events, the decision is taken not to pump out individual houses as
the resources required for this should to used to maintain socie-
tal functions such as electricity and fresh water supply. It is im-
portant to remember that the definitions of time and space change
continually, but usually not quickly. This is not always the case,
however; the development of an incident can force a municipal
structure for providing rescue services to change the space it has
to function within.
Even this relatively basic description of time and space provides
cause for reflection over their significance in terms of emergency
response operations.The initial fire /
pre-flashoverFlashover Fully developed room fire Cooling phase Time
Temperature
(Above):
A fire can, for example,
be illustrated using a
time/temperature graph.
See Bengtsson (2001).
(On the right): The
connection between
time and space: it
takes, for example, a
certain time to travel a
certain distance. Time
Start Present situation Goal