Major Incident Plan
Contents
Background
Definitions
Emergency Management Team
Managing the Incident
Emergency Management Team roles and responsibilities – checklists
Immediate Post Incident Procedures
Role of the Emergency Services
Off Campus Incidents
Appendices:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Emergency Management Team contact details
Incident Rooms
Log Book template
Interaction with City Council/ Multi-Agency response (produced by
City Council)
Background
The Major Incident Plan is designed to facilitate the management of any major
event, which will impact upon the operation/reputation of the University. This
document will support the mobilisation and operation of the Emergency
Management Team (EMT) who would be responsible for managing the crisis.
The University emergency planning has been designed so that local incidents,
unlikely to have severe repercussions, can be managed at a local level by
Local Incident Teams (LITs). Each School and Service will have developed a
Local Incident Plan, these plans must remain current and must be reviewed
and/or revised when there are changes to how the business operates or when
there are changes in staff or their responsibilities. Local Incident Teams may
be called upon to support the EMT in the management of a major incident.
The University has a clear escalation/ accountability route for all incidents:
Incident Type
Minor
Minor incidents that may cause short-term
inconvenience to the School/Service and
can be corrected by calling in appropriate
services
Local
An incident likely to affect the smooth
running of the School/Service and unlikely
to affect other Schools/Service or
University reputation/operation
Major
All incidents likely to affect the smooth
running of more than one School/Service
or could impact on the reputation/
operation of the University
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Management & Accountability
Routine control
procedures
School or Service control
Covered by the Local Incident
Plans supported by the Local
Incident Teams
Central Major Incident control
Covered by the Major Incident
Plan supported by the
Emergency Management Team
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DEFINITIONS
For the purposes of this document the following definitions apply:
EMT
The University Emergency Management Team (EMT) is a small group
of Senior Executives who have the authority to make swift and very
major decisions in the event of a major incident. The EMT is supported
as and when required by specialists and the relevant LITs affected by
the incident.
LIT
A Local Incident Team (LIT) comprises members appointed by the
Management of the School/Service from across the various operations
within the School/Service. It is responsible for drawing up and
maintaining an Incident Plan. The LIT will operate autonomously in the
event of an incident.
Local Incident
Incidents that generally happen quickly, unexpectedly and demand
immediate action. These will generally only affect the smooth running
of one School/Service although local incidents can escalate into major
incidents. Local incidents will be managed by the Local Incident Team
(LIT).
Major Incident
A major incident is defined as “a time of acute danger or difficulty”, a
“turning point”. It may involve an event that has outstripped the ability of
a LIT to manage or may have extended to include areas of the
University occupied by other Schools. A major incident may impact
beyond the University or be an external event which adversely
impinges onto the University.
Business Recovery
Recovery is the key to getting the University back to normal operation
as soon as is practicable.
All schools and services are required to have a current Business
Continuity Plan, the plan identifies risks to critical activities and how to
mitigate against them, the plan also identifies key responsible persons
from within the school/service.
The EMT will establish a recovery team depending on the nature/scale
of the incident.
School/Service
All University academic and support services such as, Schools,
Research Institutes, Information Services and Systems, University
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Library Services, Estate Support Service, Executive Office and all
similar services etc.
Third Parties
All non University staff and companies located in or working on
University property such as NHS Trust, INTO, Northern Stage, Student
Union, Commercial tenants and Building contractors.
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EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT TEAM (EMT)
The first person listed under each role is the principal contact (the deputy
would only be called out in the event of the first member being unavailable).
The EMT core team would be contacted by University Security in the event of
a crisis/ major incident.
Core Team
Role
Co-ordinator
Communications
Manager
Damage Manager
Business Continuity
Coordinator
Insurance Officer
Security
Member (First choice
contact)
Registrar
Head of Press and
Communications
Deputy
Insurance Officer
Nominated by Insurance
& Risk Manager
Nominated by Estate
Security Manager
Nominated by Registrar
Nominated by Head,
Press and
Communications
Head of Maintenance
Nominated by Head of
ESS
Maintenance ESS
To be identified by the co-ordinator
Estate Security
Manager
From Executive Office
Secretary
Co-opted Members (depending on the nature of the major incident)
Role
Duties
Spokesperson
Liaises with senior
management and arranges the
release of information to staff,
families, media and external
organisations
Establish helpline to deal with
all related internal and external
calls
Provision of information on
status of network and
anticipated recovery
requirements.
Telecoms
Co-ordinator
IT Network
advisor
Legal and
Finance
Human
Resources
Student Liaison
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Advising on financial and legal
matters
Liaising over all matters
concerning the welfare of staff
Liaising over all matters
concerning the welfare of
students
Member (First choice
contact)
Nominated by Coordinator
Telecoms Manger
Director of ISS
Executive Director of
Finance & Planning
Executive Director of
Human Resources
Student Registrar
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Property
Accommodation
and Hospitality
Advising on the recovery and
availability of alternative
premises
Advise on loss of residential
facilities and the provision of
welfare and catering support
Clerical support to EMT
Secretarial
Support
Health and Safety Head of Health and Safety
Director of ESS
Director of
Accommodation and
Hospitality Services
To be appointed by
Secretary
Nominated by Head of
Health and Safety
Members of the relevant Local Incident Team(s) may also be co-opted in
order to provide expert localised support. Their contact details are contained
within the relevant Local Incident Plans.
MANAGING THE INCIDENT
Within the first hour the priority is to contain the incident and ensure the
welfare of staff/students/visitors. Contact and liaison with Emergency Services
should be established and the EMT be advised. The approach to managing
an incident will depend on the time of day and time of year. The following
time lines assume that the incident takes place during term time:Invocation Process – During Working Hours
a) The LIT Manager or Security Manager would inform the EMT
Co-ordinator of a major incident and provide available
information.
b) After consideration of the information the Co-ordinator will
decide whether to invoke the Major Incident Plan.
c) Security Control will begin call-out procedure.
d) The Security Manager will dispatch officers to site to secure
area and await further instruction.
e) Security Control open Major Incident Room and commission
equipment and IT systems.
f) EMT members begin to arrive.
g) The EMT Co-ordinator briefs the core team on the nature of
the Major Incident and confirms roles and responsibilities.
h) The EMT Secretary opens the Events Log.
i) The EMT Co-ordinator to determine who should be co-opted
in order to provide expert support and will identify an
appropriate Business Continuity Coordinator dependent upon
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the nature of the crisis. Details will be passed to Security
Control who will begin call-out.
j) If not already available appropriate LIT(s) (and Local Incident
Plan(s)) to be co-opted to support the EMT (ongoing action).
k) Take time to step back and assess. The team should be able
to assess who is doing what, and the actions that still need
to be taken. The University has adopted the CHALETS
system as a checklist of initial actions.
Casualties
 Have all staff, students and visitors been accounted
for?
 Have third parties been informed?
 Have all known visitors been accounted for?
Hazards
Access
Location
Emergency services
 Have danger areas been evacuated?
 Has the Security Office been informed/the area secured
and a rendezvous point established for Emergency
Services?
 Have necessary building plans been made available?
 If appropriate, have the Emergency Services been
called?
 Are the Emergency Services getting all the help they
need?
 Have lines of communication between the incident
location and Incident Room been
established and are they working effectively?
Type
Start-up
 Can business be carried on?
 What additional support is required?
 Is the Incident Room and Incident Plan in use?
 Has a Secretary been appointed to maintain the
Incident Log and has it been maintained fully and
accurately?
 Have all EMT members been contacted and briefed?
 Has the Switchboard been informed?
 Has the Estate Support Service been informed?
 Has the Safety Office been informed?
 Has the Insurance Office been informed?
The above list is not exhaustive and other steps may be required depending on the nature of
the incident.
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l) The EMT may find it useful to define their aim for the
duration of the incident. This should be summarised in no
more than three words e.g. in the case of a power failure
they may decide their aim is ‘minimise business
interruption’. The aim should be used to help the decision
making process; which of these options best achieves our
aim?
m) Manage the on-going incident. Members of the LIT should
continue to liaise with specialist staff at the site of the
incident and with the Emergency Services.
n) As the incident develops the EMT Co-ordinator may co-opt
other members as required.
o) At all times an accurate record of events and decisions taken
should be recorded in detail on the Event Log.
p) If the incident becomes protracted, the senior LIT member
should consider drafting members of the relief team to allow
LIT members to rest and attend to welfare issues.
q) Stop and Review.
- do you have enough information to make decisions?
- have staff been evacuated and if so have you made
provision for their welfare?
- is information reaching staff and students?
- are the Emergency Services getting the help and
support they require?
Invocation Process – Out of Hours/Closure Days
The process will broadly follow the above, however, response times will be
much slower as EMT and co-opted members will have to travel to the Incident
Room, or may take some time to contact. In these situations greater
emphasis will be placed on containing the incident and securing the site. The
Security Manager will liaise with the EMT Co-ordinator regarding what steps
should be taken to contain the incident until such time as the EMT can be
assembled.
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Business Recovery Process
If appointed by the EMT Co-ordinator the Business Recovery Coordinator will
consider the following actions: a) Address insurance and financial requirements
b) Initiate clean up and salvage operations
c) Gather information on which critical activities have been affected by the
incident and how on-going damage can be mitigated
d) Gather information on operational status of staffing and building
resources
e) Co-opt specialist staff to advise on the reinstatement of building
services or alternative accommodation
Total Evacuation of the Campus
The only circumstances when the whole of campus or a large part of the
estate would need to be evacuated would be very unique and be under the
control of the EMT in liaison with the Emergency Services such as the Police.
In certain circumstances events elsewhere in the city may necessitate the
evacuation, in whole or part, of the campus. This will be under the control of
the Civil Authorities who have their own city-wide evacuation plan.
EMT ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES - CHECKLISTS
Co-ordinator: Overall control of Major Incident management, damage
evaluation, critical business recovery management and flow of information
from the moment a Major Incident is declared and until such time as the
Emergency Team can be stood down and a controlled business recovery
phase is established.
Co-ordinator
Receives initial briefing from Security Manager/LIT Coordinator
Decides whether to call out EMT members
Briefs the core members of the EMT
Allocates roles and responsibilities
Nominates a Business Recovery Manager, if required
Decides who should be co-opted onto the EMT to provide specialist advice
Co-ordinates the information flowing into the incident room
Makes decisions based on an appraisal of the available options
Invokes Business Recovery Plans (where available)
Responsible for closing the incident and handing over the site to specialist services
Provides Hot Debrief to VC
Secretary: Maintains a comprehensive record of Team activities. Specific
duties include:
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Secretary
Ensure major Incident Plan plus relevant Local Incident Plans are available
Prepare Diary/Log to maintain contemporaneous record of events
Liaise with Telecoms Manger to ensure Control Room telephones are available and
Helpline established if necessary
Check availability of following supplies, purchase if not immediately to hand and
issue as required:
 Photocopying facilities
 Laptops
 Office stationery
 Visitors signing-in books
 Flipcharts and felt pens
 Medical kit
 Reels of fluorescent safety tape
 Personal Protection Equipment
 Torches and spare batteries
 Site/building maps
Arrange for supply of drinks/refreshments
Communications Manager: The primary function of the Communications
Manager is to ensure efficient, accurate and effective controlled release of
information to external organisations. The Communications Manager will
provide communiqués for customers and supplies and assist other Team
members in informing staff, students, visitors and contractors of emergency
arrangements and the issue of warnings to surrounding properties.
Specific duties include:
Establish accuracy of all available information with the Coordinator
Make contact with Police Casualty Bureau (if set up)
Prepare Holding statement for issue when needed
Check Statement wording with Coordinator
Arrange Press briefing location and prepare room
Contact, instruct and rehearse Persons who will be needed at press briefing
Provide instructions to redirect staff, visitors, vehicles etc to alternative locations
Issue instructions for dealing with incoming telephone calls, emails and faxes from
the following:
1. Staff/students
2. Relatives
3. Contractors/consultants
4. Media
Arrange for Lines to be reserved for the above and staffed accordingly
Request Mobile phones if required
With the Coordinator/Emergency Services provide Public warnings and notify
neighbouring properties if required
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Damage Manager: The Damage Manager liaises with the Emergency
services and the Insurance Manager; establishes the building/area safety and
access regime; instructs on measures to stabilise and mitigate damage;
advises the EMT on the likely duration of denied access the potential for
reuse of buildings and the recovery of assets.
Specific duties include:
Damage Manager Checklist
Make contact at damage site with Emergency services and arrange ongoing
liaison
Provide Emergency services with building plans, health and safety information,
relevant hazards and high value/vulnerable assets to be preserved if possible
(majority information should be contained within relevant Local Incident Plan(s))
If access is not possible, establish what delay is anticipated and prepare
accordingly
Establish if structural surveys are necessary and instruct specialists
Establish presence/absence of an asbestos risk, instruct specialists if necessary
Establish if there is a continuing fire risk and procedures to be followed to isolate
electricity and gas supplies and to ensure safe evacuation
Ensure external advisers, specialist contractors and the Insurance Manager, are
fully briefed on their role and precautions to be taken
Provide EMT/LIT with regular updates
Business Continuity Coordinator: Coordinates and implements continuity of
Critical business activities – those activities vital to the business as identified
in Local Incident Plans as in need to being operational in a work-around mode
or better within hours (up to 48 hours). Local Incident Plans identify relevant
critical business activities and the actions required to manage their recovery.
As recovery proceeds and recovery brought under control (unlikely to exceed
7 days) the Business Continuity Team is to be reorganised to ensure an
effective return to business as normal. Specific duties include:
Business Continuity
Recalls managers and key staff of affected buildings/departments
Checks business recovery Priorities with the Coordinator (note: these priorities may
override those specified in Local Incident Plan procedures)
Invokes Priority Recovery as above and relevant Critical Business Continuity
procedures as specified in relevant Local Incident Plans.
Checks special needs of building/department managers and arranges assistance
as appropriate
Maintains log of actions taken
Advises daily on progress, level of critical business recovery and measures to
expedite recovery
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Human Resources: Deals with staff welfare and liaises with Emergency
Services (if required).
Specific duties include:
To make available staff and student contact details
To be in a position to provide Next-of Kin information if required
Notify next-of-kin of fatalities and injured in conjunction with Police
Check and arrange help for next-of-kin if required e.g. transport, hospital
details etc
Establish names and location of walking wounded, including persons who
may be traumatised. Provide help as appropriate
Arrange medical check-ups for persons who may have been exposed to a
health risk and/or hazardous environment
Maintain a register of all persons that have been injured or exposed to a
hazardous environment, their condition and actions taken
Maintain Police and other emergency services that may have been called
liaison
Provide the Coordinator with details of injuries that could impact on business
continuity
Health and Safety: Investigate and report H&S, liaise with internal and
external H&S stakeholders and provide specialist advice on radiation and
biological safety.
Specific duties include:
Health and Safety – Action Checklist
Lead investigations of health and safety related accidents/incidents including
gathering evidence
Liaise with HSE, Environment Agency and NACTSO and undertake the
statutory H&S external incident reporting
Liaise with SSO/Local H&S representatives from the LIT’s
Provide specialist biological safety and radiation safety advice
Contact the University external specialist H&S legal advisors
Liaise with the University Fire Officer who will in turn liaise with The Fire
Authority as necessary
Insurance Manager: Liaises with insurance companies and provides advice
on asset recovery and business interruption.
Specific duties include:
Insurance Officer – Action Checklist
Liaise with Damage Manager to establish extent of loss
Appoints specialist contractor to begin asset recovery and mitigate against
further loss
On-going liaison with insurers.
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Security Manager: Is responsible for the development of the security plan
which covers the following tasks in conjunction with the LIT, other areas,
external agencies as appropriate.
Specific duties include:
Security Manager – Action Checklist
Control of the incident scene/deployment of resources
Once instructed, initiate call-out procedures
Provision of access control to the site/buildings as required
General control of vehicle access on/off the site
Liaison with external agencies as required within remit
Allocation of suitable parking areas for external agency vehicles as required,
particularly Press and Media
Report to the Director of ESS for an incident briefing
Maintain contact with Security Control Room ensuring allocation of resources
as required
Ensure any immediate actions that are required in respect of operational
services (within remit) are made in consultation as necessary with external
agencies
Make available emergency contact details of staff
Maintain contact with LIT as necessary and assist with any operational
aspects
In conjunction with the Director of ESS formulate a plan for recovery/business
continuity
Other Team Members: Other Team members are placed on standby for
emergency attendance and to assist and advise as directed by the above
Team.
IMMEDIATE POST INCIDENT PROCEDURES
Handover
Prior to final closure of the incident responsibility for managing repairs,
restoration of operations etc should be handed over to the specialist Service
Units.
Invoke Business Recovery Plan
Each Academic or Service unit should have a Business Recovery plan to
facilitate the smooth restoration of operations. This plan should be invoked
upon closure or in the final phase of the incident.
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‘Hot’ Debrief
The EMT Co-ordinator (Registrar) should ensure that the Vice Chancellor
receives an initial report on the incident and the response together with copies
of the log and other relevant documents as soon as possible after the incident
is shut down.
The Vice Chancellor (or his nominated representative) will conduct the hot
debrief of the LIT and anyone else involved in the incident within 24 hours.
The debrief is looking to establish what key decisions were made, what
worked well and what areas of the plan need to be improved.
Communication
Ensure staff and students are briefed on the current situation and what will
happen in the next few days and how they may be affected.
ROLE OF THE EMERGENCY SERVICES
It is anticipated that the majority of incidents will be dealt with by the EMT and
not involve the Emergency Services in a proactive role (only reactive matters
such as collecting casualties or basic fire fighting). Examples include
structural damage from storms, flooding inside a building from burst pipes.
In a protracted incident the Emergency Services may take overall command
and control by way of co-ordination, communications and investigation. They
will be operationally in charge of the incident.
In the event of a large number of casualties Northumbria Police may establish
a casualty enquiry bureau at the Police Headquarters (Ponteland). The
bureau will have exclusive telephone numbers which would be made available
to the public through the media. The bureau will handle all enquiries relating to
casualties and liaise with hospitals. They will therefore need the support of
Human Resources/Schools/Services Administration Teams for key contact
details, names/addresses/telephone numbers/next of kin contact details.
Onsite facilities for emergency services may be called for in the very early
stages of their response to a crisis. The following shows what is likely to be
asked for and every assistance should be offered by the EMT to include:





Unobstructed access / egress to the area.
Large halls to be made available for treatment of casualties etc. or
the establishment of offices.
Communication facilities (e.g. our radios to the use of the coordinators).
Places for the Emergency services to park up vehicles and
establish a control point. This includes supplies of electric, water
and a drain.
Assistance of University specialist staff.
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In the event of the Emergency Services (or other enforcing authority) taking
command and control eg the University may be deemed a crime scene.
Northumbria Police may:










Restrict access and egress to / from the scene and wider areas.
Establish control points.
Demand meetings with key staff
Interview all affected staff
Call in Local Authority emergency planning unit.
Establish Investigating Officer and liaison Officer roles
Establish incident bureau to which the University will need to redirect all relevant calls.
Seconding staff to their investigations.
Direct areas not to be disturbed.
Take into possession any relevant records.
OFF CAMPUS INCIDENTS
Staff work-related travel destinations can be traced through SAP records,
where tickets have been purchased by the University. Procurement would
assist in this matter.
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Appendix 1
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT TEAM (EMT) CONTACT DETAILS/ CALL
OUT PROCEDURES
University Security (or Security Manager / Deputy in the event of Security
being affected by the incident) is responsible for contacting the EMT at all
times of the day. They will have the contact details for all members of the EMT
and also Local Incident Teams. The Core EMT contact details will also be
contained on the University emergency contacts card distributed to senior
staff members. Members of the EMT have also been provided with the
contact details of team members. These are updated when required.
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Appendix 2
INCIDENT ROOMS
There are two pre-allocated Incident Rooms one on the campus and one off
campus. In the event of an incident the most appropriate room should be
mobilised for use by EMT. Copies of the major and Local Incident Plans will
be retained securely in each of the locations. The rooms are:
First Choice – 10 Eldon Place
Second Choice – Security Control Centre, Armstrong Building
Third Choice – Edwardson Building
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Appendix 3
LOG BOOKS – KEEPING A REGISTER OF EVENTS
Below is an example of a Log Book format to be used in recording actions taken in an Incident or Crisis.
Details of Event
Log
No
Date
Time
(accurate)
(full details about how the event became
known, contact details for person finding the
event, witness information, full details of
chemical, organism etc. involved)
Source
Location
(as precise as possible – including
room numbers etc. If the event
spreads use the ‘specific details’
section overleaf to indicate the
changes in status)
Signed / logged by
Times should be recorded accurately
“Details of the Event” should include the full details about how the event became known, any contact details for the persons
finding the event, any witness information and full details of any chemical, organism etc. that was involved.
“Location” should be as precise as possible – including room numbers etc. If an event spreads the Specific Details section should
be completed to indicate the changes in status (e.g. new rooms affected)
“Source” will be either the person reporting an event or the person forwarding information to authorities. Contact numbers are
needed.
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Appendix 4
INTERACTION WITH THE CITY COUNCIL/MULTI-AGENCY RESPONSE
(produced by City Council)
MAJOR INCIDENTS
IMPLICATIONS FOR UNIVERSITY OF NEWCASTLE
Response to Major Incidents
A Major Incident will usually be declared where it is necessary for a coordinated multi-agency response to the on-going situation. The decision will
be made by one or more of the Emergency Services and at that time the City
Council will be notified.
The response to a Major Incident will require each agency to implement its
individual plans in co-operation with each other and will see the activation of a
multi-agency ‘command and control’ structure involving:
(1)
Tactical Level (Silver Command), which will be co-ordinated by the
Police Incident Officer and attended by liaison officers from other
Emergency Services and relevant agencies. It will be established
near to the scene and is intended to provide resources and a central
point of contact.
(2)
Strategic Level (Gold Command), which will be co-ordinated by the
Chief Constable (or delegated representative) and attended by senior
officers from other Emergency Services and relevant agencies. Its
main task is not to manage the immediate incident but to focus on
longer term considerations and key issues such as media
management.
The activation of the Strategic Level will only take place during those Major
Incidents where it is deemed necessary.
Potential Role of University of Newcastle
In circumstances where an emergency situation directly involving the
University is determined to be a Major Incident, there should be an
expectation that representatives will be required to participate in both Tactical
and Strategic Level groups.
It is likely that the representative at ‘Tactical’ will be expected to have detailed
knowledge of the day-to-day operation of the University and maintain close
liaison with the University’s own incident management structure.
If a representative is required to attend ‘Strategic’, they will be expected to
have the authority to take policy decisions on behalf of the University and
contribute, where necessary, to the co-ordinated release of information to the
press/public.
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Major Incidents Indirectly Involving the University of Newcastle
In circumstances where a Major Incident occurs in the proximity (but not
directly involving) the University it is possible that it may be necessary to
evacuate the occupants of part/all of the site or notify them to remain indoors
whilst the incident is resolved.
The University is unlikely to be involved in the formal multi-agency
management structure but will need to utilize its own incident management
procedures to protect those in its care at the time. Notification of appropriate
action will be given by the relevant Emergency Service and members of staff
should know how to report receipt of such information to the University’s
incident management structure.
Business Continuity Arrangements
It is unlikely that a Major Incident will completely interrupt the normal
operation of the University. Consequently, any response strategy will require
consideration of ‘business as usual’ in those parts of the University not
impacted upon by the on-going situation.
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