Incident Command Guidance Note

Incident Command Guidance Note Guidance for centres delivering Pearson Edexcel Incident Command * linked to National Operational Guidance for Incident Command *Pearson Edexcel Level 3 Award in Initial Incident Command in Fire and Rescue Services Pearson Edexcel Level 4 Award in Intermediate Incident Command in Fire and Rescue Services Pearson Edexcel Level 6 Award in Advanced Incident Command in Fire and Rescue Services

Contents Introduction... 3 Background... 3 Interpretation of Assessment Criteria and New National Operational Guidelines... 4 Reference materials... 4 Pearson Edexcel Level 3 Award in Incident Command in Fire and Rescue Services 600/1313/8... 5 Pearson Edexcel Level 4 Award in Intermediate Incident Command in Fire and Rescue Services 600/5189/9... 8 Pearson Edexcel Level 6 Award in Advanced Incident Command in Fire and Rescue Services 600/1314/X... 12 Incident Command Guidance Note April 2017 2

Introduction This guidance note has been produced to enable centres delivering Pearson Edexcel Incident Command to link the current unit specification assessment criteria with the new National Operational Guidance (NOG) for Incident Command. This guidance relates to the following Pearson Edexcel : Level 3 Award in Initial Incident Command in Fire and Rescue Services Level 4 Award in Intermediate Incident Command in Fire and Rescue Services Level 6 Award in Advanced Incident Command in Fire and Rescue Services These qualifications will be reviewed during 2017 and will take into account published guidance, including The Foundation for Incident Command, which is designed to complement and support the National Operational Guidance for Incident Command and has been used to assist in the production of this guidance note. Background New National Operational Guidance (NOG) for Incident Command has recently been produced to support fire and rescue services to ensure consistent, safe and effective incident command practices are carried out. The NOG policy guidance is accompanied by The Foundation for Incident Command, which provides further detail and is used as the basis for this Pearson guidance note. The Foundation for Incident Command quotes The incident command system provides the incident commander with a clear framework to structure, organise and manage an incident. It can be adapted to all sizes and types of incident and will help them deploy and use resources in an efficient and safe way. The incident command system allows the incident commander to use health and safety arrangements, including standard operating procedures, tailored to the characteristics of an emergency. This helps the incident commander to achieve an appropriate balance between the benefit of undertaking planned actions and the risks associated with them. Whilst centres will deliver incident command development aligned with NOG, there will be some instances where parts of these do not exactly match the assessment criteria that centres are using to provide qualifications as tangible educational outcomes for learners on these. Incident Command Guidance Note April 2017 3

This guidance addresses this by highlighting the differences between the assessment criteria and the NOG and providing additional supporting information to enable centres to understand how best to interpret the qualification requirements in relation to their. There are some differences in language and terminology and some assessment definitions have changed too. There are also some cases where centres will need to ensure their include aspects of the qualification which do not obviously appear in the NOG. Interpretation of Assessment Criteria and New National Operational Guidelines Where there are differences between the qualification s assessment criteria (AC) and related NOG descriptions, these have been identified with an explanation and/or interpretation about how to address this. No guidance has been included where there are no perceived differences and/or the AC descriptors in the unit specification adequately address NOG. Reference materials All references in this guidance note to interpretations are related to guidance contained within The Foundation for Incident Command. Indicative resource materials for Pearson Edexcel Level 3, 4 and 6 Awards in Incident Command in Fire and Rescue Services (QCF) should now include: The Foundation for Incident Command Published by the National Operational Guidance Programme Second Edition First published November 2015 978-1-911089-01-8 Incident Command Guidance Note April 2017 4

Pearson Edexcel Level 3 Award in Incident Command in Fire and Rescue Services 600/1313/8 Unit 1: Initial Incident Command in Fire and Rescue Services Credit: 6 GLH: 45 LO 1: Understand the key principles of the Incident Command System (ICS) AC 1.1 - Describe the 3 functional areas of the Incident Command System (ICS) Functional areas, e.g. the elements of incident command in three functional areas, i.e. organisation on the fireground, incident risk management, command competence. Constituents of the ICS system, e.g. operational command, operational incident management, leadership, functional command. This may be interpreted as: Command Skills Organisation at an Incident Safety Management. The learner should provide a description for each of these areas based on the content of The Foundation for Incident Command. How control processes flow from the constituents of the IC system. Incident Command Guidance Note April 2017 5

LO 2: Understand the roles and responsibilities of personnel within the incident command structure AC 2.5 - Outline the progression at an incident from first pump attending to the arrival of a dedicated vehicle Progression, e.g. including escalation in relation to incident, increasing level of command and control. Communicating progression to local and off-site agents, e.g. personnel on incident ground, fire service mobilising control. This may be interpreted as the progression of command support systems at an incident as it develops from the initial attendance to the arrival of a dedicated command support vehicle with relevant equipment and trained personnel. The learner should outline this progression based on the content of The Foundation for Incident Command. LO 3: Understand the requirements for the successful management of risk at operational incidents AC 3.2 - Define the categories of risk assessment utilised within the United Kingdom Fire and Rescue Service (UKFRS) Strategic risk assessment, e.g. risk surveys to identify specific areas of concern. Systematic, e.g. decide on priorities, set objectives to eliminate or reduce risks. Dynamic, e.g. the timely, continuous assessment of risk in a rapidly changing environment. This may be interpreted as definitions for the categories of risk assessment outlined in The Foundation for Incident Command as: Dynamic risk assessment Analytical risk assessment Personal (or individual) risk assessment The learner should define these based on the content of The Foundation for Incident Command. Incident Command Guidance Note April 2017 6

LO 3: Understand the requirements for the successful management of risk at operational incidents AC 3.3 - State the UKFRS risk philosophy applied to the management of risk at operational incidents UKFRS risk philosophy, e.g. will take some risk to save a saveable life, may take some risk to save saveable property, will not take risk to save life or property that are already lost. This may be interpreted as the Firefighter Safety Maxim defined in The Foundation for Incident Command as: At every incident the greater the potential benefit of fire and rescue actions, the greater the risk that is accepted by commanders and firefighters. Activities that present a high risk to safety are limited to those that have the potential to save life or to prevent rapid and significant escalation of the incident. LO 3: Understand the requirements for the successful management of risk at operational incidents AC 3.5 - Explain the tactical mode options available at incidents Offensive, i.e. where safe systems of work are deployed and adequate control measures are deployed. Defensive, i.e. where risks to fire and rescue service crews are excessive. Transitional where employed by FRS, i.e. where an incident is sectorised with variation in the modes of operation between sectors so both offensive and defensive modes are in operation at the same time. This may be interpreted as the two tactical modes outlined in The Foundation for Incident Command as: Offensive - Crews are working within the designated hazard area and thereby, exposed to greater risk. Defensive - Crews are outside of the designated hazard area. Incident Command Guidance Note April 2017 7

Pearson Edexcel Level 4 Award in Intermediate Incident Command in Fire and Rescue Services 600/5189/9 Unit 2: Intermediate Incident Command in Fire and Rescue Services Credit: 5 GLH: 40 LO 2: Understand the importance of successful leadership and the application of effective decision making during operational incidents AC 2.1 - Explain the need for effective command decision making Decision-making, e.g. challenge of the time pressured environment, continuous in response to developing situation, minimisation of stress for all, minimise injuries, maximise safety, minimise damage and/or loss, establish and maintain confidence in command. Learners may include Operational Discretion in their response, as introduced in The Foundation for Incident Command. Decision-making approaches, e.g. naturalistic decision-making (NDM), recognition-primed decision model (RPD). Incident Command Guidance Note April 2017 8

LO 2: Understand the importance of successful leadership and the application of effective decision making during operational incidents AC 2.2 - Identify the four styles used within the United Kingdom Fire and Rescue Service Four decision styles and attributed cognitive processes, e.g. creative problem solving, analytical option comparison, procedural/standard operating procedures, intuitive/recognition-primed decisions (RPD). Learners may identify Intuitive decision-making and Analytical decision-making (AD) in their response. The Foundation for Incident Command includes within these Recognition Primed decision-making and Standard Operating Procedures respectively. LO 2: Understand the importance of successful leadership and the application of effective decision making during operational incidents AC 2.3 - Explain the benefits of the decision-making model employed by the United Kingdom Fire and Rescue Service Benefits, e.g. a tool for dynamic risk assessment (DRA), framework for any task or event, aid to the identification of when policy, procedures or equipment need to be introduced or improved, applicable to all personnel and to the service, i.e. confirm best practice, identify training needs. Learners may explain the Decision Control Process as described in The Foundation for Incident Command. Incident Command Guidance Note April 2017 9

LO 3: Understand the principles of successful risk management at operational incidents AC 3.1 - Summarise the key points of the United Kingdom Fire and Rescue Service philosophy in minimising and controlling risks to operational personnel Philosophy, e.g. role of the fire and rescue service. Operational procedures and practices, e.g. promote safe systems of work, used so far as reasonable and practicable. Team working, e.g. working in a team, work together as teams, whenever practicable teams to be made up of people who are familiar with each other and have trained together. Suitable and sufficient assessments of the risk, e.g. hazard identification, identify who might be harmed and how, evaluate operational personnel risks, decide precautions, record findings and planned action, implement planned actions, continually review the assessment and update if necessary. The philosophy may be interpreted as the Firefighter Safety Maxim defined in The Foundation for Incident Command as: At every incident the greater the potential benefit of fire and rescue actions, the greater the risk that is accepted by commanders and firefighters. Activities that present a high risk to safety are limited to those that have the potential to save life or to prevent rapid and significant escalation of the incident. Incident Command Guidance Note April 2017 10

LO 3: Understand the principles of successful risk management at operational incidents AC 3.2 - Explain the concept of the United Kingdom Fire and Rescue Service philosophy in minimising and controlling risks to operational personnel Philosophy concept. Generic risk assessment use, e.g. reduce risk assessment time, forms foundation for dynamic risk assessment (DRA s), Fire and Rescue Service Standard Operating Procedures (SOPS) and training schemes, assist in completion of analytical risk assessments (ARA s). Generic risk assessment provides, e.g. activity scope, significant hazards and risks, key control measures, technical references, list of considerations, summary. Dynamic risk assessment (DRA), i.e. the timely and continuous assessment of risk carried in a rapidly changing environment DRA outcome as the declaration of tactical mode The philosophy may be interpreted as the Firefighter Safety Maxim defined in The Foundation for Incident Command as: At every incident the greater the potential benefit of fire and rescue actions, the greater the risk that is accepted by commanders and firefighters. Activities that present a high risk to safety are limited to those that have the potential to save life or to prevent rapid and significant escalation of the incident. Learners may use the categories of risk assessment as detailed in The Foundation for Incident Command when explaining the concept: Dynamic risk assessment Analytical risk assessment Personal (or individual) risk assessment Incident Command Guidance Note April 2017 11

Pearson Edexcel Level 6 Award in Advanced Incident Command in Fire and Rescue Services 600/1314/X Unit 3: Advanced Incident Command in Fire and Rescue Services Credit: 6 GLH: 52 LO 1: Understand the principles of decision making when leading, monitoring and supporting people to resolve operational incidents AC 1.1 - Clarify the need for effective decision making when leading, monitoring and supporting people to resolve operational incidents Effective decision-making, e.g. high speed This may be interpreted as the Intuitive decision-making, TADMUS (tactical decisionmaking under stress), minimisation of stress, decision-making (AD) processes as decision-making and Analytical minimise damage and/or loss, continuous described in The Foundation for Incident nature, establish and maintain confidence in Command, which includes factors which command. may influence decision-making in the operational context. LO 1: Understand the principles of decision making when leading, monitoring and supporting people to resolve operational incidents AC 1.2 - Explain what the different components of the decision-making model are Components, e.g. identify the problem, generate a set of options for solving the problem/choice alternatives, evaluate these options concurrently, weighting and comparing the relevant features of the options, choose and implement the preferred option. Decision-making styles, e.g. naturalistic decision-making (NDM), recognition primed decision making (RPD). This may be interpreted as the Decision Control Process as described in The Foundation for Incident Command. Decision-making styles may be interpreted as Intuitive decision-making and Analytical decision-making (AD). Incident Command Guidance Note April 2017 12

LO 1: Understand the principles of decision making when leading, monitoring and supporting people to resolve operational incidents AC 1.3 - Evaluate how the different components of decision making can be applied when leading, monitoring and supporting people to resolve operational incidents Component application at operational incidents, e.g. identify appropriate objectives, define a plan, consider the results of evaluation, controlling, evaluating the outcome of the plan. This may be interpreted as the Decision Control Process as described in The Foundation for Incident Command. Decision-making model, e.g. applicable to all personnel at all levels, formed around two main activities, i.e. deciding-gathering and thinking, acting-communicating, functions within the two main activities. LO 2: Understand a tactical approach to leading and supporting people to resolve operational incidents to resolve operational incidents AC 2.1 - Summarise the range of different tactics that can be applied to resolve operational incidents Learners may include the Offensive and Range of tactics, e.g. defensive, offensive, codified mode i.e. transitional mode when Defensive tactical modes as described in employed by the FRS, where both are The Foundation for Incident Command, when summarising the range of different employed in one or more sectors. tactics that can be employed. Knowledge and understanding, e.g. of the domain of command and control in which the IC operates, of the domains operating above and below. Incident Command Guidance Note April 2017 13

LO 3: Understand the principles of risk management when leading, monitoring and supporting people to resolve operational incidents AC 3.1 - Critically evaluate the principles of different types of risk assessment at operational incidents Principles of different types of risk assessment, e.g. dynamic risk assessment, analytical risk assessment Dynamic risk assessment (DRA), e.g. purpose, when and why completed Analytical risk assessment (ARA), e.g. purpose, when and why completed Confirm, e.g. dynamic risk assessment and chosen Tactical Mode are correct, can form the basis of a future or ongoing DRA Responsibilities within tactical mode, e.g. everyone on the incident ground responsible for their own safety and the safety of others Risk control measures, e.g. initial stage of incident, situation evaluation, introduction and declaration of tactical mode, safe system of work selection, chosen systems of work assessment, additional control measures introduction, reassessment of additional control measures Learners may include Personal (or individual) risk assessment as described in The Foundation for Incident Command, when critically evaluating the principles of different types of risk assessment at operational incidents. Incident Command Guidance Note April 2017 14

LO 3: Understand the principles of risk management when leading, monitoring and supporting people to resolve operational incidents AC 3.2 - Explain how an understanding of different types of risk assessment influence own attitude to risk Responsibilities within tactical mode, e.g. everyone on the incident ground has a responsibility for their own safety and the safety of others. Learners may explain how Personal (or individual) risk assessment as described in The Foundation for Incident Command, may influence own attitude to risk. Own attitude to risk, e.g. responsibility for self and others, measurement of risk posed using approved methodology reducing dependence on own personal measure of risk, changing behaviour to thinking before you act rather than acting before you think. LO 3: Understand the principles of risk management when leading, monitoring and supporting people to resolve operational incidents AC 3.3 - Critically evaluate the attitude to risk in others in terms of the potential impact on resolving operational incidents Identifying attitude to risk, e.g. observation of personnel actions and body language, listening to verbal communication (tone and language use), team member concerns, damage to or wastage of resources. Learners may include in their critical evaluation how Personal (or individual) risk assessment as described in The Foundation for Incident Command, may impact on resolving operational incidents. Evaluation of impact, e.g. increased risk to people, property and/or environment, benefits of proceeding with a task versus risks. Manage risk, e.g. posed by firefighters willing to take some risk to save saveable lives and/or property, not willing to take any risk at all to save lives and/or properties that are already lost. Incident Command Guidance Note April 2017 15

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