Incident Management in Australasia: Lessons Learnt from Emergency Responses

Description

Emergency services personnel conduct their work in situations that are inherently dangerous. Large incidents such as bushfires, floods and earthquakes often pose hazards that are not fully understood at the time of management, and the situation may be further complicated by the involvement of multiple agencies. This book presents lessons learnt from managing major incidents at regional and state levels. It is not an academic work. Rather, it is a collection of stories from professionals on the ground and others who subsequently reviewed the events and gained significant knowledge and understanding through that process. Some stories are personal, capturing emotional impact and deep reflection, and others analytical, synthesising the findings of experience and inquests. All the stories relate to managing operational events and capture knowledge that no one person could gain in a single career.

Stuart Ellis is the Chief Executive Officer of the Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council (AFAC). He began his career as an Army Officer, serving for over 22 years with the Special Air Service Regiment. In 1996, he was appointed Chief Executive Officer of the South Australian Country Fire Service. He later established a consultancy company and has been involved in over 20 operational reviews including the Canberra Bushfires, the Victorian Bushfire Royal Commission and the operational response to the Christchurch Earthquake. Kent MacCarter is Print and Online Developer for the Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council, and has been involved in writing, editing and publishing Australian non-fiction and fiction for the past decade at various major publishers.