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Control measure

Isolate utility or fuel supply within the national grid

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Control measure knowledge

The decision to isolate high-voltage electricity supplies, high-pressure gas mains, large trunk mains water supplies and fuel or other pipelines will need to be made in close consultation with the supplier. This will take into consideration the consequences of such actions to the community both downstream and upstream of the incident.

Fire and rescue services cannot isolate these types of utility or fuel supplies. This can only be achieved by asking the appropriate utility or fuel supplier to isolate the supply. However, the request may take a considerable amount of time to achieve.

Strategic actions

Fire and rescue services should:

  • Maintain a directory of emergency contact details for local utility and fuel supply companies

  • Consider adopting memoranda of understanding (MoU) with their utility and fuel suppliers to improve joint working at emergency incidents

Tactical actions

Incident commanders should:
  • Request assistance from the service supplier to isolate the utility or fuel supply from the national grid
  • Consider the consequences of isolating utility or fuel supplies