Depending on its size and nature, multiple people may call to report an incident. These callers may not be at risk themselves and may not have new information about the incident; however, they should be questioned thoroughly to ensure any information that relates to the incident and that can assist in building situational awareness is obtained.
When managing emergency calls, fire control personnel should question callers sufficiently to identify calls:
- Where people require additional information, including:
- Evacuation guidance
- Survival guidance
- Safety advice
- That provide additional information about people at risk, including:
- People who require rescuing
- People who no longer require rescuing
- Any other relevant information relating to the incident
Ending emergency calls during periods of multiple calls
Where possible, fire control personnel should remain on a call until people at risk have reached a place of safety or are being rescued or assisted by other emergency service personnel. However, where multiple calls are being received, the fire control commander may recommend that fire control personnel end a call once they have assessed the current situation and provided relevant evacuation and survival guidance or safety advice.
Where contact is not maintained with callers during periods of multiple calls, caller contact details should be recorded on the incident log, together with any advice that has been provided. Callers should be advised to monitor changes in their situation and to redial 999 if the situation worsens.