The ability of fire control personnel in assisting fire controls to communicate incident-related information to affected fire controls is a crucial element of the effective management of remote emergency calls. Fire control personnel in assisting fire controls should be equipped and prepared to accurately receive and follow the affected fire control’s instructions for returning incident information.
Fire control personnel in assisting fire controls may be instructed by the affected fire control to use different communication methods for higher-priority and lower-priority incidents. This allows fire control personnel in affected fire controls to focus their attention on managing information received via the higher-priority channel. Higher-priority methods used may include:
- Emergency telephone lines
- Hailing talkgroup
- Bespoke electronic methods, such as multi agency incident transfer (MAIT)
Fire control personnel in assisting fire controls should use the communication methods specified by affected fire controls, particularly where a communication method has been identified specifically for life-risk incidents.
Identifying calls from assisting fire controls
Most fire controls provide dedicated emergency telephone lines for assisting fire controls to contact them on. Integrated communication control systems (ICCS) that are configured to clearly identify calls from other fire controls in a distinct colour, ring tone and priority, help fire control personnel to easily distinguish those calls from other emergency calls.
When a call redistribution plan, such as Operation Willow Beck has been implemented, assisting fire controls are likely to be trying to pass incident-related information to the affected fire control because it requires an operational response. The fire control commander of an affected fire control may consider directing fire control personnel to prioritise answering calls from assisting fire controls when they have implemented a call redistribution plan.