Emergency Response Organisations
In responding to a Major Incident, all of the responder agencies, whilst having their own clearly defined roles and responsibilities, will work together to mitigate the effects of the incident upon those involved, the local community and the environment. This collective and cooperative effort is known as "Integrated Emergency Management".
At the scene of a Major Incident, as you would expect, the preservation of life comes before any other consideration. Therefore, rescue will most frequently be the prime function required of the emergency services, usually led by the Durham and Darlington Fire & Rescue Service. Once rescued, the care and transportation of casualties to hospital is the responsibility of the North East Ambulance Service (NEAS). In overall command of the incident, Durham Constabulary will ease and facilitate these life-saving efforts by coordinating the incident scene (which may also be crime scene), the emergency services, local authorities and other agencies that are or will be in attendance.
In addition, however, all of the Emergency Services (often referred to as the "Blue Light Agencies"), have clearly defined roles and responsibilities at the scene of a Major Incident.
To learn more about each responder, an outline on each organisation is provided within this section under the following headings: