Customize Consent Preferences

We use cookies to help you navigate efficiently and perform certain functions. You will find detailed information about all cookies under each consent category below.

The cookies that are categorized as "Necessary" are stored on your browser as they are essential for enabling the basic functionalities of the site. ... 

Always Active

Necessary cookies are required to enable the basic features of this site, such as providing secure log-in or adjusting your consent preferences. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable data.

No cookies to display.

Functional cookies help perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collecting feedback, and other third-party features.

No cookies to display.

Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics such as the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.

No cookies to display.

Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.

No cookies to display.

Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with customized advertisements based on the pages you visited previously and to analyze the effectiveness of the ad campaigns.

No cookies to display.

Emergency call supervision

Control Measure Knowledge

Emergency calls are received in various ways and sometimes under difficult circumstances. Calls from the public can be challenging; poorly-handled calls can delay the arrival of resources at an incident, putting members of the public and operational personnel at-risk.

Call handling supervision may be provided by the fire control commander, another supervisory manager or suitably experienced team member. It should be available where possible during emergency calls and may include visual or audio monitoring, or both.

Prompts and support may be provided to the call taker during supervision of an emergency call, including:

  • Assistance to identify the location of the incident
  • Prompts to support effective information gathering
  • Assistance with the allocation and mobilisation of resources

Such assistance may be required in any emergency call, but particularly in more complex situations such as survival guidance calls.

It is important that appropriate methods of communication are used when supervising emergency calls. Fire control personnel should be provided with a level of support that is appropriate to their level of experience and competence and which does not delay the gathering of information or prevent the building of rapport with the caller.

The development of all fire control personnel will continue through exposure to a variety of incidents, exercise scenarios and training activities. Fire and rescue services should have processes in place to assess the development of fire control personnel to decide when they are considered to have acquired the appropriate knowledge, skills and understanding to deal with all stages of an emergency call. This includes mobilising resources without direct supervision.

Fire control commanders should be aware of the stages of development, skills and experience of all fire control personnel they work with and ensure that appropriate call handling supervision is applied when necessary. They should ensure that all members of their teams understand how to request emergency call supervision in situations where it has not initially been provided.

The need for additional monitoring and supervision of the work of fire control personnel in development or during acquisition of skills training should be considered, and appropriate methods of support put in place. The method of support selected will depend on the individual circumstances, but may include:

  • Audio and visual monitoring of emergency call handling
  • Audio and visual monitoring of other work activities
  • Training activities to support learning and development
  • Mentoring activities to support learning and development

Fire control commanders should ensure that appropriate emergency call supervision is available where fire control personnel are in the acquisition phase of their training or are not yet deemed competent.

Strategic Actions

Tactical Actions