Major emergencies: who does what | Irish Firefighter Hub

This is a summary, not the official document. It was written by the Irish Firefighter Hub to set out the key points of MEM Framework. The original is by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and published on gov.ie. Section numbers (for example “Section 5.4”) point to the original. Where anything here differs from the original, the original applies. Always follow your fire authority’s own policy and training.

At a glance

Three agencies, one response. At a major emergency, An Garda Síochána, the HSE and the local authority (with the fire service as its emergency service) each command their own people, but co-ordinate as one. Sections 1 and 5.3
Each agency has a Controller of Operations. The officer in charge of each service’s first attendance takes that role until relieved. Section 5.3.2
One agency leads the co-ordination. A table sets the lead agency for each type of incident. For fires, hazardous materials, train and aircraft crashes, rescues and weather emergencies, it is the local authority, and the fire service takes it on first. Appendix F7
Declare it, then send METHANE. Section 5.1
Inner, Outer and Traffic Cordons set out the scene. Section 5.5 and Appendix F11
Withdrawal signal: a siren sounded 10 seconds on, 10 seconds off, repeated. Everyone leaves the Danger Area. Section 5.5.4
Change is coming. The 2026 NICS manual already uses new names for the co-ordination groups, in line with a new Framework for Emergency Management. NICS 2026, Section 6

What’s changing

The Framework for Major Emergency Management was adopted by Government in 2006. It replaced the arrangements in place since 1984, and it is still the framework on gov.ie, where it is described as under review.

The 2026 National Incident Command System (NICS) manual says its Section 6 is aligned with a new Framework for Emergency Management. That new framework has not been published on gov.ie yet, but NICS 2026 already uses its terms. NICS gives these as the new names for the 2006 groups:

2006 Framework	NICS 2026
On-Site Co-ordination Group: the three Controllers of Operations, chaired by the On-Site Co-ordinator	Tactical Coordination Group (TCG), chaired by the lead agency’s Controller of Operations
On-Site Co-ordination Centre	Tactical Coordination Centre (TCC), on site or, if needed, off site
Local Co-ordination Group (off site)	Strategic Coordination Group (SCG)
Not in the 2006 Framework	The 3Cs (Come together, Communicate, Coordinate) and the Operations Coordination Group (OpsCG), formed whenever two or more emergency services attend

The Controller of Operations, the lead agency and the colour coded tabards carry on in NICS 2026. When the new framework is published, we’ll update this briefing with a full side by side comparison. Read the NICS briefing.

What counts as a major emergency

Section 1.5

Most emergencies are dealt with by one or more emergency services in the normal way. The Framework says a major emergency is an event that:

usually comes with little or no warning;
causes or threatens death or injury, serious disruption of essential services, or damage to property, the environment or infrastructure;
is beyond the normal capabilities of the emergency services in the area; and
needs extra procedures and extra resources for a co-ordinated response.

The three principal response agencies

Sections 1 and 5.3.1

An Garda Síochána
The Health Service Executive, with the National Ambulance Service
The local authority, with the fire service as its principal emergency service

Each agency keeps command of its own people through its normal command structure. The Framework separates three ideas:

Command: directing your own service by giving direct orders.
Control: setting tasks and objectives for others, without giving direct orders.
Co-ordination: bringing the agencies together in an agreed way, with authority to make certain decisions when needed.

It also recognises strategic, tactical and operational levels of command, which the UK and Northern Ireland call Gold, Silver and Bronze.

Declaring a major emergency

Sections 5.1 and 5.2

The highest ranking officer of each service’s first attendance carries out a situation appraisal and decides whether to use their agency’s procedure for declaring a major emergency.
Each agency should have officers authorised and trained to make the declaration.
The declaration goes to the heads of all services on site and to the control centres. The other agencies are then notified, and each agency mobilises its own people.
The officer states their name, rank and service, the type of incident and its location, declares that a major emergency exists, and asks for the agency’s Major Emergency Plan to be activated.

Then send an information message using METHANE:


M	Major emergency declared
E	Exact location
T	Type of emergency
H	Hazards, present and potential
A	Access and egress routes
N	Number and type of casualties
E	Emergency services present and required

No outside organisation should go to the scene unless it has been mobilised by one of the principal response agencies.

The Controller of Operations

Section 5.3.2

Each agency has one Controller of Operations at the site. The officer in command of each service’s first attendance is the Controller of Operations until relieved. The Controller of Operations:

controls their own agency’s services at the site;
acts as On-Site Co-ordinator if their agency is the lead agency;
otherwise co-ordinates with the other agencies and takes part fully in site co-ordination;
calls in extra services and controls the ones they call in;
sets up a Holding Area where their own people report on arrival;
keeps a log of activity and decisions; and
briefs their agency’s Crisis Management Team.

If several local authorities attend and it can’t be agreed quickly, the local authority Controller of Operations comes from the authority whose Rostered Senior Fire Officer was first to attend, unless a Section 81 agreement says otherwise.

Who leads: the lead agency

Section 5.4.2 and Appendix F7

The three Controllers of Operations decide the lead agency as soon as they meet. The lead agency’s Controller becomes the On-Site Co-ordinator, and notes the time and that the decision was made with the other two present. The table below sets the starting point:

Type of emergency	Lead agency at the start	Likely change
Fire	Local authority
Hazardous materials	Local authority
Train crash	Local authority	To the Gardaí when the rescue phase is complete
Aircraft incident	Local authority	To the Gardaí when firefighting and rescue are complete
Rescue	Local authority
Weather related	Local authority
Accidental explosion or building collapse	Local authority	To the Gardaí to investigate when search and rescue are complete
Environmental or pollution	Local authority
Marine emergency coming ashore	Local authority
Road traffic collision (not involving hazardous materials)	An Garda Síochána
Public order and crowd events	An Garda Síochána
Conventional terrorist incident	An Garda Síochána
Open country search and rescue, lowland or mountain	An Garda Síochána
Inland water rescue	An Garda Síochána
Biological incident	HSE

Where the local authority leads, the fire service takes it on first, because it is usually the local authority’s first attendance.
If terrorism is suspected, the Gardaí lead, whatever the agent.
If no category fits, the local authority is the default lead agency.
The lead agency can change as the incident changes, by agreement of the three Controllers. Any change is recorded and passed on.

Co-ordination, from the scene upwards

Sections 5.4.4 and 5.4.5

On site: the On-Site Co-ordinator chairs the On-Site Co-ordination Group. Its members are the other two Controllers of Operations, an Information Management Officer, a Media Liaison Officer and others as needed. It works from an On-Site Co-ordination Centre, which can be a vehicle, a tent or a nearby building. NICS 2026 calls these the Tactical Coordination Group and Centre.
Off site: the lead agency mobilises a Local Co-ordination Group, chaired by the lead agency. NICS 2026 calls this the Strategic Coordination Group.
Regional and national: larger emergencies can be co-ordinated regionally and linked to the national level, where a lead government department takes charge.
Decision making mandates set out what each role can decide without going to a higher authority. The views of the other agencies must be heard first.

Managing the scene

Section 5.5 and Appendix F11

The On-Site Co-ordinator and the other Controllers draw up a Site Management Plan. Depending on the incident, it sets up:

Inner, Outer and Traffic Cordons, with access points
a Danger Area, if needed
access routes and a Rendezvous Point
each agency’s Control Point, brought together as the Site Control Point
the On-Site Co-ordination Centre
Holding Areas for each service
the Casualty Clearing Station and Ambulance Loading Area
the Survivor Reception Centre, Media Centre and Friends and Relatives Reception Area

Cordon	What it is
Inner Cordon	The working area, where the emergency services rescue casualties and deal with the emergency. Everyone inside needs proper PPE. The lead agency runs the Inner Cordon Access Point and records who goes in and out.
Outer Cordon	Seals off a wider area. Between the Inner and Outer Cordons go the Site Control Point, the co-ordination centre, the Casualty Clearing Station, the Ambulance Loading Area and the Holding Areas. The Gardaí run the Outer Cordon Access Point and may ask you for ID.
Traffic Cordon	Keeps the wider area clear, so emergency vehicles can get in and out.

Your first appliance is your Control Point until the Controller of Operations says otherwise, or a command vehicle takes over.
The fire service brings a set of hand portable radios kept for inter-agency communication on site, at Controller of Operations level as a minimum. Section 5.4.7.3
NICS 2026 describes the fire service’s own Hazard, Inner and Outer Zones at an incident. These sit inside the wider site layout.

The Danger Area and withdrawal signal

Section 5.5.4

A Danger Area can be declared when there is a definite extra risk to responders, for example hazardous materials, a building in danger of collapse, a threat of explosion or an armed person.
The On-Site Co-ordination Group decides. For hazardous materials, the Senior Fire Officer at the site may be put in charge of the Danger Area’s boundary and access.
Services working inside keep their own safety arrangements and command their own people.
To withdraw everyone from the Danger Area, a siren is sounded 10 seconds on, 10 seconds off, repeated. Everyone withdraws on hearing it.
For suspected explosives, the Defence Forces’ bomb disposal (EOD) officer sets the Danger Area and advises on cordons.

Who’s who: tabards

Section 5.5.2 and Appendix F12

Role	Tabard
Local Authority Controller	Red and white chequer
Garda Controller	Blue and white chequer
HSE Controller	Green and white chequer
On-Site Co-ordinator	A distinctive tabard with “On-Site Co-ordinator” front and back

Everyone should carry the ID issued by their agency. Casual volunteers allowed inside the cordons get orange “Volunteer” armbands from Civil Defence.