Tactics, command, leadership

made and measures taken based on the circumstances that exist
at the pertinent incident site. Making decisions or taking measu-
res in a routine manner can create major risks and often creates
more problems than one is trying to resolve.
A municipal structure for providing rescue services is not nor-
mally obligated to take action and conduct major and costly emer-
gency response operations to save property that has no greater
financial value. It may nonetheless be reasonable to conduct ope-
rations so as to protect nearby property or the environment. In
such cases, one should also keep in mind that a response operation
in itself can negatively impact the environment, such as when cer-
tain types of firefighting agents are used or when other risks are
involved. The execution of the emergency response operation can
thus also entail that one does not take any concrete measures at
all in counteracting the sequence of events. If it is a matter of res-
cuing people or otherwise hindering or limiting injury to people,
it is obvious that the fire brigade shall respond. The costs in such
cases are of no importance. In the event of an emergency, or when
there is an impending risk of an emergency, that in some way will
negatively impact the environment, however, it can be very dif-
ficult to assess the damage and to compare the costs of a response
operation against the costs of the damage that may occur in the
environment. In such cases, one should obtain assistance from
the municipality’s environmental organisation or other expertise
that can assess the damage, based on which measures are taken
or not taken.
This issue can be more complicated in regard to animals. In
general, a municipal structure for providing rescue services has
no obligation to take action and conduct response operations in
the event of emergencies that affect wild animals. It is only when
injury to animals has consequences for the environment in a wi-
der context that a municipal structure for providing rescue ser-
vices is obligated to take action. This can be the case after the
release of chemicals, for example. Domestic animals, however, are
normally treated as property. Many domestic animals have signi-
ficant monetary value, both horses, and cattle and pigs. Ethical
values can, however, can lead to a municipal structure for provi-
ding rescue services allocating resources to rescue domestic ani-
mals having no greater monetary value, such as pet dogs and cats.
In such cases though, the risks should be carefully considered in
re gard to personnel and any deficiencies in preparedness production.