Key Consultants

Guidance Note – Incident Management

Are You Prepared For An Incident?

Appropriate early response to an incident can make the difference between business continuance
and disaster recovery. Consulting for a large number of organisations, it has become increasingly
apparent that Incident Management is one of the most misunderstood and misapplied functions
at an industrial or commercial site.

The general perception is that in the event of an incident or disaster the “public” emergency
services (fire, police and ambulance) will always attend and save their staff, property and business
within a few minutes. However, this may not always be the case as many organisations found
during the recent Firemen strike. The emergency services role is to protect the public; they may
not have the technical expertise, training or equipment to handle some of the hazards found in
some industrial facilities. Management must know the capabilities of all local emergency services
and, if need be, develop plans to use personnel within the organisation to take care of
emergencies specific to their sites.

During an incident there will be an initial window of opportunity to prevent a disaster or at

worst minimise the effect. It is at this stage that the emergency services will be on-route. It is
therefore essential that organisations have a nucleus of well-trained personnel capable of
attending and dealing with all incidents and emergencies; these personnel are often referred to as
the Emergency Response Teams (ERT). They will be responsible for:

♦ Saving lives
♦ Activating your incident management procedures
♦ Preventing further injury and damage
♦ Assessing damage to lives and property
♦ Determining the availability of resources
♦ Identifying and prioritising problems
♦ Communicating critical information

Emergency Response Teams should be recruited and trained in First Aid/CPR, Low Risk Search
and Rescue, Triage and Casualty Management, Damage Assessment and Tactical Incident
Management. Teams also need regular exercises designed to review their procedures and the
incident management plans. The degree of success in response to an incident will be directly
proportional to the planning, preparation and training invested in incident response personnel
and incident management procedures.

In order to effectively manage an incident a set of post incident management procedures must be
established. It will not be possible to define each and every incident that could occur but if some
basic principles are adopted they can be used in full or part as required.

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Guidance Note – Incident Management
When considering successful management plans for identified potential incidents you should
take into account the five main principles or the 5 C’s of incident management:

♦ Confirm
♦ Clear
♦ Cordon
♦ Control
♦ Communications

Confirm
This principle sounds the easiest to establish but in reality it has the least success, this is
especially true of major incidents. Confirmation is totally reliant on the perception of the person
reporting the incident and his or her ability to comprehend the situation and possible impact. A
simple reporting form should be readily available to all staff outlining the information that will be
required by the emergency services and the Incident Control Team.

Clear
The clearing of an incident area must be conducted quickly, efficiently and most importantly
calmly. The purpose of clearing the area is to move people away from risk to a place of safety.
This may be achieved by a partial evacuation where large premises are involved and the incident
area is small; or a full evacuation in the event of a potentially large incident or small premises. It
is often the case that many more injuries are suffered during the clearing of an incident area, than
as a result of the incident itself. You must ensure when dealing with crowds of people that panic
does not prevail.

It is important however that the following information is passed on to personnel leaving the
area, to ensure that they do not place themselves in further danger:

♦ The type of incident

♦ The location of the incident
♦ The location of the muster point
♦ The route to be used

Cordon
A cordon should be established in order to prevent people from entering the area of the
incident, thus endangering their lives. It will also help to preserve the scene of the incident,
enabling the police to conduct a successful investigation. When establishing a cordon you must
remember the following points:

Outside the danger area - The cordon must be placed outside the area of danger. It should
also not be within line of sight of an explosive device.

5 m and 20 m checks - Each cordon position must be checked at initial occupation for further
danger. This could include flammable substances, insecure structures, smoke or possible
secondary devices in the event of a bomb threat. This is achieved by conducting a 5 m search
around the area in which the cordon is to be established. If the cordon position is to be
established for a protracted period of time, the search should be extended to 20 m.

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Guidance Note – Incident Management
Firm control - The manning of the cordon position requires firm control. In the event of an
incident the natural human reaction is to go towards the incident to help. The cordon officer
must ensure that the general public and media do not cross your cordon line.

One exit and entry point - Only one exit and entry point should be established on the cordon.
It is through this point that any aid or assistance should be directed. A route should be
established from the cordon entry point to the incident. This route should be checked for
structural safety hazards, unexploded or dangerous devices.

Control
Command and control of the incident must be affected as soon as possible. The command and
control of the incident will remain with the organisation until the public response teams can take
over. The control of an incident will normally be handled from the following:

♦ Forward Control Point (FCP)

♦ Incident Control Point (ICP)
♦ Emergency Services Rendezvous Point (ERV)
♦ Evacuation Assembly Point (EAP)

Forward Control Point - The FCP, as already stated, will be located on the cordon line and will
be the only entry and exit point to the incident. Once the FCP has been established it should
inform the incident control point immediately. The function of the FCP is to tactically manage
the incident and to control the cordon. Details of persons manning the cordon should be passed
to the ICP, so that they can produce a list of personnel accounted for. It should remain in
position until relieved by the emergency services.

Incident Control Point - The ICP will be located well away from the scene of the incident. It is
from this point that the incident will be controlled. The ICP can be a fully staffed highly
technical operations room, or a commandeered room in a safe area. Subject to the size, location
and equipment available, the emergency services may use this area for their own ICP. Otherwise
the police ICP will normally be established at the local police station.

Emergency Services Rendezvous Point – On large sites an ERV should be identified. The
ERV is the point at which all emergency services will locate. It should be clearly marked and
provide adequate access for emergency vehicles. The ERV should have communications with
the ICP and when manned should inform the ICP that it is ready to receive the emergency
services.

Evacuation Assembly Point – The EAP is the area to which all evacuated personnel should
muster. This area should also be cleared prior to occupation to ensure there are no further
hazards. Personnel should then be organised into medical and search teams as appropriate. It is
possible that the police will require personnel to check their own workspaces for anything
abnormal.

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Guidance Note – Incident Management
Communication
It is vital that there is a free flow of communication both up and down the incident management
chain. The FCP must recognise the objectives of the ICP and thus should keep it fully informed.
In the same vane the ICP must recognise that the FCP is dealing ‘hands on’ with the incident
and will not appreciate having to stop to give countless situation reports. The flow of
information is a balancing act which can only be achieved by practice. Too much information
flow can be just as detrimental as too little.

Most of us like to think we do our best work in the midst of a crisis or controversy, when the
adrenalin is flowing and we can make vital decisions in a split second. In fact, many executives
do perform extremely well under pressure. However, in a world when the wrong split-second
decision can cost a company millions in loss of business function, loss of market placement or
negative publicity, not being prepared is simply not worth the risk.

© Key Facilities Management Ltd

Tel: +44 (0)1786 841603 <> Fax: +44 (0)1786 841673 <> email: info@keyfm.co.uk