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I've been sitting in the background quietly reading all of this debate and would like to offer a contraversial thought. Within the inner cordon or 10 metre action circle (which ever you want to call it) the person ultimately in charge is the senior fire officer. The reasons for this are: 1. He is designated as responsible by the Police, and don't argue with them because the Crown and the Government say they are in overall authority. 2. He is the person ultimately responsible for your safety 3. He has at least four other guys who will paste you if you disagree with him 4. He has the rescue gear and if he takes his bat & ball home you're stuffed. 5. He actually knows what can & cannot be done. 6. Strangely enough he wants to get a live casualty to hospital too. And knowing you know more about medicine than he ever will, he will, if he has any sense, listen to you provided that you are properly equipped to be at the scene and you have authority to be there. As soon as the person has been removed from danger you have the absolute authority for the patient, provided you can identify yourself as a doctor. It does not matter if you are the local dermatologist, but your professional responsibility is not to interfere unless you know you can do better. If you take responsibility for the patient, then you can say where the ambulance goes. Once you are no longer with the patient however, the ambulance crew can always change your decision based on what they percieve to be the changing needs of the patient. Vic Calland