Types of Emergency Responders at an Incident

At the scene of a major incident, you may encounter a wide range of emergency responders. Beyond the standard police, fire, and ambulance services, each organisation also has its own specialist teams trained to deal with specific types of incidents. Understanding who is likely to attend and their roles is essential for effective multi-agency working.

Police Services

In addition to regular police officers, a variety of specialist police units may respond depending on the nature of the incident:

• CBRN Officers – trained to deal with chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear incidents.
• Public Order Units – equipped and trained for crowd control and disorder.
• Firearms Officers – respond to incidents involving weapons or armed threats.
• British Transport Police – involved if the incident takes place on the rail network.
• Civil Nuclear Constabulary – responsible for safeguarding nuclear power sites.

Other specialist police forces may attend depending on the location and type of incident.

Fire and Rescue Services

Your local fire and rescue service includes more than standard fire appliances. They also have:

• Technical Rescue Teams – specialising in rescue at height, water rescue, confined space rescue, and other complex extractions.
• Mass Decontamination Units – supporting the ambulance service during chemical or hazardous material incidents.

Ambulance Service

Beyond frontline paramedic crews, the ambulance service may deploy several specialist teams:

• Patient Transport Services – in some regions provided by contracted organisations.
• HART (Hazardous Area Response Team) – trained for water rescue, rescue at height, confined space operations, and responding to marauding terrorist attacks.
• SORT (Special Operations Response Team) – provides CBRN decontamination capabilities and, in some services, warm-zone firearms response using specialist PPE and body armour.

Although some HART and fire service capabilities overlap, their roles differ: Fire service specialists focus on the physical rescue, while HART teams support the fire service and provide patient care and evacuation.

Coastguard and Maritime Rescue

The HM Coastguard provides:

• Helicopter rescue services
• Specialist cliff, rope, and coastal path rescue teams

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), although a voluntary charity, provides highly professional and rapid lifesaving services at sea around the UK coastline.

Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD)

The military’s EOD units respond to all types of bomb disposal work, including:

• Old wartime munitions, often discovered during construction work
• Improvised explosive devices (IEDs) created by hobbyists or terrorists

These teams are highly specialist and are deployed via established protocols.

Voluntary Ambulance and Medical Services

• St John Ambulance and British Red Cross often support events and provide voluntary assistance to NHS ambulance services during busy periods.
• BASICS (British Association for Immediate Care) doctors – volunteer doctors trained to work in high-pressure pre-hospital environments, usually deployed through the local ambulance service.

Mountain and Specialist Water Rescue

Mountain Rescue teams are not contacted directly; they are called out by the local police. They provide highly skilled support in remote or difficult terrain.

Specialist water rescue teams operate in certain areas of the UK. These are usually activated by the ambulance service, not the police. Several groups, such as SARA (Severn Area Rescue Association), provide specialist rescue capabilities.

Military Support

The military can provide a wide range of capabilities, although they are not a rapid-response resource. Military support is generally used for long-duration incidents such as large-scale flooding or significant logistical operations.

Examples include:

• Sandbagging and flood defence
• Large-area search and rescue
• Providing manpower and logistical support

Deployment usually takes 24–48 hours, as military units are not on immediate standby for civilian incidents.

Military support (other than routine bomb disposal) requires a formal request through a JRLO (Joint Regional Liaison Officer), typically a Lieutenant Colonel. This request is escalated to the Secretary of State for Defence, as all military support—outside of EOD work—is legally considered aid to the civil authorities.

Summary

A major incident may involve a wide range of responders, each with their own unique roles and capabilities. Effective incident management relies on understanding these roles, recognising specialist teams, and working cooperatively across agencies.