By Dr. Randall Hanifen
Faculty Member, Emergency and Disaster Management

Imagine the following scenario: A concert promoter decides to produce a weekend-long concert for 30,000 people. They requested that their city or community provide public safety through emergency services management agencies, but local leaders are inexperienced in handling this type of large event. Now what?

Emergency services management can increase efficiency, save lives, and improve first responder and public safety. Without good planning, disasters can happen.

For instance, the Matador Network lists the 11 most recent concert disasters in recent history.  Proper planning and management could have reduced or eliminated many of these disasters.

A Transition to Paid Emergency Management Services

Most suburban and rural communities have festivals, sports games, and other events sponsored by nonprofit organizations. Communities have typically provided emergency services management for such events. Because these nonprofits host the events, the community is often willing to help by providing free fire/EMS resources, personnel and supplies.

But in recent decades, there has been a shift toward more for-profit events. Promoters of these events frequently ask for emergency services to be donated, because paying for public safety services reduces their profit. Calculating the total cost of emergency personnel for a large event may seem simple, but additional costs include:

• Overtime
• Pension contributions
• Employer tax contributions

People often volunteer their services for nonprofit events, but they are less likely to do so during for-profit events. Additionally, tax dollars cannot be used to subsidize a for-profit event. Ideally, emergency management agencies should compensate their salaried employees in a way that ensures that tax dollars are not funding a private company.

The shift toward for-profit events must also consider the cost of public safety equipment. It would not be in the interest of local government or feasible for a private company to purchase public safety equipment.  

For understanding the costs associated with proper emergency services management of a large event, event organizers should refer to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Schedule of Equipment Rates. This document, with a per-hour cost for nearly every kind and type of public safety equipment, sets the operational costs for needed resources. As a result, those expenses can be worked into the total cost of the event.

Possibly, the most important part of the transition toward for-profit events involves legislation and operating procedures of a local government. These laws help event organizations understand their costs up front and provide transparency to citizens about support for these organizations.

Planning Emergency Services Management for a Large Event

Once an event promoter presents an idea for a large-scale public event, then local police, fire, emergency medical services (EMS) and other public service agencies must begin planning how to handle the event. Although there are template plans and established norms for providing police, fire and EMS services at concerts and other large events, there is no one-size-fits-all plan. Also, the plan will change numerous times as the event promoter changes aspects, layouts, expected services and talent lineup.

Collaboration with many groups will be important while moving through the planning process. Many resources are available, but it is difficult to attain them without directly collaborating with the agencies that have those resources.

Some partners include:

• Law enforcement agencies
• Fire and EMS agencies
• Emergency management agencies
• Local hospitals
• The property owner

 Having the promoter involved at all stages of planning a large-scale event is key. However, using a liaison may be best, since event promoters are driven by profit rather than public safety.

This pre-event collaboration is more far-reaching than the unified command established during the event. Running an event by committee is not productive because people tend to differ in their opinions regarding how a situation should be handled.

Planning by committee, however, is helpful. People with diverse backgrounds and ways of thinking can help produce a more robust event plan.

Using the Incident Command System’s (ICS) 200 series forms is vital. These forms outline the aspects of the event for which agencies will be held accountable and the communication needed during the event. Communicating the plan to hundreds of emergency services personnel during the event would be impossible without this tool.

These forms communicate the overall objectives of the emergency services plan. They allow personnel to see:

• Who they are working with
• What they need to do
• What special needs or circumstances to consider
• Which communication channels they need to listen to and discuss

Using the Excel version of the 200 series forms also allows for replication of the event’s plan for each day.

Planning Meetings

A series of planning meetings should follow FEMA’s Incident Action Planning Process. The first meeting should be attended by all first responder agencies’ administrators so that the objectives for the large event can be clearly defined.

The Incident Command System (ICS) Objectives form could be used to capture the incident objectives. The Organization Assignment List (ICS 203) may be utilized to define the agencies’ agreed-upon organizational structure to manage the large event.

Operations Meeting

The operations meeting (tactics meeting) examines the overall event objectives and determines the best way to organize public safety personnel. While police collaborate well with fire and EMS in most areas, their objectives differ.

The use of an ICS 215, an operational planning worksheet during an operations meeting can aid in collecting work assignments and resources. Most first responder agencies are accustomed to taking charge of their activities.

Dividing those agencies into two branches (such as police as one branch and fire/EMS as another) may be best for event operations. Both branches can work together while maintaining their autonomy, and each agency can further subdivide into groups and divisions.

However, divisional boundaries should be the same in both branches. When building divisions, first responder agencies should use the same layout to divide event areas. Agencies should also use alphabetical labeling to expand or add divisions during the event as needed.

A map of vendor booths and stages is crucial for event public safety personnel to identify where they are operating. Once agencies have created divisions and assigned staff, they can collect the information on the Assignment List form (ICS 204). There will be numerous 204s, at least one for each group/division.

As part of the operations meeting, agencies must create a communications plan. This plan ensures operational personnel from the public safety agencies, command personnel and logistical support personnel have talk groups.

Any sizable event should consider having these police and fire/EMS agencies on separate channels. Each side has information that needs to be relayed, and the amount of radio traffic would soon outpace the channel.

There are also other forms that can be used:

• An ICS 205 can be used for the radio communication plan.
• An ICS 205A can be used as a back-up to collect and record telephone numbers.
• An ICS 215A is helpful for creating the safety plan.

Logistics

The next meeting to hold is the logistics meeting to coordinates the resources needed to conduct an event. These resources may include:

• Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)
• All-terrain vehicles (ATVs)
• Command centers and vehicles
• Police riot gear
• Mobile EMS equipment
• Logical support vehicles
• Temporary structures such as tents

Police, fire, and EMS often have push logistics, which means they bring the majority of their logistical needs to their response vehicles prior to an event. However, an event also necessitates pull logistics.

For pull logistics, agencies must consider every aspect of logistical support. Meals, fuel and daily repairs are three aspects that can hinder operations if not considered. Referring to the logistics’ responsibilities in the ICS 300 student manual will help ensure all areas of logistical support are covered.

First responder agencies need to document each piece of logistical support, including:

• The kind and type of resource
• The location where the resource will be used or delivered
• The date and time the resource is needed
• Cost of each resource

Making Contingency Plans

One of the last meetings before a large-scale event involves discussing and coordinating contingency plans. A comprehensive contingency plan includes responses to riots, active assailants, mass casualties, fires, power outages and severe weather. A risk analysis process can identify hazards and provide a basis for creating the plans.

Depending on the specifics of the plans, logistical support can outnumber the requests for the typical operations plan. However, failing to plan for contingencies can cause much harm to the public and ruin the reputation of public safety agencies.

Cost Calculations

Finally, a meeting is needed to calculate all the costs. Because public safety agencies are operationally driven, this meeting is when event organizers determine the level of affordability of these services. There is a delicate balance between the promoter making money and agencies protecting the public.

Sharing operational plans from similar events, with justification for the personnel and supporting equipment, can help substantiate public safety estimates. This data can help combat the promoter’s desire to forego public safety costs to increase profits.

Creating a Command Post

Setting up a command post takes time, depending on the setup and organization. A command post is a fixed, elevated position. This post provides a view of the crowd and its actions and the ability to direct crews through crowds at peak event times. Using a command vehicle can reduce the time involved with setup.

The staffing at the command post should be able to sufficiently handle assigned resources. For example, a medium-sized concert generally has:

• At least fire/EMS personnel
• Two policemen
• One private security officer
• One person from the promoter’s executive staff

The on-site Incident Command Post (ICP) should have branch directors and a deputy for each branch. The actual Unified Commanders are often in a more remote location in case the on-site ICP needs to be vacated during the event.

The Unified Command communication capabilities can range from just whiteboards to track the units to sophisticated intelligence feeds and electronic tracking. At a minimum, agencies should have a live television feed from a UAV. Additionally, the ability to see the computer-aided dispatch will be invaluable when a contingency plan needs to be enacted.

Move-In Days

Many special events occur over a weekend but move-in and set-up may take nearly a week. Set-up during move-in days is a crucial time for public safety oversight.

Ticket sales and production become the overriding focus of event organizers as the date of the event gets closer. First responder agencies need to stay in communication with each other to ensure they can facilitate police and EMS access as any layout changes occur.

Depending on the resources that the public safety and emergency management agencies supply, this move-in process can take days and involve numerous people. Using a resource tracking sheet ensures a smoother process throughout the logistical support.

Additionally, event organizations must ensure the structures they have erected meet fire and safety codes. Having fire and life safety code inspectors on site each day is paramount.

Often, event production companies hire temporary workers to erect structures. If the workers lack familiarity with the structure, safety and fire codes, it will cause numerous issues.

Event Days

All the planning comes together on the event days. Critical components on the day (or days) of an event include an operational briefing of working crews as well as maintaining flexibility within the plan. Most public safety workers do not know the plan until the day of the event.

Although pre-briefings are encouraged, the reality is that plans continually change as promoters make changes up to the day of the event. This tendency to add last-minute changes is especially true in the first year an event is held.

Here is a list of actions to take on event days:

• Have a paper and an electronic incident action plan available to operating crews.
• Include detailed maps with divisional boundaries, including labeling food and merchandise booths, to help crews find emergencies.
• Allow 30 minutes for briefings and be sure to account for the time personnel need to get to the site.
• Coordinate whether personnel plan to park at the site or park remotely and then move to the site.
• Conduct an operational briefing to detail the incident action plan and orient the first responders at the event site. High-level to individual 204s are the basis of this briefing.
• Be sure to cover the communications and contingency plans so first responders know their roles and responsibilities. Allow time for questions. Even the best briefings can leave informational gaps that must be covered before they become operational gaps.

Command of first responder resources during the event may be the easiest part of a large event. Be sure to have a full copy of the incident action plan in the command post. Verify that all command personnel are familiar with all parts, including the contingency plans.

Some plans to include are:

• Active shooter/hostile events (ASHE)
• Mass casualty
• Evacuation
• Severe weather

Be sure to maintain discipline for assigned areas, as first responder personnel often like to wander around to see more of the event venue. While doing so is natural curiosity, it can cause delays in service if the wandering allowed to occur.

Be sure to account for the necessary breaks from the heat and logistical support, such as food and water, required throughout the day.

Lastly, have fun and be sure to complete the proper paperwork. Agency personnel use the ICS Form 214 to track what actions they completed during each shift. They also document the tasks the command uses to justify the sustainment of staffing or logistical support.

Agencies should also create an after-action report after a large event. This report identifies items that may have been overlooked for this event and ensures they are addressed before the next event.

Overall, emergency services management for large events is complex. However, proper planning will ensure that the event will be more likely to go smoothly and that unexpected incidents will be easier to handle.

About the Author

Dr. Randall W. Hanifen is an assistant chief of operations for West Chester Fire in Ohio, an associate professor for the University’s Emergency Management Program, an adjunct professor for the University’s Fire Science Program and CEO of a national fire service consulting company. Randall serves as the executive director of a regional special operations team, a former taskforce leader for FEMA’s Ohio Task Force 1 US&R team, an international representative of the Institution of Fire Engineers-USA Branch and the chair of the International Association of Fire Chiefs Company Officers Section. He is a member of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1021 Fire Officer Professional Qualifications standard and NFPA 1026 Incident Management committees.

Randall serves on the Legislative Committee of the Ohio Fire Chiefs Association. Randall is credentialed as a chief fire officer by the Center for Public Safety Excellence and has a fellow grade membership with the Institution of Fire Engineers. He is the associate author of the textbook “Disaster Planning and Control” (2009).

Randall has provided presentations and trainings for the Ohio Fire Chiefs Association, Fire Rescue International, Emergency Management Institute, Institute of Fire Engineers Caribbean and South America Branch and Firehouse Expo. He is a contract instructor for the National Fire Academy, teaching courses in the Executive and Managing Fire Officer programs. Randall has a B.S. in fire administration from the University of Cincinnati, an M.S. in fire service executive leadership from Grand Canyon University and a Ph.D. in executive management of homeland security from Northcentral University. He can be reached at Randall@hanifen.org.