Civil Emergency And Disaster Management For Fire And Rescue Services

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1.1 Describe the roles of local authorities and central government in civil emergencies and explain the need for liaison between them

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Local Authority
•Each local authority manages a civil contingency planning function. Civil protection (or emergency planning) personnel act as a hub to coordinate the planning, training and exercising within local authority departments. The effectiveness of this hub is fundamental to the discharge of related community responsibilities in an emergency, whatever the cause.
•Local authority planning is carried out in close co-operation with the emergency services, utilities, many other industrial and commercial organisations, central government departments such as the Ministry of Defence or Department of Health, other statutory organisations such as the Environment Agency, and many voluntary agencies.
•The principal concerns of local authorities in the immediate aftermath of an emergency are to provide support for the people in their area. Generally, they do so by co-operating in the first instance with the emergency services in the overall response.
•However, they also have many specific responsibilities of their own. They will use the resources of local authority departments to mitigate the effects of emergencies on people, property and infrastructure and play a key role in co-ordinating the response from the voluntary sector. They also endeavour to continue normal support and care for the local and wider community throughout any disruption.
•In incidents involving multiple fatalities, the coroner’s office will liaise with the local authority on the establishment of temporary mortuaries. As part of the local response, plans should already have been agreed for opening additional spaces at existing public or NHS mortuaries and/or establishing temporary mortuaries. These plans should include how to locate staff.
•As the emphasis moves in time from immediate response to recovery, the local authority will take a leading role to facilitate the rehabilitation of the community and restoration of the environment. Even a relatively small emergency may overwhelm the resources of the local authority in whose area it occurs. Against this possibility plans need to be made which will, in appropriate circumstances, trigger arrangements for mutual aid from neighbouring authorities, delivering cross boundary assistance if required. Arrangements may range from simple agreements offering whatever assistance is available in the event of an incident to more formal arrangements for the shared use of resources. This could include the use of vehicles, equipment and people. (Payment arrangements may need to be included in any agreement.)
•Emergency financial assistance may be available for affected local authorities. This is done under the Bellwin Scheme in England and Wales, and by similar arrangements in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Central government has a role in providing advice or support to the local response and in keeping Parliament informed of progress.
•It is fundamental to the arrangements for dealing with most major emergencies in the United Kingdom that the first response is at the local level. Where local services find that the scale of events puts it beyond the capacity of their own resources, their recourse is usually to mutual aid arrangements with services in adjacent areas. Central government departments with a potential interest in the events in question may limit their involvement to keeping abreast of developments and dealing with parliamentary, media and public enquiries.
•There are occasions, however, when central government becomes more involved. The initial central response should then come from a lead government department. The concept of a lead government department aims to make it clear in advance to all levels of government which department will be in the lead for as many potential challenges as possible. They can thus plan ahead and should be ready to move into action immediately in times of crisis.
•The lead government department is responsible for alerting the Civil Contingencies Secretariat (CCS) of the Cabinet Office as soon as it considers that any incident (or potential incident) is likely to require collective consideration by a range of departments. The CCS is then in a position to assess the broad picture. Where the lead is not clear the CCS is responsible for taking the immediate lead until it has the Prime Minister’s endorsement of its advice on which department should take the lead.
•The CCS will be available to lend its support at the earliest opportunity to a lead department and then work in close partnership with it until the resolution of the emergency.

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1.2 Describe what is meant by disaster response and contingency planning

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Disaster response and contingency planning leads to organizational readiness in anticipation of an emergency. This includes management of human and financial resources, availability of emergency supplies, and communications procedures. Such planning can help mitigate the destructive effects of a disaster by ensuring timely and effective provision of humanitarian aid to those most in need. Time spent in disaster response planning equals time saved when a disaster occurs. Delays in providing services can result in needless suffering for individuals and families affected by a disaster, and create additional burdens for those responding. Effective disaster response planning leads to timely and effective disaster relief operations. It also helps in building realistic expectations.

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1.3 Detail the legal obligations of the Local Authority in dealing with major civil emergencies

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I. Duty of Care - In tort law, a duty of care is a legal obligation imposed on an individual requiring that they adhere to a standard of reasonable care while performing any acts that could foresee ably harms others.
II. Civil Contingencies Act 2004 - is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that establishes a coherent framework for emergency planning and response ranging from local to national level. It also replaces former Civil Defence and Emergency Powers legislation of the 20th century.

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1.3a Detail the Civil Contingencies Act 2004

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Part 1: Local Arrangements for Civil Protection
Part 1 of the Act places a legal obligation upon emergency services and local authorities (defined as "Category 1 responders" under the Act) to assess the risk of, plan, and exercise for emergencies, as well as undertaking Business continuity Management. Cat. 1 Responders are also responsible for warning and informing the public in relation to emergencies. Finally, local authorities are required to provide business continuity advice to local businesses. It also places legal obligations for increased co-operation and information sharing between different emergency services and also to non-emergency services that might have a role in an emergency such as electric companies (non-emergency services are defined as “Category 2 responders” under the Act).
Part 2: Emergency Powers
The second part of the Act provides that temporary emergency regulations are normally made by the Queen through Order-in-Council or by a Minister of the Crown if arranging for an Order-in-Council would not be possible without serious delay. Such regulations are limited in duration to 21 days, unless Parliament votes to extend this period before it expires. The only Act of Parliament which may not be amended by emergency regulations is the Human Rights Act 1998. There was an attempt by Conservative and Liberal Democrat peers to add a number of other key constitutional laws to the exemption list during the Bill stage, but this was unsuccessful. The laws they tried to protect from emergency regulation were:
• Habeas Corpus Act 1679
• Bill of Rights 1689
• The clause in the Parliament Act 1911 which limits the duration of a Parliament to five years, which was in itself a partial reversal of the term's increase provided in the Septennial Act 1715 from three to seven years
• Act of Settlement 1700
• House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975
• Life Peerages Act 1958
• House of Lords Act 1999
The introduction of the Act comes with increased funding for emergency planning in the United Kingdom to help organisations comply with the Act and brings emergency planning funding more on par with European levels.

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1.4 Discuss the planning principles involved in mitigating the effects of civil emergencies

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The following five activities are fundamental to an integrated approach in mitigating the effect of a civil emergency
Assessment
Organisations of all types need to examine their own areas, activities and responsibilities and conduct appropriate risk assessments of potential threats or hazards. Anticipatory assessment activities should identify measures which may prevent an emergency occurring in the first place. They should further identify the possible emergencies facing an organisation or community for which joint arrangements should be made. This will help give some levels of priority in planning preparation.
While assessment of higher probability risks facing particular communities or localities is vital, an underlying principle of sound contingency planning is that many types of emergency, for example an aircraft crash, can happen anywhere. Assessment should therefore not be confused with second guessing the exact nature of a possible emergency – planning should be flexible and based on the delivery of functions. Experience has shown that it is advisable to consider ‘worst case’ scenarios.
Ongoing collaborative assessment is also a critical activity during an emergency – risk reduction measures, health and safety requirements, anticipating knock-on effects and managing the provision of appropriate resources.
Prevention
Certain kinds of activity carry known risks and are subject to legal requirements for adopting prevention measures which aim to eliminate, isolate or reduce those risks as far as is reasonably practicable. Legislation, regulations, codes of practice and guidance documents stipulate or recommend measures that are appropriate to preventing many dangerous occurrences or reducing their severity.
Preparation
Preparation involves planning, training and exercising. Plans must provide the basis for an effective integrated response to major emergencies whether they arise from known hazards or unforeseen events. A plan should provide a prepared and agreed framework within which organisations and individuals can work in a concerted manner. They are then in a better position to solve problems when they occur.
There needs to be clear ownership of the plans and commitment to them from senior management. Contingency plans are not simply the domain of contingency planners – they should be seen as an integral part of overall management strategy. This means that when spending or other decisions are made, contingency planning considerations should be included as a matter of course.
Crisis management structures must define roles and responsibilities clearly at all levels. Organisations need to establish and test call-out and activation arrangements. Protocols must aim to ensure an efficient and timely response.
If people are not aware of the contribution which their own and other sections will need to make the result will be a muddled response. The overall response to a crisis will invariably need input from a number of different departments. Effective planning should therefore ensure that arrangements and activities of different departments within an organisation are cohesive.
Contingency planning must build on routine arrangements and should be integrated into an organisation’s everyday working structure. It should make best use of people’s existing skills and knowledge in their own domain of work. Wherever possible, people should perform in an emergency those tasks with which they are already familiar.
Nonetheless, personnel will require some additional training to prepare them for the special circumstances experienced during a major emergency and for any extra dimensions to their role. It is no use having plans in place if people are not trained to perform in accordance with them. It is therefore essential to involve those who will have to respond to any emergency in the planning, training, and plan testing activities.
Regular exercises should test the effectiveness of arrangements for responding to major emergencies. Any lessons learned should then be incorporated into revisions of the plans.
Response
The initial response to a major emergency aims to deal with the first effects.
Collaboration, co-ordination and communication are vital.
Integrated Emergency Management and Key Organisations
With sudden impact emergencies (explosions, major transport accidents, riots) the initial response is normally provided by the statutory emergency services and, as necessary, by the appropriate local authorities and possibly voluntary organisations. Experience of slower onset or less localised emergencies or crises (BSE, the fuel protests of 2000, foot and mouth disease) shows that other organisations may well face the brunt even in the early stages of a major emergency.
A key consideration when assessing and planning appropriate response frameworks for both sudden impact and slower onset emergencies is therefore to identify the trigger points that will prompt an organisation to activate its emergency management arrangements.
Those managing both the initial and longer term response must assess how the emergency is developing and try to anticipate its knock-on consequences. The aim must be to mitigate the effects of the emergency by implementing measures that provide the necessary resources for the longer term response and for ensuring the continuity of critical services.
Recovery management
Recovery management encompasses the physical, social, psychological, political and financial consequences of an emergency. Anticipation of consequences and appropriate recovery planning must start right from the beginning of any response. Organisations and communities need to plan, manage and undertake those activities that will provide as rapid a return to normality as possible – for both the community and responders. Lessons from the past emphasise the need to involve the community fully in its own recovery. The promotion and support of self-help activities are important considerations.

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1.5 Describe what is meant by an integrated approach to emergency management and discuss its practicalities

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These five activities listed in the above question have collectively been labelled as an Integrated Emergency Management approach (IEM). They are critical activities and we will continue to use this label in this interim revision. However, events over the last few years have prompted some significant extensions in thinking about major emergencies. Firstly, there is greater emphasis than previously on assessment and prevention. Secondly, integrated arrangements for responding to and recovering from major emergencies must not only consider the sudden impact disaster with identifiable scenes (transport accidents, flooding, etc.), but also the ‘creeping crisis’ where a specific scene is less apparent. (Epidemics, widespread protest, etc.).

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1.6 Detail the responsibilities of local authorities and the processing industry with regard to large scale chemical emergencies

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COMAH establishments are graded by the Competent Authority (Health and Safety Exec and Environment Agency) as either “Top-Tier” or “Lower- Tier” dependant on the quantities and types of substances they produce and/or store. The COMAH Regulations require that the Operator of a “Top-Tier” Establishment produces two plans:
a) An On-site Emergency Plan, which is prepared by the Operator, to specify the response to an emergency which may affect those who work on the site.
b) An Off-site Emergency Plan, which has to be prepared by the Local Authority which specifies the co-ordinated response of partner agencies to an emergency which has any off-site effects.
There is also a requirement for the Local Authorities to review and update the adequacy and effectiveness of the components of these plans and how they dovetail together. This requirement leads to the regular test and exercises of both the “on” & “off-site” plans. Some of the exercises involve the actual response of the resources and personnel from the Emergency Services as if the exercise scenario was a real incident, whilst others take the form of simulations without the need for the deployment of actual resources. In every case a full de-brief takes place and any lessons learned are put into the revised plans.

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1.7 Explain the term ‘Combined Response’ and list the principles necessary to establish effective ‘Call Out’ arrangements

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A combined and co-ordinated response, links the expertise and resources of statutory organisations (emergency services, local authorities and central government, health service, armed forces, etc.) private sector organisations (transport, utilities, etc.), and voluntary agencies. Appropriate support has to be co-ordinated at local, regional or sometimes national level. This co-ordination of planning, training and exercising for an effective combined response to any type of emergency is fundamental to the achievement of a successful outcome for all who may be involved in responding to a major emergency.
There should be agreement and effective plans on the use of volunteers, the decision-making process leading to their call-out and the method of call-out. Plans should determine who will organise, manage, brief and debrief volunteers. Planners also need to establish who will provide volunteers with refreshment, appropriate clothing, identification and equipment.

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1.8 List and briefly describe the six main steps in developing disaster response and contingency plans

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Step 1 Institutional disaster planning
Step 2 Hazard, vulnerability, capacity and risk analyses
Step 3 Resource identification and mobilization
Step 4 Early-warning, alert systems and triggers
Step 5 Linkages and communications
Step 6 Sectoral responsibilities
• Emergency assessment
• Continuity of operations during an emergency
• Rescue and medical assistance
• Health services
• Water, sanitation and hygiene promotion
• Food and nutrition
• Relief
• Shelter
• Restoring family links
• Protection, safety and security
• Logistics and transport
• Information technology (IT) and telecommunications
• Communication and reporting
• Monitoring and evaluation

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1.9 Discuss the parameters of major civil emergencies and disasters and whether a definition should be prescribed

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