Command and control
Theme 7
Command and control
Last updated: 14 February 2022
Recommendation
33.18a
That the London Fire Brigade develop policies and training to ensure better control of deployments and the use of resources.
Responsible for completion:
- London Fire Brigade
Progress
Status
London Fire Brigade has reported that this recommendation has been completed.
The implementation of the Brigade’s revised High-Rise Firefighting policy (PN 633) in June 2021 addresses this recommendation by including information on crew deployments, including on tasks relating to Fire Survival Guidance calls.
The initial training in the new procedures was completed in March 2021. The policy was implemented shortly after the Brigade had considered the findings of a health and safety advisory panel, which was convened as part of the consultation process to confirm the procedures contained within the policy to enable both the protection of residents and the safety of firefighters.
Recommendation
33.18b
That the London Fire Brigade develop policies and training to ensure that better information is obtained from crews returning from deployments and that the information is recorded in a form that enables it to be made available immediately to the incident commander (and thereafter to the command units and the control room).
Responsible for completion:
- London Fire Brigade
Progress
Status
London Fire Brigade has reported that this recommendation is complete.
London Fire Brigade has developed a new structured briefing model which has been developed for crews and officers on the incident ground, for both briefing and debriefing purposes. This will ensure that information is both passed and received (and captured) in a consistent manner.
The new briefing model has also been incorporated into training for the High-Rise Firefighting, Fire Survival Guidance and Evacuation & Rescue policies. Furthermore, the new model is now integral in all Incident Command training courses and assessment centres.
Recommendation
33.19
That the London Fire Brigade develop a communication system to enable direct communication between the control room and the incident commander and improve the means of communication between the incident commander and the bridgehead.
Responsible for completion:
- London Fire Brigade
Progress
Status
London Fire Brigade has reported that this recommendation has been completed via its revised Fire Survival Guidance policy.
London Fire Brigade has also issued guidance to firefighters on effective communication at incidents and implemented changes to the radio channels used by the Brigade during incidents. This is to allow for additional dedicated incident command channels. Drones have also been introduced and are now equipped to enable information to be live streamed to Brigade Control; drone pilots are also being trained to deliver smoke hoods and flotation devices at incidents.
Recommendation
33.20
That the London Fire Brigade investigate the use of modern communication techniques to provide a direct line of communication between the control room and the bridgehead, allowing information to be transmitted directly between the control room and the bridgehead and providing an integrated system of recording fire survival guidance information and the results of deployments.
Responsible for completion:
- London Fire Brigade
Progress
Status
London Fire Brigade (LFB) has reported that this recommendation is complete.
The LFB has reported that this recommendation has been addressed through the development of its sector leading Fire Survival Guidance (FSG) application, which enables information from FSG calls to be displayed simultaneously at the incident and in Control.
The introduction of the application was previously delayed due to technical issues which have now been resolved. The Brigade has marked this recommendation as complete with the FSG application having gone live in March 2022.