GLOSSARY

METHANE report: how to describe a major incident in seven lines

METHANE (also written M/ETHANE) is a fixed structure for the first report from the scene of a major incident. The UK emergency services’ joint doctrine, JESIP, uses it so that police, fire, ambulance and control rooms all receive the same information in the same order.

Last checked 2026-10-23

What METHANE stands for

Each letter is a question the first crew answers before anything else:

Major incident: has one been declared?
Exact location: street, landmark, coordinates.
Type of incident: collision, collapse, fire, explosion.
Hazards: present, suspected and likely to arise.
Access: safe routes in and out, and a rendezvous point.
Number of casualties: how many, and how badly hurt.
Emergency services: who is on scene and who else is needed.

METHANE or ETHANE

JESIP recommends the format for every incident. When the event does not reach the major incident threshold, the first letter is dropped and the message becomes ETHANE. The order stays the same, which is the point: the person receiving it knows where each answer will be, even over a bad radio link. As the response goes on, regular SITREPs take over from the first report.

A METHANE message from a motorway collision

“Major incident declared. Exact location: M6 northbound between junctions 15 and 16, half a mile north of the services. Type: a coach and two cars in collision, the coach on its side. Hazards: fuel leak, traffic still passing in lane two. Access: northbound carriageway blocked, approach from junction 16 against the flow under police escort, rendezvous point at the services lorry park. Number of casualties: around 30, at least six serious. Emergency services: one fire appliance and two ambulances on scene, request further ambulances, a heavy rescue unit and police for road closures.”

In the UK, M/ETHANE is the common method JESIP sets for passing incident information between services and their control rooms, and it appears in police, fire and ambulance training alike. Volunteer teams, event stewards and council staff who may be first on scene can use the same seven questions, so that what they pass on is in the form the emergency services expect.

First reports in Sinkaos

A METHANE form

Build your own incident form with the seven fields, required where you need them, with photos and position attached.

Location filled in

The report carries the device position, shown in WGS 84, UTM or MGRS as each reader prefers.

Written offline, sent when possible

Reports created without signal are queued on the phone and sent as soon as a link returns.

Who sends it, and where it is used

Who sends the METHANE report?

The first responder or crew to arrive at the scene, to their control room, which shares it with the other services.

Is METHANE used outside the United Kingdom?

It is taught in many countries and in international major incident training, but it is not a universal standard. Check the format your own services use.

How is METHANE different from a SITREP?

METHANE is the first, fixed report. A SITREP follows at regular intervals while the response lasts.