Emergency call management: Effective communication

Emergency calls are received in various ways and, sometimes, in extremely difficult situations. Calls from the public can be challenging if not handled effectively, which, in turn, can delay mobilising resources to an incident. It is common to deal with calls from people who are excitable, upset, distressed or confused. To obtain the required, information fire control personnel should always be professional, supportive and calm.

The first verbal contact with the caller plays a vital part in focusing them on providing accurate incident details as quickly as possible. The way in which fire control personnel greet callers can help them to instantly engage with the person, so that they can efficiently manage the call.

An open salutation such as ‘Fire Service’ may be useful in allowing emergency callers to speak freely while fire control personnel listen to the range of information being given, and assess the information provided through EISEC and AML.

Including a question in the salutation, such as ‘Fire service, what is the address of the incident?’ may help to prompt callers to provide specific information about the incident, which fire control personnel can input into the mobilising system to help determine the resources to send.

Fire control personnel should consider the primary goals of emergency call management, to assess, protect and assist rescue, and be prepared to prompt callers and ask questions about the situation whichever method is used to greet callers.

Communication techniques

Fire control personnel may need to adapt their communication techniques during emergency calls to overcome any communication barriers.

Communication techniques include:

• Using different questioning styles
• Listening effectively
• Displaying empathy
• Providing appropriate reassurance

Questioning styles

Closed questions usually receive a single word or very short, factual answer. Closed questions are good for confirming understanding, for example, ‘Can you get out by your normal route?’

Open questions prompt longer answers and usually begin with ‘What’, ‘Why’, ‘How’ or ‘Where’. They are useful for finding out more detail and developing a picture of the incident, for example, ‘What is stopping you from getting out?’ Statements such as ‘Tell me about…’ can also help fire control personnel to gain additional situational awareness.

Funnel questions involve starting with general questions, then drilling down to more specific points. They are useful for obtaining more detail and increasing the caller’s confidence. When using funnel questioning, it may also be useful to start with closed questions and then progress to more open questions, for example, ‘Is there another way you can get out?’, ‘Can you reach another room that you can escape from more easily?’ and ‘What is the situation now?’

Probing questions are used to find out more detail, gain clarification and build situational awareness. They are useful for drawing out information from people, for example, ‘Can you tell me more about…?’

Multiple questions that are asked at the same time such as ‘Where are you; what is on fire?’ should be used with care as they may cause confusion.

Forced choice questions contain two or more choices in a question, for example, ‘Is there more or less smoke now?’ They may be useful for gathering information about the conditions the caller is experiencing.

Leading questions are used to lead a person to a particular way of thinking. In most circumstances, leading questions should be avoided as they can lead to inaccurate and unreliable information. They should be used with care and only with the best interests of the person at risk.

Listening styles

Listening is the basis of effective communication, but it involves more than just hearing the words that are spoken.

Effective listening involves:

• Focusing on what the caller is saying
• Putting the caller at ease
• Trying to understand the caller’s point of view or situation
• Being patient and letting the caller continue at their own pace
• Being aware of the volume and tone of what is being said

Active listening involves:

• Listening with empathy and hearing words, thoughts, beliefs and feelings
• Concentrating on what is being said
• Considering the caller’s situation
• Noting the caller’s vocal inflection and style of delivery
• Listening without interruption
• Using paraphrasing or clarifying questions to confirm that the intended message has been received
• Acknowledging the caller

Both effective and active listening usually involve observing body language and noticing inconsistencies between verbal and non-verbal messages. Therefore, listening to the voice only can be challenging, and fire control personnel may need to use a variety of questioning techniques to gather sufficient information to provide appropriate advice. They may need to take a firm but supportive approach to help the caller to focus and answer the questions being asked.

Reflective listening involves:

• Focusing on what people are saying, helping people at risk to know that they have your attention
• Repeating what has been said when clarification is required
• Providing reassurance that you have heard what has been said
• Providing reassurance that you have understood what has been said

Call interpreting services

If fire control personnel are unable to clearly communicate with a caller who does not have English as their first language, it may be possible to encourage the caller to pass their phone to someone else to provide the information required. Otherwise, there are organisations providing telephone interpreting services for a wide range of languages, and such a service may be used to assist in gathering and relaying information.

Relay UK

The Relay UK service, previously known as Next Generation Text, Text Relay and Typetalk, provides a method for people in the UK who are deaf, hard of hearing, deaf–blind or speech-impaired to make and receive telephone calls. As well as supporting standard telephone calls, Relay UK enables emergency calls to be made.

When connecting a call, the call handling agent provides a verbal handover, announcing that the call is from a Relay UK user and that a Relay UK assistant has joined the call. Name and address details are be provided, if available.

If, for any reason, the Relay UK assistance service is extremely busy, a call may arrive from the call handling agent without the Relay UK assistant being present. These calls are handled by the call handling agent in the same way as a silent call.

The Relay UK website provides more information and an explanation of how the service operates.

999 British Sign Language (BSL)

The 999 BSL emergency video relay service can be used by callers whose preferred language is British Sign Language. The 999 BSL service provides an alternative method for people who are deaf, hard of hearing or speech-impaired to contact the emergency services.

The service allows users to make an emergency call via an app on their mobile device and be connected to a British Sign Language interpreter working remotely. The interpreter relays the conversation between the caller and the emergency services in real time. The app also enables a call-back option that allows an emergency service to call a BSL user.

The 999 BSL website provides more information and an explanation of how the service operates.