Tactics, command, leadership

Emergency rescue operations are often conducted in dynamic
environments, i.e. environments that in various ways are time­de-
pendent – events at an incident site change and develop in part
independently and in part as a result of the measures taken by a
municipal structure for providing rescue services. In other words,
the events will change and develop regardless of if a fire brigade is
present or not. One can also then say that the purpose of the me-
asures that a fire brigade takes, and which is also the purpose of
conducting an emergency response operation, is primarily to cau-
se the events at an incident site, including the emergency’s chain
of events and its impact on people, property or the environment,
to develop as intended by the fire brigade. In this context, one can
speak of an objective or objectives of operations, which indicate what
one wants to achieve in a certain situation, for example, to save
a certain part of a burning building or limiting the release of a
certain chemical. One of the important tasks of those in charge is
defining and communicating such response objectives.
A response operation extends in time and space with logistics of-
ten constituting an important function, i.e. handling the supply
of materials, production planning and physical distribution of
personnel, materials, etc. Logistics encompasses planning, deve-
lopment, coordination, organisation, administration and control
of material flows, both physical resources in the form of vehicles
and equipment, and personnel. A response operation is conducted
to fulfil a specific purpose, In general, one can say that this pur-
pose is to prevent or limit injury/damage to persons or property,
or in the physical environment in the event of an emergency or
impending risk for an emergency. The measures that a fire bri-
gade takes at an incident site are used as ‘tools’ for achieving this
purpose (Svensson, 1999).
Coordination is another function of a response that must be ma-
naged, i.e. that the resources and the measures that are taken are
harmonised, coordinated and synchronised into a cohesive and
structured organisation so that all component parts are moving in
the same direction. Coordination is dependent both on the resour-
ces and knowledge of the individuals involved, how the situation
develops and the objectives of the response operation. Situational
perception and coordination should be considered as dependent
upon one another so that coordination is conducted based on the
actual situation and the need for assistance that arises as a result
of the emergency. It is naturally fundamental that decisions are