Incident Grading (P1)
The incident grading system is simply how the public services employee will respond to a incident via a grading table, to assess how bad the situation is. They are four types of grades what the services will put your situation under they are:
Grade 1 is the Emergency grade, this grade is most comnmon to us. Once we have rang 999 and the problem has been disscused the respnse time will be immediate. Which ever emergency service we need we will be put immediatley through to, if they cannot solve the problem or situation over the phone they will send out personel.
Reasons to use this emergency grade:
- Danger to life.
- Use and threat of violence.
- Serious damage to life.
- Serious damage to property.
Grade 2 is the Prority grade this grade can range from alot of incidents from RTC's (Road Traffic Colisions) to Protecting a vulnerable person who has been detained. The response to this grade does not have to be immediate the services what are needed can respond with in four hours of recieving the initial call.
Grade 3 is the Scheduled grade, this grade is used when the incident is non urgent and if the victim or suspect is not at risk by anyone or anything. The response time can be up to 48 hrs but this usually agreed with the caller if the services they need have to respond abit quicker.
Grade 4 is the Resolution without deployment grade. This is the most basic grades their is, their is no response time. The incident can be and should be resolved on the phone with the communications centre or the response desk. No personel (in theory) should be deployed.
__________________________________________________________________________________
Grade 4 is the Resolution without deployment grade. This is the most basic grades their is, their is no response time. The incident can be and should be resolved on the phone with the communications centre or the response desk. No personel (in theory) should be deployed.
__________________________________________________________________________________
Roles and Responsibilities (P2)
The Roles and Responsibilities of any emergency service that is first to any scene of an emergency must assess and provide information of the scene according to the following:
- Casualties - how many casualties there are.
- Hazards - any dangers that may threaten thes or casualties.
- Access - are there any obstacles that are preventing the services from gaining access to the scene or preventing rescue.
- Location - identify quickest route to the scene of the emergency incident.
- Emergency services - must provide information on which emergency services are required at the scene.
- Type of incident - they must use incident grading to assess the situation for each emergency service required.
- Start a log - they must record all details of all of the above.
____________________________________________________________________________
Police
- Uphold the law the fairly and firmly.
- Pursue and bring to justice those who break the law.
- Keep the Queen's peace.
- Protect, help and reassure the community.
- Operate with integrity, common sense and fair judgement.
____________________________________________________________________________
Ambulance
- Save life.
- Provide treatment, stabilisation and care at the scene.
- Provide support to those who involved with the patient.
____________________________________________________________________________
Fire
- Prevent and control a fire.
- Protect the lives of civilians.
- Quarantine hazardous areas.
- Preserve evidence at the scene of a deliberate fire.
- Protect the environment.
Importance of Safely Responding to Emergency Incidents as an Emergency Response Driver (P3)
It is important to respond safely to an incident as the response driver is driving at excessive speeds, through a small village they could endanger other people’s lives and cause more damage.
If the response driver is too slow; the injured person could die before the responder arrives at the scene. Response drivers have to do advance driving tests to prove that they can drive at high speeds and keep in control of the vehicle.
If the response driver is too slow; the injured person could die before the responder arrives at the scene. Response drivers have to do advance driving tests to prove that they can drive at high speeds and keep in control of the vehicle.
When responding to an emergency call, response drivers from all three public services must not exceed over the speed limit of a particular road. For example on a 30mph road a response driver must not drive at speeds over 60mph.
This is because of the extra associated dangers that are presented on this type of road these are things such as lamp posts, residential areas where children and other pedestrians are likely to cross or even play in, this means the chances of hitting someone are greatly increased.
__________________________________________________________________________________Scene Preservation and the Service Provisions of Specialist Units at Emergency Incidents
(P4)
(P4)
When the Specialist Unit arrives at a crime scene they must record the time, date and weather conditions and the Specialist Unit that does this is the forensic scientists that take and test items at the scene and see whether they could be used as evidence that could lead to a conviction.
After which, the Specialist Unit must preserve the scene and secure the area. Once the area is secure, the Specialist Unit must evaluate the scene and take the necessary action to prevent it from being contaminated. Any person present at the time who may have witnessed what had happened should be removed from the area and have their details taken.
Immediate action must be taken to preserve evidence at the scene, which could be destroyed by the weather conditions. It is also very important to monitor and record any movement or if any of the items have been touched and those individuals must have their details taken.
Immediate action must be taken to preserve evidence at the scene, which could be destroyed by the weather conditions. It is also very important to monitor and record any movement or if any of the items have been touched and those individuals must have their details taken.
__________________________________________________________________________________
Statutory and Voluntary Agencies (P5)
 |
| This picture is a link to the fire service's website. |
Statutory agencies at the scene of an incident are the police, ambulance service and the fire service. At some incidents, they will use the assistance of voluntary agencies which are many different groups which specialise in different categories, an example of voluntary agencies would be:
- The Samaritans.
- Mountain Rescue.
- The British Red Cross.
If an incident does require both statutory and voluntary agencies, they both work together to get the situation under control safely and efficiently as possible. An example of when this could happen would be when a person gets stranded or injured in a mountain area. The mountain rescue team would be first on the scene to help rescue the casualty and they would provide information about the area and situation to the ambulance service so they can prepare for the rescue. E.g. If the casualty is in the mountains, they would need to send out the air ambulance because it would be difficult for the ambulance to drive to the scene in a quick amount of time.
__________________________________________________________________________________
Health and Safety Measures (P6)
(As you can see the fire-fighters are always dressed prepared for any situation.)
The health and safety at work ect Act of 1974 is the primary of legislation covering work related to health and safety.
The first crew on the sence must complete a mental risk assesment to note how safe the scene is and whether extra procautions are necessary to ensure the safety of any other crews that will be attending the sence
For example, if there was a power line in a pool of water the first crew would cordon off the area so no-one can go near it untill the power is shut off and the made safe to move. Also the first crew must move any other members of the public away from the sence for their personal safety.
__________________________________________________________________________________
The first crew on the sence must complete a mental risk assesment to note how safe the scene is and whether extra procautions are necessary to ensure the safety of any other crews that will be attending the sence
For example, if there was a power line in a pool of water the first crew would cordon off the area so no-one can go near it untill the power is shut off and the made safe to move. Also the first crew must move any other members of the public away from the sence for their personal safety.
__________________________________________________________________________________
Roles and Responsibilities (M1)
Each of the emergency services have their own roles and responsibilities when they arrive at the scene of an emergency incident, however, they all must work together to get the situation under control safely and efficiently.
____________________________________________________________________________
Scenario
There has been a road traffic collision (RTC) on the motorway which has involved multiple vehicles and casualties. One person is trapped in a vehicle and another is trapped in an overturned vehicle. All of the emergency services arrive within minutes of each other and begin their work to bring the situation under control and back to normal.
____________________________________________________________________________
Police
If the Police are the first service on the scene, they must make a log of what has happened (see P2) so the other services on the scene know exactly what has happened and what needs to be done to resolve the situation as quickly as possible.
When the Police arrive on the scene, they will have to divert the traffic if the collision has blocked the motorway and corden off the area in which the collision took place so nothing can interfere with the scene if the emergency services need to gain evidence.
The majority of the time, a major emergency incident will become a crime scene, therefore, the Police will need to conduct an investigation into the incident to find out what the circumstances were at the time of the incident.
The Police will have to draw out the markings on the road such as tyre marks from braking or scuffs on the road surface, they have to do this to create a picture of what happened during the build up to the collision and to gain evidence to prove what they have found. This can be shown to a Judge or a Magistrate if the case is to go to court.
____________________________________________________________________________
Ambulance
The same goes for the Amblance service, if they are first on the scene, they must make a log of the situation with the details the Police and Fire service require to do their duties.
The first priority of the Ambulance service is to save lives. They must provide medical treatment to casualties at the scene unless they need to be immediately taken to hospital for treatment that cannot be provided by the Ambulance at the scene.
The Ambulance service must prioritise the casualties in the most critical position, for example, in the scenario it would be the casualties stuck in the overturned vehicle as no one knows what injuries they may have, therefore, they must prioritise that person because they could end up fatal.
____________________________________________________________________________
Fire
Same as the other two emergency services, the Fire service must also make a log to provide the necessary information to the Police and Ambulance service.
When the Fire service arrive at the scene, they may have to extinguish a burning car or surrounding fire that could prevent a rescue of a casualty.
The Fire service must detect any hazardous areas that could cause danger to any surrounding people and section that area off and this is also done to prevent any part of the scene from being contaminated if an investigation takes place.
At the scene, there can only be a limited number of personnel as too many could cause confusion and not enough would mean the incident would not be resolved as efficiently as it could be.
In an incident such as our scenario, the Fire service would have to work with the Ambulance service to save the casualty trapped in the vehicle, the Fire service would have to removed the roof as quickly as they can without causing the casualty more harm, then the Ambulance service would take over and treat the casualty.
Scene Preservation
(M2)
(M2)
Scene Preservation is very important; upon arrival at the scene of the crime, the first officer must record the time, date and weather conditions and take action to preserve and secure the area. To preserve a crime scene it must be cordoned off or protected if outside, tents etc.
Nobody should be left alone at the crime scene they may remove, replace or contaminate evidence.
Nobody is innocent until proven guilty.
The smallest piece of evidence can link anybody to the crime e.g. A strand of hair, blood, finger nails and even tread off of shoes.
Nobody should be left alone at the crime scene they may remove, replace or contaminate evidence.
Nobody is innocent until proven guilty.
The smallest piece of evidence can link anybody to the crime e.g. A strand of hair, blood, finger nails and even tread off of shoes.
The services dealing with the scene have got to ensure that themselves do not become included with the investigation.
They should wear:
- Gloves - so no finger prints our transfered.
- Masks and Hoods - so no hair or sweat can fall from the body to the floor.
- No tread shoes, covers for the shoes - if shoes are coverd in mud they may leave a certain print.
- Long clothing on the arm and legs.
- In some circumstances goggles may be worn - if forensics are dealing with gases or liquids.
Reconstruction of a crime scene can also help the investigation. Like before objects and other evidence can be removed and if forensics produce a reconstruction of the scene they can interpret the series of events in a crime.
Sketches and photographs of the scene are produced at the very begining of the investigation. This is a very important piece of preserving the crime secne. If the investigators notice that something of importance is missing or it has been moved throughout the investigation, they can refer to the photos or sketches to back up their suspicions.Specialist Units such as forensics, are and will be needed at the crime scene due to their special training and tactics. A normal police Sergeant would not have the skills or training to perform experiments and other preservation skills. The scene has to be left alone to the specialists. The responding services can still cordon of the area and make the appropriate actions to control the crowd etc. The responding services do not have to leave the area completely. They can stay and lend a hand to the specialist service, for example, if crowds are getting too big to deal with, the police are there to control them.
For more information about preserving crime scenes and crime scene investigations, visit http://www.crime-scene-investigator.net/
___________________________________________________________________________For more information about preserving crime scenes and crime scene investigations, visit http://www.crime-scene-investigator.net/
Health and Safety (M3)
Other health and Safety legislation that is used by the Police is the Police (Health and Safety) Act 1997 and the Subsequent Police Health and Safety Regulations 1999, which is a review of the First Act mentioned. Both of these came about due to the Health and Safety at work ect Act 1974.
On arrival at the scene, the crew must move all pedestrians away from the scene to make sure that no harm can come to them or to the first crew on the scene due to the pedestrians getting in the way of the services. Also, all other crews must be briefed on what has happened by the first crew to find where all the risks on the scene are. The emergency services must also be careful of what they do at the scene to ensure that they do not cause themselves any harm, or anybody involed at the scene, and to prevent any casualties any further harm.
It is also standard for all emergency response drivers to take an advanced driver course to ensure that they can safely drive at high speed when in crowded areas whilst responding to emergency incidents. This is to ensure that no other incidents occur due to the emergency services actions whilst they are responding to emergency incident.
All services are requiered to wear personal protective equipement (PPE). Each service has different PPE. the legisation which enforces this is PPE Regulations at Work Act 1992. This means that all employees must wear the correct equipment to ensure their safety. All equipment must assessed before it is use to ensure it is suitable, it must be stored correctly. All the PPE comes with instructions on how to use the equipment safely and employees must wear it correctly.
Another act that must be followed when at a major incident is the RIDDOR (Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations) Act 1995, this is a legal requirement, it is also done so the HSE (Health and Safety Executives) identify where and how risks arise, that way they can then give advice on how to prevent incidents from happening again.
Another health and safety law that must be used whilst at a road taffic collision is COSHH (Control of Substances Hazardous to Health) Act 2002. COSHH is a law the requires public service personal to control any substance that can be hazardous to other people or the enviroment.
There are many ways which this is done, some of these are:
Finding out what the health hazards are.
Risk assessment.
Planning for emergencies.
Locking any hazardous liquids are or preventing people from making contact with the material
If the public serivces are useing a hazardous material it is vital that they follow any instrutions that are given with it to prevent any injuries.
In conlision it is extremly inportant the the emergency services follow all health and safetly laws to ensure there personal safety and the saftey of others.
More information on health and safety at work can be found at http://www.hse.gov.uk/
__________________________________________________________________________________
Distinction Criteria
Inter-agency Co-operation (D1)
At the scene of an incident that requires all the emergency services as well as voluntary services and other agencies, they all need to work together to resume the normal situation as efficiently as possible. An RTC would be an incident that requires all these agencies and we took part in an RTC at college to give us a better insight into the role of the emergency services.
When the first happened, the road had to be closed off and diversions had to put in place to give road users an alternative route, this is most likely to be done by members of the Council who would then clean up the scene once the situation has been resolved.
The emergency services provided assistance to casualties (Fire and Ambulance Service) and the Police took the driver of one of the vehicles to his car where he was then questioned about the incident and he was detained in the Police car. While the Police Officer was doing this, the Fire Service and Paramedics were attending the casualties (one of which was trapped in one of the vehicles) and assessed their injuries
Inter co-operation of the response services (D1 Continued)
The co-operation of the voluntary rescue services, other agencies and the emergency services is vital for purpose of the casualty and the people who are affected by the incident. If the services are not working together effectively the casualty or casualties injuries could become worse or the person could die at the scene. The people who could be affected are those who are related to the casualty and those who are travelling along where the incident has taken place.
The first priority in any emergency incident is to save the life of those involved, the emergency services have the responsibility to get people to safety quickly and safely as possible. For example, there has been an emergency incident where two small cars and a HGV lorry involved in a collision at junction 28 of the motorway. In the first car there is a woman who is in critical condition, in the second car there is a man and a young boy who are both fatal, the HGV driver has managed to get from his vehicle with minor cuts and scrapes.
Firstly the ambulance service must stabilise the critical women in the first small car, if the paramedics cant gain access to the car by opening the door, the fire service will have to work quickly but safely to remove the roof of the vehicle so the medics can safely remove the casualty for further treatment.
The HGV driver would now be treated for his injuries now the woman has been safely removed from her car, after the HGV driver has been treated, the Fire Service and Police must remove the bodies from the other small car.
Now all casualties and fatalities have been removed and are in process of being treated, the police and investigation team will need to photograph the scene for later reference and highlight specific markings on the road surface that could indicate towards any form of prevention by the drivers of the collision. Also when photographing the scene wide angle shots must be taken of where the cars were, to refer back to if the scene was needed to be reconstructed at a later date.
After the investigation team have gathered all the evidence, the Police will require assistance from recovery vehicles to remove the damaged cars and HGV lorry from the scene for further investigation in a controlled environment and less chance of contaminating any evidence that could be in any of the three vehicles.
Any debris that may cause any further problems for other motorists must be cleared of the road to ensure the safety of other road users.
