Units
A term that is often used within the municipal structure for
providing rescue services is unit. The term unit here refers to an
organisational element comprising one or more persons that with
the help of equipment have the capacity to execute measures
against one or more destructive sequences. The unit is assig-
ned one or more tasks and executes one or more measures. The
main purpose of forming units is to obtain manageable working
entities. A unit can influence the extent or character of the da-
mage caused. It can also carry out many types of tasks. Each
organisation needs to define its unit concept when configuring
its operations. Not least because the size of a unit must be based
on local circumstances. Note that a unit can comprise a single
person or several. This entails variation in the degree of detail
issued when tasks are assigned to larger as compared to smal-
ler units. The units should be defined prior to an emergency re-
sponse operation being initiated. This must not, however, be per-
mitted to reduce flexibility in terms of confronting the incident.
The forming of units is a way of creating manageable resour-
ces, especially when time is short. A flexible approach regar-
ding the use of resources and units is required to ensure the
necessary flexibility towards the needs of the actual situation.
As the reason for division into units is to create a manageable si-
tuation, the term can also be described from the perspective of the
command organisation. From a command standpoint a unit is the
smallest entity in a callout organisation. That a unit is the smallest
entity from a command perspective means that it is the degree of
resolution in terms of resources that can be used as a starting point
for communication between the various organisational elements
or levels when resources are being allocated. When requesting a
particular type of team, the amount of information is held to a mi-
nimum, but despite this the sender and the recipient interpret the
contents in the same way. The different measures that a unit can
execute are included as a condition when a unit is sent to an inci-
dent site. Division into units simplifies the handling of large resour-
ces. Units also make it possible to form, in a structured manner,
a response operation at an early stage so that the organisation can
be expanded as and when required.
Division into predetermined units creates the opportunity to
specify the capacity of a resource. If the capacity is known the
conditions are created for allocating resources to a response