No single organization can manage a major incident at a live event alone. Police, fire departments, emergency medical services, local government, and the event organizer all have distinct roles and resources. Getting those agencies coordinated before an incident occurs—not during it—is the difference between an effective response and a chaotic one.

Why Multi-Agency Planning Matters

NIMS requires that all jurisdictions in the United States use a unified approach to incident management—one that enables federal, state, local, and tribal governments, as well as private organizations, to work together effectively (Federal Emergency Management Agency [FEMA], 2017). For live events, this means that police, fire, EMS, and the event organizer must establish a coordinated response framework before the event opens, not improvise one during an emergency.

The Texas Task Force on Concert Safety (2022), established following the Astroworld Festival disaster, found that insufficient pre-event coordination between event organizers and public safety agencies was a contributing factor in the outcome. The task force’s final report recommends mandatory pre-event coordination meetings between event organizers and local authorities for events above defined capacity thresholds, with written documentation of each agency’s role and committed resources.

FEMA’s Special Events Contingency Planning Job Aids Manual (2010) identifies multi-agency coordination as one of the eight core elements of special event contingency planning, noting that “the single most important factor in successful special event management is the degree to which participating agencies and organizations plan, train, and exercise together before the event” (p. 2-1).

Building the Multi-Agency Planning Team

A planning team should be formed from people and agencies who will be required to respond to any emergency or major incident. NIMS Unified Command principles require that each participating agency maintain its own authority while contributing to a shared incident management structure (FEMA, 2017). Applied to pre-event planning, this means each agency—police, fire, EMS, local authority—provides a written statement of intent outlining their role and committed resources for the event.

FEMA (2010) recommends that the planning team be kept to a manageable size, with specialist subgroups addressing areas such as medical response, crowd management, and communications. The person leading the planning team must have a broad understanding of all the issues involved and must be competent to facilitate inter-agency discussion. Records of planning meetings and decisions must be kept and distributed to all participating agencies.

Emergency Service Roles in a Major Incident

NIMS establishes the following role framework for emergency services responding to a major incident (FEMA, 2017):

• Police coordinate and facilitate both on-site and off-site response under the Incident Command System. They are responsible for scene security, evidence preservation, public inquiry management, and traffic control on approach routes.
• Fire department holds primary on-site responsibility for fire suppression, technical rescue, and may have additional responsibilities for hazardous materials incidents.
• Emergency Medical Services (EMS) coordinate overall medical response at the scene, notify and direct patients to receiving hospitals, distribute casualties, and provide emergency transportation and medical communications.
• Local authorities can provide reception centers, temporary emergency accommodation, feeding, and access to specialized equipment. Understanding these capabilities prevents duplication of effort and ensures nothing falls between organizational gaps (FEMA, 2010).

Mutual Aid and Cross-Jurisdictional Coordination

Many events take place near jurisdictional boundaries. NIMS requires that mutual aid agreements and assistance agreements be pre-established so that resources can be requested and obtained quickly when an incident exceeds local capacity (FEMA, 2017). Event organizers should consult the local emergency management coordinator to learn about existing Emergency Operations Plans (EOPs) and ensure the event’s major incident plan integrates with them. A copy of the event’s major incident plan should be provided to the local emergency management coordinator before the event (FEMA, 2010).

Cordon Planning

Cordon placement—establishing controlled access zones around an incident scene—must be discussed with police, fire, and EMS during pre-event planning. Cordons must be placed according to the circumstances and may need to be repositioned as an incident evolves. NIMS Incident Command principles require that cordon establishment be coordinated through the Incident Commander to avoid blocking critical access routes for emergency vehicles (FEMA, 2017). Cordon locations should be considered in the venue site plan, with emergency access routes, command post locations, ambulance loading points, and triage areas plotted on gridded site plans shared with all responding agencies in advance (FEMA, 2010).

Statement of Intent

Each partner agency should provide a written statement of intent covering their role, committed personnel, equipment, and command contacts for the event. These statements should be collected and incorporated into the major incident plan before it is finalized. They provide accountability before the event and clarity during it—and they are increasingly required by local permitting authorities for large events (Texas Task Force on Concert Safety, 2022).

References

Federal Emergency Management Agency. (2010). Special events contingency planning job aids manual. U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Federal Emergency Management Agency. (2017). National Incident Management System (3rd ed.). U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Texas Task Force on Concert Safety. (2022). Final report of the Texas Task Force on Concert Safety. Office of the Governor of Texas.