Integrated Emergency Management: Principles, Response, and Recovery

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INTEGRATED EMERGENCY
MANAGEMENT

Contents
INTRODUCTION.....................................................................................................................................3
LO 3.......................................................................................................................................................4
P5 EXPLAIN THE PRINCIPLES OF EFFECTIVE EMERGENCY INCIDENT RESPONSE................................4
P6 DESCRIBE THE RECOVERY STAGE FOLLOWING AN EMERGENCY INCIDENT..................................8
LO 4.....................................................................................................................................................11
P7 IDENTIFY A RANGE OF EXAMPLES OF EMERGENCY INCIDENT, BOTH UK-BASED AND
INTERNATIONAL..............................................................................................................................11
CONCLUSION.......................................................................................................................................12
REFERENCES........................................................................................................................................13

INTRODUCTION
Handling emergency situations is a crucial task as accidents and sudden situations come up
unannounced. In this study, a specific organization named Environment Agency is taken which an
environment agency working for the protection and sustainability of the environment. The EA
handles the environmental concerns arising due to the calamity and handles the issues pertaining
for the prevention of the accidents. The research will understand the principals involved in handling
the effective emergency response and the recovery stage followed by the emergency accident.
While handling emergencies or working in such a scenario, the need for future planning and
responding is also necessary. Some examples of emergency incidents are studied in the research
which has an impact on the tranquillity and peace of the environment (Shukla, 2013).

LO 3
P5 EXPLAIN THE PRINCIPLES OF EFFECTIVE EMERGENCY INCIDENT
RESPONSE
There are four fundamental principles of emergency management process. These principles for
handling emergency situations followed by Environment Agency (EA) are described as follows-
Fig. 1- Principles of Emergency Management
Source- (Flanagan et al., 2011)
 Mitigation: In the mitigation phase, a risk assessment of the hazard is conducted to see
which ones are the most serious ones and need an immediate response. This phase of the
emergency handling mechanism prevents future emergencies and minimizes their effects.
The emergency handling situations if practised at home will involve buying flood and fire
insurance at home. This will be a mitigation activity as it is an effort to reduce the impact of
the calamity if it happens.
 Preparedness: In this phase of emergency management, the preparation is done to handle
the emergency situation. The plans and preparations made to save the lives and aid any
other rescue operations is a preparedness step. If the emergency management is practised
at home, the preparedness steps could be stocking food and water as it is a means of
preparation of sustaining life if a calamity happens.

 Response: In this step of the emergency management, the steps to respond safely during an
emergency are involved and practised. The response actions are undertaken to protect the
lives of those in danger. The preparedness plans come into action in this step of the
emergency management. To move to a safe and secure place during an earthquake or a
tornado can be a responsive action (Tingsanchali, 2012).
 Recovery: This is the last phase of the emergency management system where the recovery
from the accident or calamity occurs. These include the actions are taken to bring life to
normal and a safer situation. The recovery process may include getting monetary help for
the victims and manage a shelter for the affected ones is a step for recovery. The recovery
steps are taken after the emergency has happened.
These are the principles practised by EA while handling emergency situations and calamities in the
UK region. EA has a major and responsible role to play during an emergency situation (FEMA
Training, 2019).
Civil Emergencies
When an emergency arises, it is important to establish a dedicated command structure which helps
in the combat of the calamity in a procedural way.In the national structure, there is an established
framework for handling the local multi-agency response to any kind of emergencies. Single agencies
also use the bronze, silver and gold structures.
In the UK, the governmental response to any significant emergency is managed by COBR which is the
Cabinet Office Briefing rooms. Under this, the ministers and senior officials from their respective
departments and agencies come together which is done to carry out timely operations and decision
making regarding the accident. The functions of COBR are designed to be flexible to handle the
circumstances prevailing. COBR meetings are held to discuss the incidents depending on the degree
of hazard caused (College of Policing, 2013).
The Gold–Silver–Bronze Command Structure
The gold-silver-bronze command structure is a structure for managing the combat system during an
emergency. This structure was designed to respond to any sudden attacks or major incidents or even
for planned operations like football matches.
Gold Commander: The gold commander is the one who is the head and incharge of the
whole incident and leads the team towards rescue operation. The gold commander is not at
the site of the incident but in a control room giving directions, forming strategies and

planning to deal with the incident. They remain in constant touch with the help of video
conferencing or telephone. This responsibility generally falls on the local chief constable of
the respective area.
Silver Commander: The silver commander is the one who takes the instructions from the
gold commander and executes the tasks instructed by him. The silver commander may work
alongside the gold or the bronze commander in carrying out the rescue operations at the
incident site. The silver commanders for the fire services are present on site and those for
the police are not.
Bronze Commander: The bronze commander is the one who is present at the incident site at
all times and controls the resources and helps available. They work with their staff at the
scene and carry out rescue operations as instructed by the gold and silver commanders.
When a grave incident has happened then they themselves take some actions and
responsibilities like taking statements of the survivors, cordon management and general
management (Callow et al., 2014).
These are the levels of commanding during an emergency situation.
Strategic Coordinating Group (SCG)
The Strategic Coordinating Group (SCG) takes overall responsibility for the management o multi-
agency in an incident. It established frameworks in which the lower levels of command and
coordinating groups will work. The guiding principles of Strategic Coordinating Group (SCG) are
o To protect and preserve life in all forms
o To minimise the impact of the incident and work as a first aid. Its task also includes
preventing the neighbouring areas to remain safe during the jeopardy at the incident.
o To relocate those who are affected by providing them suitable shelter, clothing, food and
water so that they can remain safe and carry on regular duties without any mishap.
SCG has a number of activities bestowed upon and it is his responsibility to carry them out dutifully.
The SCG creates the strategies for rescue and retrieval of life at the damage site and assigns roles to
other sub-ordinates as well. The other responsibilities of SCG are as follows-
o To determine and share any clear information about the aims and objectives prepared and
also to view them regularly.
o Create a policy framework which entails the management and design the processes for the
recovery process of those affected from the damage

o To listen to those working below him and allocate them the resources and materials they
might need in order to carry out the rescue operations successfully. .
o To handle the media regarding eth situation of an incident, handle public communications
plan and delegate it to a responder agency.
o To direct the planning and operations for addressing the immediate response for managing
the recovery process.
These are the principles and responsibilities of the Strategic Coordinating Group (SCG) which handles
the operations for emergency situations (College of Policing, 2019).
Science and Technical Advice Cell (STAC)
The STAC is the body that gives advice to the working parties at the time of the crisis about the
feasible options they have for dealing the crisis and the emergency at hand and also takes the input
of SCG in forming cohesive policies for the effective and sustaining rescue operations for those
affected by the damage.
STAC has some major aims and objectives which are as follows-
To provide practical and appropriate assistance
To bring together and arrange contact with other specialists and advisors
To provide agreed recommendations for the process of risk management
To pass on the risk communication messages
To confine the discussions on the issues within the STAC
These are the aims and objectives of STAC who assist the SCG in the decision making and emergency
combating mechanisms (Ready Scotland, 2019).

P6 DESCRIBE THE RECOVERY STAGE FOLLOWING AN EMERGENCY
INCIDENT
The recovery stage undermines the three essential processes which include- Rebuilding, restoring
and rehabilitating. These three are the essential processes which determine the recovery measures
set against any incident or calamity that strikes.
Rehabilitation:
Rehabilitation is the work carried out in weeks and months following the calamity have struck. It
involves the restoration of the basic services in order to return the people, life and livelihood to
normal. The activities carried out in the rehabilitation phase are the efforts to resume the
functioning of life to normalcy. Rehabilitation is an important phase and is important for the rescue
operations for those who area affected (North et al., 2015).
Reconstruction and Rebuilding:
The reconstruction and rebuilding are for the long-term development of the affected region so that
no fatalities happen in future and appropriate measures can be put into action. The replacement of
the arrangements established in the emergency response of the rehab process is still effective.
Rebuilding is also the reconstruction of all major physical structures that have been contributing to
the economic and social well-being (Kapucu and Garayev, 2011).
CATEGORIES OF RECOVERY

Fig. 2- Categories of Recovery
Source- (Tingsanchali, 2012)
Humanitarian Recovery:
The humanitarian recovery includes the steps taken to ensure emergency response after any
calamity or an incident that poses a threat to humanity. Recovery includes all those phases that go
beyond the immediate relief and plan to ensure long-term relief for those who are affected.
Humanitarian recovery is a response that puts critical intervention that lay the foundation for
sustainable recovery. The recovery needs of the humanitarian phase in an emergency align with the
development principles. In the recovery method, resilience is built to establish a sustainable process
of recovery from the crisis (Humanitarian Response, 2019).
Economic Recovery:
Economic recovery is a phase in the business cycle after a recession during which the economic gains
and exceeds peak employment. The recovery period after a calamity or incident is time-consuming
and requires government intervention to restore the economic activities of the affected areas.
During the recovery, there is a high level of growth in GDP, employment, corporate profit and other
economic aspects. In the economic recovery, the stream of improved business activity germinates
indicating the end of the recession. It is not easy to manifest the economic recovery and the
economists use a number of parameters for identifying the economic recovery. The indicators used
Categories
of
Recovery
Humanitarian
Recovery
Economic
Recovery
Infrastructure
Recovery
Environmental
Recovery

are a gross domestic product (GDP), financial market, and inflation, unemployment rate to
understand the state of the economy and understand the process of economic recovery (Kenton,
2018).
Infrastructure Recovery:
In the process of infrastructure development, the actions taken in the initial days after the calamity
which could be short-term actions in constructing the infrastructure are vital. The infrastructure-
related services like emergency power and electricity, alternate communication channels, temporary
bridges for relocation and makeshift shelters are a part of the short-term development in
infrastructure. The physical infrastructure constitutes the public facilities which are for access for
everyone. The infrastructure development is important like the schools, hospitals and other
important structures that are needed so that the people can resume their normal lives. The
infrastructure development and the rate at which the development happens determine the
country’s competitiveness and readiness towards any damage or calamity that may hit unannounced
(UNDP, 2019).
Environmental Recovery:
Environmental recovery is the recovery of the environmental assets after a calamity or an incident.
Environmental recovery is country specific depending on the extent of damage caused to life and
livelihood. The management of natural resources in a proper and sustainable manner involves the
management of environmental recovery. The post-disaster recovery methods assess different levels
of disaster management like clearing o areas and passages used for commute, planting more trees
and managing water resources in the form of ponds and lakes. Other secondary means like
developing biogas as a means of fuel when the conventional methods are not available is also a
means of environmental recovery after the accident (UNEP, 2018).

LO 4
P7 IDENTIFY A RANGE OF EXAMPLES OF EMERGENCY INCIDENT, BOTH UK-
BASED AND INTERNATIONAL.
UK BASED EMERGENCY INCIDENTS
Grenfell Tower Fire- On Wednesday, 14th June 2017, a huge and uncontrolled fire broke out in
Grenfell Tower which engulfed the building in no time. Around 72 people lost their lives in the fire
and destroyed 151 homes in the building and surrounding areas. Grenfell tower is in the Royal
Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, West London, England. The fire broke out around the 4 th floor of
the 23 storey building. It took 40 fire engines and 200 firefighters to completely extinguish the fire.
The reason for the fire is said to be cheap cladding which was done in the recent renovation.
2015 Shoreham Airshow crash
This was another incident when an air-show plane was conducting a loop but flew too low and
crashed, causing the death of 11 persons and severely injuring 16 people. The aircraft that caused
the damage was Hawker Hunter T7 that failed to complete a loop manoeuver and crashed into the
vehicles on the road. The pilot survived and all other similar aircrafts were banned to fly in the future
(Noe et al., 2017).
INTERNATIONAL EMERGENCY INCIDENTS
Hurricane Irma and Maria 2017
Hurricane Irma was a powerful and disastrous hurricane which was the strongest ever happened in
the Atlantic ocean on August 30, 2017. The hurricane caused landfalls in Antigua and Barbuda, St.
Martin, the Bahamas and Cuba and the US. A total of 134 lost their lives and cost $64.8 billion loss.
Hurricane Irma damaged 95% of the structures on Barbuda. Hurricane Maria was reported on
September 16, 2017, that caused 3,057 fatalities and damaged $81.61 billion worth of life and
property.

CONCLUSION
It can be concluded from the research that handling emergency situations on time is very important
to minimise the effect of the calamity on life and property. There are a number of emergency
management operations like mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery which should be
practised in the times of a natural and man-made calamity. The silver-gold-bronze command
structures were also discussed along with the responsibilities they handle during the chaos. The
roles of SCG and STAC were also covered in the study. Lastly, some incidents occurred in the UK and
internationally were discussed to see examples of hazard that damage life and property and result in
billions of loss.