3. Emergency response
operations with the focus
on the need of assistance
Emergency response operation is the term normally used for the oc-
currence of all, or larger or smaller parts of a municipal struc-
ture for providing rescue services being dispatched to an incident
site for the purpose of remedying problems in various ways, i.e.
helping those in need of assistance. Once at the incident site, va-
rious types of measures are initiated, coordinated and executed
under the leadership of one or more commanders/officers, and
in some cases together with a staff or in collaboration with other
organisations such as the police or medical services. The starting
point for all of this work, however, is that a need of assistance has
arisen – someone is in distress, cannot handle a situation alone
and therefore needs help. Without the need of assistance, the en-
tire concept behind emergency response operations is invalidated.
Conducting emergency response operations is thus not a goal in
itself. Furthermore, organising a fire brigade, building command
systems or even discussions in terms of tactical approaches are
not goals in themselves either. The starting point for the line of
argument presented throughout this book is thus that an incident
has occurred, or that there is in some way, a tangible risk that an
incident can occur. The need of assistance that accordingly arises –
in consideration to the damage that the incident produces and the
object where the incident occurred – must constantly be in focus.
Definition of emergency response operations
The term emergency response operation can be viewed in its wi-
dest context. All measures that are taken to rescue something
can be a form of emergency response operation. A person who
is walking down the street, sees an accident and begins taking
action is conducting a form of an emergency response operation.
Addressed in this book, however, are the emergency response