Instructional Guide

Note: The Incident Command System is also called the Incident Management System. They both mean the same thing. For the purposes of this drill, Incident Command System or ICS will be used.

1. Basic ICS Structure (1-1)
   1. Concept of ICS - a unified command structure that can be adapted to any type of emergency
   2. Requirements for an ICS
      1. 29 CFR 1910.120 - OSHA regulation for hazardous materials emergency response
      2. NFPA 1500 - Standard for Fire Department Occupational Safety and Health Program
      3. Common sense
      4. Good management practices (ICS utilizes business organization and features on emergency scene)
   3. Benefits of ICS
      1. Common terminology
      2. Modular organizational structure
      3. Integrated communications
      4. Unified command
      5. Consolidated action plan
      6. Manageable span of control - range is 3 to 7 with optimum being 5 (structure adjusted when span of control exceeded)
      7. Designated incident facilities (command post)
      8. Comprehensive resource management
   4. General Incident Command Structure
      1. Incident Command (IC) or Command
         1. Senior officer or designated officer in charge of an incident
         2. Responsible for strategic decisions
         3. Assigns other primary supervisory or functions positions necessary to control an incident
         4. Radio designation is COMMAND
      2. Operations
         1. Implements strategic decisions made by the Incident Commander by coordinating tactical resources
         2. Radio designation is OPERATIONS
      3. Planning
         1. Predicts the probable course of an incident
         2. Prepares primary and alternate strategies
         3. Collects, evaluates, and disseminates strategies and tactics being applied for the on-going development of contingency plans
         4. Radio designation is PLANNING
      4. Logistics
         1. Acquires necessary items to support an incident such as food, lodging, etc.
         2. Radio designation is LOGISTICS
      5. Finance
         1. Obtains information regarding other than normal costs of an incident
         2. Obtains information for charge-back of supplies
         3. Investigates incident occurrences which may incur a liability or compensation claim by other county personnel or organizations
         4. Radio designation is FINANCE
      6. Staff Positions
         1. Safety
            1. Monitors incident operations and maintaining the safety and health of personnel
            2. Radio designation is SAFETY
         2. Liaison
            1. Coordinates the other appropriate agencies
            2. Radio designation is LIAISON
         3. Public Information Officer (PIO)
            1. Formulates and reports factual and timely information about the incident to the news media and other appropriate agencies
            2. Radio designation is PIO
2. Basic Responsibilities (1-2)
   1. Operations Subdivisions
      1. Staging
         1. Assembles vehicles, personnel, and equipment in the staging area
         2. Keeps the operations officer and status officer informed of resource levels and projected needs
         3. Radio designation is STAGING
      2. Water Supply/Agents
         1. Assesses the needs, develops a plan, and implements a water supply (or other extinguishing agents) system as needed for tactical control of the incident
         2. Radio designation may be WATER SUPPLY, FOAM, AGENTS, etc.
      3. Suppression
         1. Implements strategies directly related to fire suppression
         2. Radio designation is SUPPRESSION
      4. Sector Commander(s)
         1. Supervises specific functional or ancillary area(s) involved in an incident as assigned by the Incident Commander or another sector commander
         2. Radio designation is determined by the sector area assigned
            NOTE: Some systems used the terms division and branch to identify functions or geographic areas.
            
      5. EMS Control
         1. Overall EMS operation at the incident
         2. Appoints EMS sector commanders as necessary
         3. Forwards EMS recommendations to the Incident Commander
         4. Radio designation is EMS
         5. Senior Physician
            1. Assists and reports to the EMS control officer
            2. Radio designation is PHYSICIAN
         6. Triage
            1. Supervises and coordinates assessment of patients according to their severity of injuries
            2. Directs patients to an area for proper care
            3. Radio designation is TRIAGE
         7. Disposition
            1. Coordinates patient routing to medical facilities
            2. Works with the treatment and transportation officers for communication to hospitals
            3. Radio designation is DISPOSITION
         8. Treatment
            1. Oversees the emergency treatment of patients including coordinating activities with the triage officer and the disposition officer
            2. Radio designation is TREATMENT
         9. Transportation
            1. Coordinates patient transportation to various medical facilities
            2. Radio designation is TRANSPORTATION
      6. Specialty Units
         1. Haz Mat
         2. Cave-In
         3. Dive
         4. Rescue
   2. Planning Subdivisions
      1. Reconnaissance
         1. Conducts primary and subsequent surveys to gather information about existing conditions of the incident
         2. Radio designation is RECON
      2. Technical Specialists - Provides relevant special skills and knowledge that may be applied to support incident operations
      3. Records and Documentation - Records and protects all documents relevant to the incident
   3. Logistics Subdivisions
      1. Status
         1. Records and maintains information flow associated with the operation at the incident including units operating at the incident, tasks assigned, tasks completed, documentation of items, etc.
         2. Radio designation is STATUS
      2. Welfare
         1. Physical well-being of emergency and civilian personnel
         2. Radio designation is WELFARE
      3. Rehabilitation - Establishes and operates rehabilitation areas
      4. Communication
         1. Establishes and maintains all communications
         2. Radio designation is COMMUNICATIONS
      5. Supply - Obtains and distributes supplies and equipment necessary to keep resources functioning on an incident
   4. D. Finance Subdivisions
      1. Time - Maintains a record of time of those working at the incident
      2. Procurement - Procures necessary supplies and equipment which are the responsibility of the department for the incident
      3. Compensation/Claims - Maintains records of operating personnel injuries or fatalities
      4. Cost - Maintains and analyzes cost data developed from the incident
3. Implementation (1-3)
   1. Levels of Command
      1. Level I
         1. Used to mitigate routine and minor fire/rescue incident
         2. No command post is established
         3. Normal radio operations are maintained
      2. Level II
         1. Used on all working structural fires, hazardous materials incidents, incidents where prolonged or complex interior or exterior operations or activities take, place, or incidents in which the Incident Commander is beyond a functional span of control
         2. Formal command post is established
         3. Alternate radio channel is assigned
      3. Level III
         1. Used as a disaster response level
         2. May only be established by the Director of Public Safety or similar authority
   2. Primary and secondary command posts
      1. Primary command post near incident scene
      2. Secondary command post away from incident scene
   3. Sectoring - dividing the incident into small command units or areas, either geographically or functionally - sometimes referred to as divisions or branches
   4. Staging
      1. Level I - designates the initial placement of units, personnel, and equipment two blocks or at least 500 feet from the incident scene in their normal route of travel to the incident location
      2. Level II - designates the placement of additional units or other resources at a special staging area
   5. Initial incident status report
      1. Designation of unit on the scene
      2. Initial description of conditions found
      3. Staging level and initial instructions
      4. Initiate request for assistance
      5. Establish appropriate level of command
   6. Establishment of command
      1. Based on first due area and not first due unit or geographic location such as street
      2. Should be established whenever more than one unit is operating at the scene
      3. Established initially by the first arriving unit
      4. Command transferred as necessary
   7. Command responsibilities
      1. Assume effective and accessible command position
      2. Initial size-up of incident
      3. Develop overall strategic plan
      4. Evaluate implementation of strategic plan
      5. Evaluate and revise strategic plan for effectiveness
      6. Maintain command until terminated or transferred
   8. Transfer of command
      1. From initial unit officer to command officer or next unit officer (on scene)
      2. Transferred between unit officers only once
      3. Guidelines for actual transfer
         1. Face-to-face basis
         2. Brief new commander
         3. Review tactical control sheet
         4. Command does not automatically transfer
   9. Establishment of safety sector
      1. Safety officer on all Level II and III incidents
      2. When personnel are participating in live fireground training activities
         NOTE: Specialty teams may have their own safety officers operating at the scene. This does not relieve the Incident Commander of designating a scene safety officer or establishing a safety sector.
         
   10. Emergency evacuation guidelines
       1. Inform the emergency communications center (ECC) that emergency evacuation has been initiated
       2. ECC shall sound five consecutive alert tones two seconds in duration and make a radio communication to all units operating on the incident
       3. All sector commanders shall confirm that emergency evacuation of personnel has been initiated
       4. The unit(s) designated by the IC shall blast the air horn for five seconds every 15 seconds
       5. All sector commands shall account for all personnel assigned to them
       6. Notification shall be made to the IC regarding personnel accountability and evacuation completion
   11. Arrival in privately-owned vehicles
       1. Obey all vehicular traffic laws
       2. Follow direction of traffic control personnel
       3. Park so as to not impede the access or egress of emergency vehicles
       4. Report to a designated staging area or to an appropriate emergency unit or officer so proper accountability may take place and duties assigned (Do not report to IC)
       5. Personnel shall not actively participate in any emergency or non-emergency fireground activity unless proper accountability has been performed and specific tasks assigned
   12. Personnel Accountability (based on a single tag system)
       1. Level I accountability - personal accountability tags attached to collection ring in cab of apparatus
       2. Level II accountability - collection ring taken from apparatus cab to command post and placed on accountability board
       3. Level III accountability - personal accountability tags collected at point of entry
          NOTE: Personal accountability tags do not relieve anyone of the responsibility for staying with their team and within the control of the officer in charge of that team. It also does not relieve anyone of the responsibility for watching out for the safety of others.
          
4. IV. Exercise (1-4)
   Assign each participant in the class a unit or officer designation. The designation should be based on response to a particular alarm. Announce the dispatch of an alarm, e.g. Box 2-1 for Frederick Memorial Hospital, West Seventh Street, Engine Companies 2, 50, 1, 3, Truck 41, Tower 1, Squad 2. Allow the student to establish their command structure and assignments. Sound a second alarm and observe the adjustment in the command structure. Record all assignment on a chalkboard or overhead transparency. If there are enough participants, go to a third alarm.
   

   Have each student write down what they think are the duties and responsibilities of their position.
   

   Additional exercises should be conducted for EMS, rescue, or hazardous materials scenarios based upon the needs of or services provided by the department. Consideration should also be given to conducting an exercise involving a wildland incident (fire or lost person search).

Summary

Review:

1. The Incident Command System is a guide designed to improve the management of emergency incidents as well as safety and personnel accountability.
2. The incident command structure for a particular incident should be developed as the need arises and the incident evolves.
3. The incident commander retains responsibility for any activity, regardless of whether it has been delegated. If a function has not been assigned to someone, the incident commander retains the responsibility for that function.
4. Use the system, train with it, and make sure every member of the department is familiar with it.

Incident Command System

• Basic ICS structure
• Basic responsibilities
• Implementation
• Exercise

Remotivation:

The ICS should be reviewed and practiced on a regular basis so that everyone in the department is familiar with it. It can be used on any incident. Repeated use will improve command and control should a major incident occur.

Assignment:

Evaluation

Copyright © 2001 Maryland Fire and Rescue Institute. All rights reserved.