Command Units

[Trevatanus]

Passed an incident on Bank Holiday Monday (Nr. Tolworth IIRC), 4 pumps in attendance and a “Control unit”. I think, although I could be wrong it looked like a grass fire. Surprised that something like a control unit would be despatched to a grass fire? 

[Rory-495]

CU is auto mobilised for 4 pumps or more. Think this is a new thing as not many lads on my watch knew when I joined in feb

[JonesMrJones]

6 or more pumps in Avon. 

Unless it's on a PDA for specific buildings. 

[Charlie_]

Had a CU turn up to a 3 pump in the middle of the night the other week as well which was a bit unusual 

[JonFromTheLFB]

Had a level 2 water rescue for some ducklings trapped in an automatic operating lock the other day. 2 water rescue units, 2 pumping appliances and a technical rescue advisor... And me, a lowly CM with my own personal command unit! 

[Aspire]

On 02/09/2019 at 11:02, Rory-495 said:

Think this is a new thing as not many lads on my watch knew when I joined in feb

Its not new at all... Get the CU down so your watch can get an understanding of how it supports the incident.

I attended the incident in question, albeit for 20mins, as it went to 8 pumps. Its less about it being dispatched to a ‘grass fire’, but more about how it can support the Incident Commander at an incident with a number of resources. At this 8 pump grass fire, in addition to the machines, there was an OSU, Hose Layer, Drone Team, bulk media advisor, 3 SM’s, a uniformed Press Officer, ORT Officer and a Monitoring Officer. Thats 18 resources, give or take a couple that I may have forgot... not to mention dealing with the Police and the owner of the land. A Command Unit and the staff assist the IC in getting hold of this and not getting overwhelmed. The mapping will help with the sectorisation and who is clearly responsible for what, helping to keep our crews safe.

“But it was there at 4, I hear you say”.... Yes, having it nice and early means you aren’t playing catch up when the wind turns and the fire is eating up an couple metres of grass every few secs. If the CU isn’t required, it can be turned away.

48 minutes ago, JonFromTheLFB said:

2 water rescue units, 2 pumping appliances and a technical rescue advisor... And me, a lowly CM with my own personal command unit! 

Again, a level 2 water rescue can be quite complex, involving search patterns and extended time in the water, think Alice Gross. The mobilising system can not determine its a duckling, it sends resources to support a level two operation.  

Totally agree that sometimes the CU can seem overkill, but if you look at it from a different angle, it makes more sense.