Safety Officer
The incident commander or sector commander may appoint a safety officer at any time. This person should have suitable competencies for the role.
A safety officer at larger incidents may be designated as the safety sector commander. They will co-ordinate the role of other safety officers.
The safety sector commander may be responsible for the following:
Surveying operational sectors, identifying hazards, and advising the sector commander.
Working with sector safety officers to support and exchange information.
Confirming the validity of the initial risk assessment and recording as appropriate.
Collating and recording an analytical risk assessment.
Acting as an extra set of eyes and ears to the sector commanders in monitoring the safety of personnel.
Working with the incident commander or operations commander.
Reporting health and safety issues, including accident investigation.
Safety officers will be responsible for the following:
Identifying safety issues.
Starting corrective action.
Maintaining safe systems of work.
Ensuring people are wearing appropriate personal protection equipment.
Observing the working environment.
Monitoring physical condition of crews.
Recording an analytical risk assessment.
Updating the incident commander when circumstances change.
