Capture call and incident information

Fire control personnel should record information gathered during emergency calls in relevant incident logs. This will ensure that fire control personnel have access to current information to support effective decision-making, shared situational awareness and joint understanding of risks. Incident logs also provide a time-stamped account of events, as inputted by fire control personnel, that will inform any queries or post-incident reviews.

The information collected consists of:

• The initial call information, including the incident location and caller details
• The type of incident and the hazards involved
• Whether any people are involved and, if so, how many
• The resources mobilised
• The information flow to and from the incident
• The information shared between fire control personnel and:
  • Operational personnel
  • Other organisations

The information contained in the incident log provides a chronological record of an incident that may be accessed and referenced after an incident has been closed. The information may be used to inform:

• Organisational learning from a strategic, tactical or operational viewpoint
• Post-incident investigations, including for fires, accidents and potential criminality
• Public inquiry or coronial proceedings
• Accurate information sharing with other agencies
• Statistical data for a range of reporting requirements

Mobilising and communication systems

A mobilising and communication system should be capable of maintaining a log for each incident and recording all times and actions associated with it. This should include:

• Automatic recording of emergency call data
• Recording of incident-related information
• Time and date-stamping of all incident information generated by the mobilising system
• Time and date-stamping of all incident information inputted by fire control personnel and other authorised users
• The ability to record the user identity of all those inputting information
• Interrogation and reporting of mobilising information
• Mobilising and communicating with operational resources and other organisations

Instant playback – voice recordings

Mobilising and communication systems should record information when fire control personnel orally communicate with others outside fire control, such as when using radio communication channels or the telephone. The recording should automatically end once the action has ceased, and fire control personnel should be able to instantly play back the recording. The playback feature can be useful to confirm information about an incident and to support post-incident review or debrief processes.

Fire and rescue services may provide fire control personnel with radio handsets or devices that are not integrated with mobilising and communication systems. Such devices may not record audio; therefore, fire control personnel should promptly record all information shared or received in incident logs. This will help ensure that an accurate record of the information is maintained.

Archive recording

Multi-channel archive recording systems should have sufficient storage for all critical voice-based communications, such as calls to and from fire control workstations used for emergency call management and incident activities. All radio communication channels and the telephone lines assigned to fire control should be clearly identified.

It should be possible to interrogate the archive system, and this may include the ability to search using:

• Date and time of a call or incident
• Fire control workstation and user ID
• Incident number
• Radio channel, talkgroup or telephone line

Such systems may be used to provide information for post-incident reviews and reports. They should provide the user with the facility to extract a specific recording and transfer it to a portable media device or an electronic format.

Authorised users

Other fire and rescue service personnel, such as those with incident command roles and responsibilities, may be authorised to access and add information to incident logs. Such access should be appropriately controlled and monitored to ensure that it complies with current data and information management regulations. The ability to restrict access to incident logs or specific information recorded on them should be considered.