Monitoring ground vehicles and aircraft at the incident ground is an essential part of the safe system of work used by the fire and rescue service. When deploying aircraft at a wildfire incident, fire and rescue services must establish effective air-to-ground and air-to-air communications to maintain the safety of all personnel and resources deployed. The success and safety of deploying aircraft at wildfire incidents will largely depend on the support provided by ground resources.
For further information about the effective organisation of the incident ground, refer to Incident command. For further information about pre-planning for using aircraft at wildfire incidents, refer to the Scottish Government’s Wildfire Operational Guidance.
If military aircraft are requested and deployed at a wildfire incident, the incident commander or aerial sector commander should establish and maintain effective communications with military liaison personnel.