Effective emergency call management

This control measure should be read in conjunction with:

• Emergency call management: People at risk – Safety advice: People at risk
• Emergency call management: People at risk – Evacuation guidance: People at risk
• Emergency call management: People at risk – Joint understanding of risk: People at risk
• Emergency call management: People at risk – Share information with other agencies: People at risk
• Fire control command – Emergency call supervision

The process of managing information and assessing hazards and risks most often begins during the emergency call management phase of an incident. Fire control personnel gather information about the type and location of the incident that is used to:

• Inform the mobilising decisions they make
• Determine the pre-arrival, safety and survival guidance they give to callers
• Share information with operational personnel and other emergency responders, including information about the type of hazards and risks present and the number of people involved

When gathering incident information, fire control personnel should accurately record and input all details about the incident into a new incident template in the mobilising system. This enables the correct location to be identified, and the most appropriate resources determined and mobilised as quickly as possible. It also supports effective decision-making and provides an incident log for use during the incident and after for audit, learning and review purposes.

Receiving a call from the call handling agent

When dialling 999 or 112, callers are automatically connected to the call handling agent’s emergency operator, who will then pass the call to the appropriate emergency service based on the caller’s location and the emergency service they request.

When a call is connected to the fire and rescue service the caller’s number and location is automatically transferred via the enhanced information service for emergency calls (EISEC).

The handover of calls from the call handling agent is usually non-verbal. A verbal handover is provided in some circumstances, such as if:

• The call is an emergency roamer
• The caller is using a handset provided for vulnerable callers
• The call is from an in-vehicle system, such as eCall or telematics
• The call is from an international emergency authority control room

When fire control personnel have finished speaking to the emergency caller, or if the caller clears the line before all relevant information is obtained, they can remain on the line to request further information from the call handling agent. The call handling agent is alerted, and an emergency operator will return to the line to assist.

Calls are generally only released from the call handling agent when the emergency caller and fire control personnel both clear the line.

Misrouted calls

The call handling agent will usually automatically receive call routing information from communications providers that indicates the most appropriate emergency control. If they do not receive such information, the emergency operator will question the caller to identify their location and the appropriate routing information for the call.

If fire control personnel suspect that an emergency call is misrouted, they should use emergency call management techniques to obtain full details of the incident and provide appropriate safety, evacuation, or survival guidance to the caller. The incident information obtained should be recorded and passed to the appropriate fire control promptly for resources to be mobilised and supporting actions carried out.

Further information, including the procedure for informing the call handling agent of a misrouted call is set out in the Public Emergency Call Service (PECS) Code of Practice.

Emergency call management

Emergency calls are received in various ways, and it is helpful to have a structured approach to answering calls and obtaining information efficiently. This helps fire control personnel to determine and mobilise an appropriate operational response, while communicating with the caller to obtain further information and provide appropriate advice or guidance.

The interaction between fire control personnel and the caller can change depending on the nature of the incident, the caller’s location, the conditions they are experiencing and their reaction to these conditions. The questioning and advice given will be different for every emergency call, depending on the incident being reported and the situation that the caller and the other people involved are in.

Emergency call management is not a staged or linear process, and fire control personnel should be prepared to receive, record and respond to the range of information that the caller provides, continually reviewing the information gathered and checking for changes.

Emergency call management should consider the primary goals to assess, protect and assist rescue.

Assess the type and location of the incident and the safety of the people involved. The range of information fire control personnel gather during the emergency call informs their assessment of the situation the caller is in, ensuring appropriate fire and rescue service resources are mobilised, and other agencies informed.

During their initial assessment of the situation, fire control personnel should gather and record:

• The caller’s telephone number
• The location or address of the incident
• The type of incident
• Whether any people are involved and, if so, their location
• Whether any animals are involved and, if so, their location
• The type and location of any hazards involved
• Whether the incident is developing or contained, if possible

The information gathered should be used to determine:

• The number and type of resources to mobilise
• Whether safety, evacuation or survival guidance is needed
• Whether other agencies need to be informed and their assistance requested

The perception of risk may vary between individuals and groups; it is influenced by attitudes, personal experiences and knowledge. Fire control personnel should use professional judgement when considering the range of information that is obtained from the caller, together with available known information about the location or premises and any information that has been obtained from other callers and agencies.

Protect the caller and the people directly involved and those nearby by providing appropriate safety or evacuation advice, giving survival guidance when needed.

Fire control personnel should use effective questioning techniques to obtain information and build situational awareness. If it is identified that people are at risk, it is important to find out whether they are in a place that will remain safe until the incident is resolved or they can be rescued. If the people at risk are not in a safe place, fire control personnel should provide appropriate safety or evacuation advice or survival guidance.

Emergency call management: People at risk provides information, including safety and evacuation advice, that should be applied when it has been identified that people at risk are not in a place that will remain safe.

Assist rescue of the people involved by sharing information about the caller, their location and situation with operational personnel and other agencies.

Survival guidance contains information that should be applied if people are unable to evacuate.

During the management of emergency calls, the fire control commander and other team members should, where possible, proactively monitor the situation so that support with determining and mobilising appropriate operational resources can be provided, and other agencies informed or requested promptly.

Call prompts

Most mobilising systems can be configured to display pre-populated questions and prompts to assist fire control personnel during an emergency call. Linked to the incident type, call prompts can assist fire control personnel in questioning callers effectively based on their situation and the answers they give, and to determine whether safety, evacuation or survival guidance is required.

The use of call prompts can help fire control personnel to gather and build situational awareness during an emergency call and ensure that the information received from callers is checked for accuracy. This information can then be passed to responding personnel electronically or verbally.

Call challenging

Fire and rescue services identify the types of incidents they respond to based on their community risk management planning and legislative requirements. They should provide clear direction and support to fire control personnel making mobilising decisions so that they understand the types of incidents that are attended and the level of response to mobilise.

Call challenging forms part of the emergency call management process to determine whether resources are mobilised. It may also help to assess the situation if it is suspected that a call is not genuine.

When gathering information from callers, fire control personnel will identify incidents that may not require attendance. They should make an assessment based on:

• The information the caller provides
• The priority of the incident
• The fire and rescue service resources available
• The organisational approach to the type of incident or situation being reported

People may call the fire and rescue service because they do not know which agency to contact. In such situations fire control personnel should attempt to signpost the caller to the appropriate agency for help.

If resources are not sent, the caller should be informed and an incident log created to record the decisions and actions taken. The incident log number can be provided to the caller in case they need to recontact the fire and rescue service.

Fire alarm monitoring organisations

Fire control personnel should follow emergency call management procedures for all calls from fire alarm monitoring organisations. This helps to ensure that all available information is obtained about the situation and the people involved and enables an informed decision about the fire and rescue service response to be made.

Effective questioning of the telecare or alarm receiving centre agent to obtain information about the resident or occupiers of the property helps fire control personnel to determine the most appropriate response.

Telecare providers are contracted to monitor assistive technologies that are often used in sheltered accommodation and by people who receive assistance with their day-to-day living at home. The types of technology that may be monitored include:

• Smoke and heat detectors
• Fire suppression/water misting systems
• Flood detectors
• Fall detectors

When the telecare provider detects an alarm activation, they will attempt to identify the cause of the alarm and obtain appropriate help for the resident. If they believe there is an emergency or cannot confirm whether the call is a false alarm, they will call the appropriate emergency service.

Fire control personnel should gather all available information about the residents and premises, including:

• The type of technology that has been activated, including location within the premises, if available
• Whether the telecare agent has spoken to the resident and, if so, their response
• Whether the resident has any illness or mobility issues
• The type of property involved
• Whether there is a carer on site or available to attend
• Any access information such as key codes

If the resident has reported a fire in the property, or if the technology activated indicates a fire, fire control personnel should determine whether people are at risk and the advice and information they have been given or are following.

The information gathered should be used to determine the level of response to mobilise and the safety, evacuation or survival guidance to give.

All calls from telecare providers should be concluded by requesting that the telecare agent makes a further call to the fire and rescue service if they obtain any additional information or become aware that the situation has changed.

Alarm receiving centres may be contracted to remotely monitor fire alarm detection systems in commercial and industrial premises and other public and local authority premises such as hospitals, schools, museums and leisure centres.

When a fire alarm activation is detected, the alarm receiving centre will follow their agreed procedures, which should include contacting a responsible person for the premises to determine whether there is an emergency or if it is a false alarm. If they identify that there is an emergency, the attendance of the fire and rescue service may be requested.

Fire control personnel should gather all available information about the premises and the circumstances of the alarm activation, and determine the level of response to mobilise based on their organisational approach, which may consider information such as:

• Type of premises
• Time of day
• Whether the premises is occupied

If, after assessing the situation, fire control personnel determine that a response does not need to be mobilised, they should inform the alarm receiving centre agent, giving them the rationale for the decision and the incident log number.

All calls from alarm receiving centres should be concluded by requesting that the alarm receiving centre agent makes a further call to the fire and rescue service if they obtain any additional information or become aware that the situation has changed.

Repeat calls

When additional calls are received regarding an incident to which an attendance has already been mobilised, fire control personnel should gather any secondary information that may help to locate the incident, or determine what further action is required. This information can be relayed to other oncoming resources.

This information should be linked to the initial incident log to enable accurate statistical data on the number of emergency calls received for that incident.

A call may indicate that there could be a second incident in the vicinity. For example, the caller may not agree that it is the same incident, and this cannot be guaranteed from looking at the map or asking ongoing personnel via the radio. In this case a second incident should be recorded and further personnel mobilised. It is essential that personnel going to both incidents are made aware of this to avoid any confusion and ensure dynamic risk assessments are carried out.

Further information about repeat calls is provided in Multiple calls and multiple incidents – Identify repeat calls during periods of multiple calls.

Silent calls

Silent calls refer to when a person dials 999 or 112 and does not speak to the call handling agent’s emergency operator. The call handling agent manages silent calls using an agreed process that considers the origin of the call and responses to their normal call handling questions. Such calls are then either disconnected or connected to the police voice response unit.

The call handling agent will only connect calls to the fire and rescue service if the caller requests the fire service or if the emergency operator has heard something that suggests the fire and rescue service is required. In such situations, the emergency operator usually provides a verbal handover, explaining the reason for the call being connected to the fire and rescue service and details of anything the caller said to the emergency operator. If a verbal handover is not received, fire control personnel can remain on the line to request information about the call from the call handling agent.

If the caller does not speak once the call is connected, fire control personnel should create an incident log, recording the location details available via EISEC and advanced mobile location (AML). They should attempt to obtain a response from the caller and listen for any background noise that may help to build a picture of the caller’s location and situation. The information gathered about the caller’s location and any information the call handling agent provides should then be used to determine whether an emergency response is mobilised.

In-vehicle systems

Some vehicle manufacturers have chosen to have their in-vehicle emergency call activations answered by a call centre. The call centre establishes if the caller requires emergency assistance and, if so, contacts the call handling agent for connection to the appropriate emergency service. Once connected to fire control, the third-party call centre relays all relevant information, including the location and vehicle details. It may then be possible for the third-party call centre to open a conference call so that fire control personnel can speak directly to the person at risk. The data generated by the vehicle should also be available via EISEC.

Fire control personnel should gather and record the information about the incident from the third-party call centre, including:

• The time the in-vehicle system was activated
• The vehicle identification information
• The vehicle location
• The mobile phone number associated with the vehicle owner or occupant
• All available information about the nature of the incident
• All available information about the location and condition of the vehicle occupants

Fire control personnel should use the information gathered to determine the resources to mobilise and share their situational awareness with operational personnel and other agencies.

In situations where it is possible to speak to the vehicle occupants, fire control personnel should follow emergency call management protocols to assess, protect and assist rescue.

Malicious and nuisance calls

Calls should be considered genuine unless otherwise indicated and caution should be exercised when considering if an emergency call is malicious. If a malicious call is suspected, fire control personnel should question the caller about the location and circumstances of the incident they are reporting.

Information that may help fire control personnel to determine whether a call is malicious may include:

• The location of the caller based on AML and EISEC information, compared with the location of the incident they are reporting
• The caller being vague about the location or type of incident
• The caller being unwilling or unable to provide additional information when questioned
• The caller being unwilling to give their name or location

Some mobilising systems can provide information about the call history of a telephone number, which may help fire control personnel to build a picture of any previous calls, such as any patterns in the times that calls are made and any previous action taken.

Communication with the police and other agencies should also be considered and may help to identify any additional information about the caller that may need to be considered, such as whether they are a vulnerable person or have a mental health condition. Sharing of information may also help the police to investigate the situation and determine whether a criminal offence has been committed.

Fire control personnel should use the information gathered to determine whether a response should be mobilised. If there is any doubt, emergency call supervision should be requested so that the fire control commander, other supervisory manager or suitably experienced team member can provide decision-making support. All decisions and their rationale should be recorded in the incident log.

If repeat nuisance or malicious calls are received from an individual or from children and young people, it may be appropriate to share incident information with fire and rescue service prevention teams responsible for community engagement and education.

In extreme circumstances in which repeat nuisance calls impact on fire control’s emergency call-taking capacity, the procedures set out in the PECS code of practice may be followed to prevent connection of these calls for a limited period.

Communications providers do not normally recommend disconnecting a device being used to make nuisance calls as it would still be possible for the caller to use the device to make emergency calls through the ‘limited service state’ facility. That would mean that the caller’s number would not be available, making it much harder to manage repeat calls made from the same device.

Abandoned calls

When an emergency call is disconnected before it can be completed, fire control personnel should record the information gathered prior to the call ending and attempt to recontact the caller to complete emergency call management. If the call is not answered, a voice message should be left asking the caller to redial 999 so that assistance can be provided. It may be possible, as a last resort, to send a text message asking the caller to redial 999. If the call is successful and contact is made, normal emergency call management can resume.

In situations in which the call is ended before connection with the fire and rescue service, the emergency operator shares details of the call with fire control, including anything the caller said or any background sounds that were heard. It may also be helpful to ask the emergency operator to play back the call recording up to the point the call was disconnected.

In situations in which a call from a landline becomes disconnected, fire control personnel should access the location information provided via EISEC and attempt to recontact the caller. In such situations, all known information should be recorded and used to determine whether a fire and rescue service response is required. Emergency call supervision may be requested to assist with this decision-making process.

Calls from faulty devices

The call handling agent and the police have agreed procedures set out in the Public Emergency Call Service (PECS) code of practice for dealing with calls from faulty devices. These measures should prevent such calls from being connected to the fire and rescue service.