Command and Control

The scene of a major emergency is not normally the place to be making tactical and strategic decisions on how that particular incident is to be dealt with. The men & women at the scene are too busy fighting fires, rescuing people or protecting others, or all three!

Tactical decisions about the location of people and equipment and whether to bring in more people and equipment, etc. should be made by commanders standing back, to be sure of a broad view of how operational actions are progressing.

The strategic decisions about how the emergency is managed and whether the response is correct and adequate should be made even further back, where the senior commanders can see the “bigger picture”. They also look at the long term effects of the emergency and decide on future actions and requirements.

The guiding document in the management of a major emergency is called "Principles of Command and Control", published by the Association of Chief Police Officers with the agreement of the other Emergency Services and the Emergency Planning Society.

It identifies these three distinct layers of control, and refers to them as Gold, Silver and Bronze:

BRONZE - Operational Commanders

These command the people at the scene who are carrying out the actual work of dealing with the incident; the firefighters, police officers, ambulance crews, etc. Each service could have its own Bronze commanders.

They work under the direction of their Silver Commanders:

SILVER - Tactical Commanders

The "middle management". A number of organisations and groups of organisations will take on a Silver role. Most have their own co-ordination or emergency centres to assist them and will make extensive use of liaison officers to ensure that there is good communication.

They translate the strategic view from the Gold commanders into actions to be taken by those on the ground:

GOLD - Strategic Command

Senior officers from the organisations involved will meet to agree a strategic view. Their concern will be more focused on the future than dealing with immediate problems. Gold is chaired by a senior officer from the lead organisation. In most cases this will be the Police and Gold will be located at Suffolk Constabulary Headquarters, Martlesham Heath. During the Recovery Phase of an emergency the lead is often taken over by the Local Authority, in which case an executive officer from the authority will take the chair.

THE INCIDENT SITE

The incident site and the people who need to be there is closely controlled. All services have agreed on the following arrangements and definitions:

Inner Cordon:

The inner cordon surrounds the immediate scene and provides it with security. In incidents involving fire or rescue the Suffolk Fire Service establishes and maintains the inner cordon.

Outer Cordon:

The outer cordon controls movement of unauthorised persons in an area surrounding the inner cordon. This is set up by the Police and often has traffic control functions.

Forward Control Point (FCP):

The control point nearest to the scene of the incident.

Incident Control Point (ICP):

The point from which the on-scene management and coordination of the incident takes place. The emergency services will deploy their command and control vehicles to the ICP. It is also the point of contact for other agencies with a part to play at the scene. Some plans have designated ICPs. In order to identify the control vehicle the blue flashing lights for all other vehicles are turned off.

Marshalling Area:

Area to which resources and personnel being held for further use or not immediately required at the scene can be directed to standby.

Rendezvous Point (RVP):

Point to which all resources arriving at the outer cordon are directed for logging, briefing, equipment issue and deployment. May also be the Incident Control Point.