I wonder if, in this day & age, the 'when in doubt syndrome' will take over very easily and everyone will err on the side of caution in case there is a hiccup and a flock of hungry solicitors descend on you with no airs & graces. I understand there are categories of scenario, but someone has to translate the flight crew's words into action and decide. I assume there is no airfield cost involved, even if over enthusiastic, so why not the full monty. And hey, it's always good to have a practice, for real.
Closing a motorway might seem extreme. What radius from the runway is deemed the danger area? What about the motorway not on finals but downwind or base leg?
Back to the ground response; it does seem the definition of an emergency (Mayday) to us is different to other members of the team. If the a/c was operating under a PAN, and it would seem there was no need for more, why would ground call a full emergency. A PAN is a controllable non normal with no imminent or expect threat to life or property. Or were they operating under a MayDay? (we had enough of this 'not singing from the same hymn sheet with wet/dry runways'. I wonder if the left & right hand talk to each other) Attack & defence might have different coaches but they all report to the manager so both entities now what the other is going to do.
I'm still interested in answers to my earlier technical question: ref. how did the crew know; had they raised the gear; were there any problems with that; what deceleration technique is recommended. This is a Pilots chat forum after all.