An additional problem is that one seldom reflects over the rescue
service concept other than when financial reimbursement is at
issue (and hardly even then). There is also a need to examine the
rescue service concept from a management perspective.
Objects and damage/injury
When it comes to determining what an emergency response ope-
ration is, one should differentiate between objects and damage/inju-
ry. Damage/injury can be the same for two different objects, but
the objects can have different values. It may also be that the objec-
ts are equivalent but that the damage/injury significantly differs.
As the person in charge in conjunction with response operations,
one must thus deal with three factors: objects, damage/injury and
resources. Resources are further discussed in the section on satis-
fying needs for assistance.
Basically, it is some form of object that is subjected to the risk
for damage/injury. The object can be a person, property or the en-
vironment. Property can be divided into various categories, such
as medical facilities, dwellings or objects that are parts of the
public sector’s infrastructure. For this type of object, it can be
worthwhile to be able to identify the object’s design, for example,
in the form of bearing capacity, various structural elements, ac-
tive safety systems, such as detectors and sprinkler systems, and
other types of control and regulating functions. Depending on the
type of object that is threatened, there are various societal conse-
quences. Accordingly, a fire in an object that constitutes a part of
the country’s power supply, for example, can have serious conse-
quences for society on a wider scale. Different forms of damage/
injury can also occur. Examples of these are discharges of chemi-
cals, water leaks and fires in kitchens. Sometimes a fire brigade’s
personnel can find themselves in situations in which different ob-
jects, such as dwellings or offices, are subjected to the same type
of damage, for example, water damage caused by cracked pipes.
Even if the damage is the same, the objects can be of sufficiently
different character that one must make entirely different assess-
ments and prioritisations. The situation can sometimes be such
that two similar objects (for example, two singlefamily dwellings
beside one another in a residential district) have different types
of damage (for example, fire damage and water damage). Despite
the similarities of the objects, the character of the damage differs
and different assessments must be made. The categorisation can