Tactics, command, leadership

Capacity restrictions are the limitations of an individual on the
grounds of physical constitution, i.e. that a person cannot phy-
sically carry out certain tasks. They also include limitations in
mental capacity, i.e. that an individual is limited by how much
the brain can process. In addition there are capacity restrictions
in terms of the facilities an individual has available to them. This
concerns such aspects as, for example, the need, normally, to
sleep so many hours per day and to eat at regular intervals. In
connection with this we can take up the aspect of sustainability,
i.e. it is necessary for commanders to be aware of these capacity
restrictions in order to prepare for relief before the individual’s
performance is affected and urgent measures become necessary.
In the same way commanders have to be aware of limitations in
resource capacity in the form of, for example, availability of ex-
tinguishing water.
There is also a capacity restriction in the balance between
emergency preparedness and the threat situation. There already
exist at a basic level, i.e. in the situation that is the norm for the
municipal structure for providing rescue services, restrictions
caused by, among other things, response time to the various areas
within the municipality. If the emergency preparedness situation
is changed, for example, through physically moving part or all of
the organisation, the capacity restrictions will be altered. If, th-
rough such temporary or more permanent moves, response times
to some parts of the municipality are reduced, they will probably
be increased to others. This is, however, a relatively easily solved
optimisation problem.^1 To dimension the emergency services and
locate the fire stations on the basis of response time and number
of staff is not difficult. There is, however, much more involved
in dimensioning a municipal structure for providing rescue ser-
vices.
Connection restrictions arise through demands for coordination
between individuals, equipment and material, and even, for ex-
ample, between various incident sites or response operations. The
majority of measures taken during a single emergency response
operation need to be coordinated and it is seldom that just one
measure is executed at an incident site. Normally several are ex-
ecuted, some simultaneously and others consecutively. It is often
the case that several such simultaneous and consecutive measures
are dependent on each other for their actual execution or to ac-
hieve the desired result. These sets of measures that are executed