Effective communication at the incident ground

Effective communication 

The aim at every incident is to co-ordinate communications and decision-making of the incident commander, operational personnel and fire control personnel. This applies equally at multi‑agency incidents and should align with JESIP principles.

Effective communication is fundamental to achieving successful and safe resolution of incidents. It provides the incident commander with knowledge about the situation and progress of tasks. Obtaining accurate and timely information is crucial to underpin situational awareness and subsequent decision-making.

Failure to effectively use command skills may expose personnel or others to unacceptable risks and cause harm, whereas effective use supports safe decision-making and reduces risk. For example, if a commander does not demonstrate safe, effective and assertive command skills, this may reduce others’ confidence in their competence or professional judgement. Effective communication supports incident commanders to perform their role confidently and assertively, helping to establish leadership and authority.

Communication also plays a vital role in co-ordinating activities, completing tasks and handing over command. Sharing accurate and timely information is also critical for helping others to have a common understanding of the situation, what is happening and what needs to happen next. Plans can only be effectively implemented when those responsible for delivering them understand them.

As well as exchanging information, effective communication helps to build relationships between people. These relationships are important so that people are effective when they carry out their tasks to resolve the incident. Incident commanders should be aware that clear and effective communication supports leadership by making it easier for people to follow instructions, understand briefings and have confidence in what is being communicated.

Effective communication should:

• Provide information that is:
  • Clear
  • Relevant and concise
  • Timely
• Be easily understood
• Be delivered confidently
• Include active listening
• Ensure verbal and non-verbal communications are aligned
• Ensure assumptions are questioned

Briefings 

Incident commanders may also deliver or receive briefings on the way to an incident. The extent of the briefing will depend on the type and scale of the incident. If personnel have little experience of the incident type or there is high risk, a comprehensive briefing should be provided. 

It will be necessary to organise safety briefings. As the incident develops, or if the risk of injury increases, those briefings may need to be more comprehensive. 

Pre-planning for effective communication 

For some locations, it may be possible to carry out pre-planning and testing for the effectiveness of radio communications. This information may be contained in Site‑Specific Risk Information (SSRI). Pre-planning and testing should consider: 

• The type of radio equipment available 
• Radio communication coverage for the site 
• The need for alternative types of radio equipment, such as being suitable for: 
  • Expolosive atmospheres 
  • Noisy environments 
• Contingency plans for failures in radio communications 
• The potential for a cross-border response 
• The potential number of personnel and other emergency responders at the incident ground 
• Involvement of communications tactical advisers, where appropriate 
• Multi‑agency communication planning 

Fire and rescue services should establish guidance for the maintenance of technology, equipment, and systems. This includes ensuring that it is always in a state of readiness. 

Establish communications 

Incident commanders should establish suitable arrangements for communications. This is usually the role of command support under the guidance of the incident commander and may include: 

• Establishing communication links with fire control 
• Ensuring they correctly assign radio channels and call signs for the incident 
• Establishing communications with other agencies 
• The effective use of talk groups 
• Requesting the support of a communications tactical adviser 
• Establishing communications with sector commanders and other command support functions to receive regular situation reports 
• Ensuring sector commanders can communicate between themselves 
• Using local systems; some new and complex buildings and structures, including those extending underground, have communication systems installed for use by emergency services 

When implementing a communication strategy, key principles should be considered to ensure: 

• That information received in support of the incident is accurate, appropriate and timely 
• That information is obtained from a reliable and credible source, or if not that it is checked and verified 
• That appropriate methods of communicating information are used if there are security implications, or the need to relay sensitive or distressing information 
• The appropriate recipients are provided with relevant information, via an appropriate method 

The relevance of the information 

A good flow of information is one of the most important assets for an incident. An incident commander should ensure they: 

• Gather information and receive situation reports 
• Issue instructions and share risk-critical information with personnel 
• Receive situation reports from all areas, including sector commanders 
• Assess and provide for the needs of other agencies, and plan to meet with them 
• Carry out a risk assessment and add this to the briefing on arrival 
• Brief personnel about the tasks they need to perform and the hazards and risks they face 
• Thoroughly brief personnel to share any safety-critical information 

A structured method, such as using an IIMARCH (Information, Intent, Method, Administration, Risk assessment, Communications and Humanitarian issues) template, may help incident commanders when preparing a brief. Further information on this approach, and a Word version of the IIMARCH template, can be found on the JESIP website. The JESIP Mobile App includes a prompt for use of the IIMARCH briefing tool, with the ability to share. 

For multi-agency incidents, the M/ETHANE message protocol should be used to exchange information about the incident with other responders via fire control and other agencies’ control rooms. 

Standard message templates 

Fire and rescue services should consider the use of standard message templates to ensure communications between fire control and the incident ground are kept brief. The call sign or incident commander’s name should precede any message as this will assist fire control personnel to accurately record information. All messages that are passed between the incident ground and fire control should follow the predetermined content and structure. 

It may be beneficial to obtain advice from a communications tactical adviser to avoid radio and mobile communications becoming congested at larger or protracted incidents. 

Communication technology, equipment and systems 

When establishing an effective communication strategy, consideration should be given to technology, equipment, and systems that will support it. The strategy should take into account: 

• The communication needs for the whole of the incident ground, including: 
  • Various construction types and sizes of buildings and structures 
  • Size, location, and topography of the incident ground 
• The limitations of the available technology, equipment, and systems 
• The provision of contingency (fallback) arrangements to mitigate the impact of a loss of communications during an incident 
• The availability of communication equipment with an appropriate ATEX classification for explosive atmospheres if required – for further information refer to Hazardous materials – Physical hazards: Use intrinsically safe equipment 
• The communication requirements of other responding agencies, including interoperability, information sharing arrangements, and access to appropriate talk groups 

Operational and fire control personnel should be made aware of the limitations of the secure digital and analogue network in their service. To avoid overwhelming communication systems, such as during a multi-agency incident or major incident, personnel should follow standard communication protocols and keep radio and mobile communication to a minimum. 

The incident commander should ensure that personnel are using appropriate channels and test radio equipment before they enter the hazard area. Personnel should also be briefed about any known communication limitations for the incident ground. 

If radio communication is lost or becomes ineffective while they are in the hazard area, personnel should deploy the contingency (fallback) arrangements as detailed in their service’s guidance. Personnel should notify the relevant commander as soon as possible about the communications issue and the action they have taken. 

Contingency plans for radio communications 

Fire and rescue services should consider establishing contingency plans to support fallback arrangements if required. This could include: 

• Technical solutions, such as: 
  • The use of equipment such as repeaters to boost signals and extend coverage 
  • The use of on-site communication systems 
  • The use of mobile phones 
• Procedural solutions, such as: 
  • Prioritisation of communication 
  • Obtaining advice from a communications tactical adviser 
  • Repositioning personnel and command support to another location on the incident ground where the signal may be stronger 
  • Carrying out a tactical withdrawal in the event of loss of communications or inability to hear radio messages 

Effective handover 

While handovers of command should be minimised where reasonably practicable, ensuring there is effective communication between commanders is a crucial step in handing over the command of an incident. It is an important stage in the formation of the new commander’s situational awareness, which will be partially based on the situational awareness of the current commander and will be further developed from the range of information that will be gathered. Failure to conduct an effective handover can lead to poor situational awareness and can result in inappropriate or ineffective decisions being made. 

Handovers should be conducted in a systematic way. There are a range of methods for handing over, which should include: 

• Information on the incident 
• Information on the risks 
• Information on the resources 
• The plan, including: 
  • Objectives 
  • Tactical priorities 
  • Operational tactics 
• The incident command structure and communication lines 
• Key decisions, using the decision controls to articulate for each: 
  • What the goals were 
  • What they expected to happen 
  • How the benefits justified the risks 

For more information refer to Incident command: Knowledge, skills and competence: Interpersonal communication.