Sharing experiences of disaster management and command systems, the 2008 IJOCC showed the way toward cross-global response.

By Emily Kendrick
This report appears courtesy of the author and editors of Crisis Response Journal, to whom Homeland1 extends our appreciation.

This year’s conference, hosted at the London Fire Brigade's Training Centre, brought together senior figures from the international community of emergency response. IJOCC is organised by the IJOCC Committee, Crisis Response Journal and London Fire Brigade on behalf of the Vector Command Foundation and used to fund research into command and emergency management projects.

Outlining a high priority for the community, Commissioner Ron Dobson of the LFB suggested that we need to "carry out much more detailed pre-planning than ever before," as well as greater multi-agency response and co-operation.

Speaking as an expert in Middle Eastern affairs and terrorism, Hagai Segal presented a thought-provoking address on how terrorists are increasingly changing their tactics and localities, with perhaps the biggest threat being that of the "digital 9/11" to the European Union. He also warned that threats are increasingly from EU nationals, as disenfranchised youths are targeted by Islamic extremists.

Learning lessons from UK disasters including the 7/7/2005 bombings of London’s public transport, Tarique Ghaffur, assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan Police and head of the Olympic Security Directorate, explained that the UK is preparing to approach the London Olympics in 2012 with "an end-to-end security footprint." The multiple events and sites, he said, require an approach that is proactive rather than reactive, with 26 hubs linking up across the country.

As a response to 7/7, four new counter-terrorist units were set up across the UK, and Steve Watts, assistant chief constable for Hampshire’s special operations, gave insight into the counter-terrorism strategy of these regional forces. He emphasised the need for practical communication between response organisations and the command levels Gold, Silver and Bronze (strategic down to tactical).

Another threat is that of an organic or deliberate pandemic, something the World Health Organisation is tackling by monitoring global disease on their Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network site. Chloe Selwood handles the possibility of a pandemic threat from her role as pandemic flu co-ordinator for the National Health Service in London. She warned that the focus, although strongly on H5N1, could be misdirecting resources and that the threat could come from another strain, which would assign pharmaceutical manufacturers the difficult task of producing multiple vaccines. Anticipating the crisis was a strong theme in her talk, as was self-diagnosis by the general public. Diseases are no longer the concern of one affected country, but as nations we are responsible for the health of the international community.

In a joint presentation, Shelley Dolan and Dave Brown gave their experiences of the January fire at Royal Marsden Hospital in Chelsea, London, where hospital employees proved essential in helping firefighters identify the priorities and hazards. A carefully executed evacuation of specialist wards, including surgery, proved effective, saving not only all lives within the vicinity but, additionally, valuable equipment that enabled a prompt return to normal operations.

Opening the second day, Euan Ferguson of the South Australian Country Fire Service described the adaptation of the U.S. National Incident Management System (NIMS) to their own Australian Inter-service Incident Management System, which is activated in response to wildland fires. The scale of these events means that emergency services need home owners to recognise their own responsibilities and be prepared to either stay and defend their homes, or leave early. Contrastingly, Bill Metcalf's approach to combating wildfires as the Chief Fire Officer in North County, Calif., has been hampered by what he called "a culture of dependency."

For their part, The Netherlands has ruled out evacuation, as Corsmas Goemans and Peter Glerum explained when summarising their country's exercise in preparation for large-scale flooding. That nation remains largely reliant upon a solid system of dams for protection.

Addressing the difficulties of command in remote areas, Capt. James McPherson of the U.S. Coast Guard identified how media attention and commercialism can hamper emergency response. Much more effective, he said, was NIMS, which has now been implemented nationwide.

Lt. Col. Jean Claude Zilliox reminded the conference of the extreme disturbances in France by violent rioters who threatened the safety of firefighters responding to calls. Following these events, the safety of the firefighters has become the foremost priority, and police assessment of the scene now dictates whether or not it is safe for them to respond.

The central themes emerging from IJOCC 2008 were those of interoperability, and how the effective management of the systems in place can save lives and ensure the safety of all. Use of the media was also highlighted as an essential part of emergency response, while harnessing technology can massively benefit responses by saving time and eliminating the complexities of mass information handling. Planning ahead for disasters, it has shown, provides the best possible results in adverse circumstances.

Emily Kendrick is editorial assistant and events organiser for Crisis Response Journal.