between on scene commanders and off scene decision makers within and across Services.
National Guidance for Command and Control arrangements for the ambulance service has been released on April

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
It is important to distinguish between the respective functions of single and multiagency groups. Single agency groups have the authority to exercise a command function over their own personnel and assets. Multi-agency groups are convened to co-ordinate the involved agencies’ activities and, where appropriate, define strategy and objectives for the multi-agency response as a whole. No single responding agency has command authority over any other agencies’ personnel or assets. Where multi-agency co-ordinating groups are established to define strategy and objectives, it is expected that all involved responder agencies will work in a directed and co-ordinated fashion in pursuit of those objectives.
Although a multi-agency Strategic Co-ordinating Group (SCG) may be known by some responder bodies as a ‘Gold Group’, it is ambiguous to refer to the SCG simply as ‘Gold.’ Gold and Silver describe single-agency levels of command, and they should be clearly distinguished from the multi-agency co-ordinating groups that exist at the corresponding level. Further, it is misleading to refer to the SCG Chair as ‘Gold Commander’; it might be that the Police Gold Commander is also the SCG Chair, but in the role of SCG Chair s/he is exercising a co-ordination function, not a command function.
The role of the Strategic Co-ordinating Centre (SCC) is to provide support to the SCG and co-ordinate the strategic response to the incident/operation. In deciding whether to establish a SCC the SCG Chair may decide to divide the SCC into Cells or Groups dependent upon the size of the incident/operation. Cells may also be formulated on organisational type e.g. Health, Environment Agency, Utilities etc. to advise.

20. NOTE: Please refer to the speaker notes for this slide First on scene
Police Command Flow Chart
The UK Police Service follows the same Command Structure as all UK Blue Light Services, using the Gold (Strategic), Silver (Tactical) and Bronze (Operational) command levels.
Initial Response
Initial response to the incident will be in the operational and tactical levels, this will be immediate utilising on-call staff that will perform the roles of Bronze Commander at the scene, and Silver within the Force Control Room.
Bronze will be the first police officer on scene who will gain a level of control and liaise with Fire and Rescue Service and Ambulance representative. Bronze would contact the Force control room and take guidance from the Inspector.
Silver will be the Force Control Room Inspector who will follow guidance in place for the type of incident. They will contact a qualified Bronze and Silver to instigate a formal Command Structure process. The Gold would be informed via Qualified Silver or Force Control Room dependant on local procedures.
Formal Command Structure
Formal Command Structure will not be immediate and can take between 30 minutes to over two hours dependent on the type of incident.
Bronze will be qualified and a specialist in the type of incident being dealt with. They will work from scene and will assume control from the Initial Response Bronze as soon as possible. They will confirm that their counter parts from Fire and Rescue Service and Ambulance representative are updated and also gain a multi agency view on actions taken so far. Bronze will work to the Qualified Silver and Specialist Responses if required.
Silver will be qualified and a specialist in the type of incident being dealt with. They will work directly to Gold, taking any specialist advice and guidance from Specialist Responses needed for the type of incident being dealt with.
Specialist Responses will cover the full spectrum of police activities from Crime, Firearms, CBRN to Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) to name a few, they will bring specialist knowledge to the incident as well as additional staff and command levels.
Gold will be a qualified gold commander normally from the Force area.
British Transport Police
Are a specialist force for the rail industry and understand how this industry works. The initial BTP officer will report to the local Police commander. If BTP have sufficient resources they will take primacy for a rail incident inner cordon and investigation.
Future Developments
Work is currently underway to better identify the Police Commander on scene, so that all three emergency services have a common, easily identifiable commander.  It is likely that the Police Commander will wear a tabard which identifies them as the senior Police commander on scene.  This tabard will be a blue/white checked tabard which will be carried by the Fire & Rescue Service on behalf of the Police Service..
First on scene

21. NOTE: Please refer to the speaker notes for this slide
Fire and Rescue Service (FRS) Command Flow Chart
In relation to an escalating incident the UK Fire and Rescue Service (FRS) will sequentially implement a command structure common to all three blue light responders namely Bronze (Operational), Silver (Tactical) and Gold (Strategic) command levels, which is in itself underpinned by the UK FRS Incident Command System (ICS), introduced to ensure that a standard operating framework will be applied to any incident Fire may attend.
Initial Command Response – Bronze
The Initial FRS response to an incident will be at the Bronze (Operational) level. This will be implemented immediately with the attendance of the first Fire Appliance and its Officer in Charge and will be augmented by following appliances, whilst still working at Bronze level, who will further implement facets of the UK FRS Incident Command System, namely the initial “sectorisation” of an incident which aims to set up “manageable” spans of control to ensure that deployed crews are managed and lines of communication are not over stretched.
Fire Sectors (Bronze when a silver is at scene) maybe geographical, for example front, sides and back of a building, or they maybe functional for example, water or foam supplies.
Main Command Response – Silver
Dependant on the nature of the incident and / or its potential to escalate, FRS Command and Control Centre may immediately mobilise a Silver (Tactical) Commander to the scene of operations who's role will be to assess the immediate situation and either take command of the incident or support and mentor the Bronze Commander, as appropriate. Fire silver will be at the incident, if police have a remote Silver then Fire should send a liaison officer.
If the FRS Command and Control Centre does not immediately mobilise a Silver, assistance and informative messages sent to FRS Command and Control Centre by the Incident Ground Bronze Commander will rapidly determine if a Silver level officer is required.
FRS Silver Commanders are rostered to ensure a 24/7 availability and should be in attendance at the scene of operations within 30 minutes. Fire Commanders have access to specialist advice on Urban Search and Rescue, Hi Volume pumping, Mass Decontamination events and other responses via the National Co-ordination and Advisory Framework (NCAF)
Many FRS have a cadre of Inter Agency Liaison Officers (ILO) whose role is to liaise directly with Police and Ambulance Commanders to ensure that a common understanding of the situation is achieved and “in service” terminology does not cause confusion to other agencies.
Strategic Command Response – Gold
As an incident escalates further and draws in more FRS assets the senior level of Command – Gold ( strategic) will be brought into effect, these officers will be Principal Officers / Brigade Commanders and will hold the delegated the authority of the Chief Fire Officer to manage an incident and if necessary make financial commitments on his behalf.

22. National Co-ordination Advisory Framework (NCAF) for Significant Events
NOTE: Please refer
to the speaker notes
for this slide
Fire and Rescue National Resilience Arrangements
Rarely, an incident will escalate beyond the capability of a single Fire and Rescue Service resources OR may involve the requirement for specialist assets not held by that FRS, in this case the National Coordination Advisory Framework (NCAF) will be invoked and National Resilience (NR) assets will be mobilised to support the affected FRS.
NCAF is activated by the affected FRS Command and Control Centre calling the Fire and Rescue Service National Coordination Centre (FRS NCC) and requesting assets, such as Incident Response Units for a CBRN incident or Urban Search and Rescue for a structural collapse or High Volume Pumps for relaying large quantities of water to fight a wildfire incident affecting a wide area.
The NCAF is designed to complement the Bronze, Silver , Gold Command structure and NOT replace it, a key facet of NCAF is the insertion of specialist support staff such as members of the National Strategic Advisory Team (NSAT) to support and advise the Chief Fire and Rescue Adviser, members of the National Resilience Assurance Team (NRAT) to support Silver Commanders and Subject Matter Advisors (SMA) to support Bronze Commanders and operational crews. The SMAs are specialist in their own area, e.g. Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) or Hi-Volume Pumps (HVP). The Fire service also has mass decontamination units known as Incident Response units (IRUs) and Detection, Identification and Monitoring (DIM) units for Hazardous Materials.
Whilst initial NR assets may directly attend the scene of operations, dependant on incident type, in the longer term the affected FRS will set up a pre-assessed and designated, Strategic Holding Area (SHA) to which an Enhanced Logistical Support (ELS) Unit will be dispatched to manage the assets as they arrive and then their deployment to the scene of operations.
Supporting the Multi Agency Gold Command, who will be managing the incident, the UK Government have a system of pre–designated Lead Government Departments (LGD) who will assume the coordinating responsibility on behalf of the Government sitting within the Cabinet Office Briefing Room (COBR). In the case of a major Fire, the Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG) will assume this role.
However, if NCAF is activated, no matter which Government Department assumes the LGD role, the CLG Emergency Room (CLG ER) will be activated in order to coordinate the NCAF response and an NSAT Officer will be deployed to both support CLG ER and potentially advise COBR.
NOTE:
NSAT Officers are experienced Brigade Commanders who work on a system of two NSAT per region.
NRAT Officers are experienced Tactical Commanders who also maintain a 24/7 availability
NCAF is a primarily England based system but is available to support incidents across the UK.

23. NOTE: Please refer
to the speaker notes
for this slide
The Ambulance Service Command and Control Guidance 2012 provides the above example of a command structure for the Ambulance Service.
It should be noted that the most important aspect of command is knowing the structure that is being implemented for the incident response and management.
Not every incident will require every command appointment to be filled, some incidents may require additional roles to be identified.
Each commander and role holder should be focussed on the function that their role is required to achieve
Each function should understand their role and the use of action cards is encouraged
The tabards shown above are Nationally agreed however it is essential that local training and awareness exercising takes place so that commanders can recognise counterparts and functional roles.

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.