Introduction to the Incident Command System and Fire Department Operations for Fire Corps Citizen Advocates

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Introduction to the Incident Command System
and Fire Department Operations for Fire Corps
Citizen Advocates
Dwayne Thompson Michigan Fire Corps State
Advocate
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What is INCIDENT COMMAND?

• Personnel and Equipment Management System
  developed from California wild land fires in the
  1970s based on these two principles
• ACCOUNTIBILTY
• EACH PERSON HAS ONE BOSS
• (Unity of Command)

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Flexible and Adaptable
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Command (IC)
Command (IC)
Command (IC)
Command Staff
Operations
(Functional Units)
Operations
Each person in the system only reports to one
person above them.
(Functional Units)
Branch
Branch
(Functional Units)
(Functional Units)
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It achieves its goal

• With Good Communication
• Common terminology
• Keep people informed

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How Incident Command works

• NO FREE-LANCING
• No heroes or cowboys wanted
• Be where you are suppose to be
• Do the job assigned
• Communicate the results

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What does the INCIDENT COMMANDER do?
Coordinate and direct all incident activities
including developing and implementing a strategic
plan
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EXPANDING ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE Also, called
an Incident Management System (IMS)
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Command (IC)
Command (IC)
Command (IC)
Command Staff
Operations
(Functional Units)
Operations
(Functional Units)
Branch
Branch
(Functional Units)
(Functional Units)
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COMMAND

• Also called Incident Commander (IC)
• May have a Command Staff or Unified Command
  (only one command)
• Green Light / IC Flag

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COMMAND STAFF

• Safety Officer
• Liaison Officer
• Public Information
• Officer
• Scribe to Command

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SAFETY OFFICER
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Parts of the Incident Command System

• COMMAND - Incident Commander (IC)
• FINANCE
• LOGISTICS
• OPERATIONS
• PLANNING

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FINANCE / ADMINISTRATION

• Has the responsibility of tracking all costs
  and financial aspects of the incident. Usually
  will only be activated on large-scale, long-term
  incidents.

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LOGISTICS

• Support Branch
• supplies, facilities, ground support, equipment,
  etc.
• Service Branch
• medical, re-hab,
• communications, food services, etc.

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OPERATIONS

• Reports directly to the IC and responsible for
  managing all operations that directly affect the
  primary mission of eliminating the problem.
• Staging is here.

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PLANNING

• Responsible for the collection, evaluation,
  dissemination, and use of information concerning
  the development of the incident.
• Also, tracking the status of all resources
  assigned to the incident.

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What happens if all of these positions are not
filled?

• They become the responsibility of the Incident
  Commander.

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IMS ICS Terms

• COMMAND
• DIVISION
• GROUP
• SECTOR
• SUPERVISOR
• INCIDENT ACTION PLAN
• RESOURCES
• STAGING

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STAGING
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IMPLEMENTING the SYSTEM

• IMS / ICS should be initiated by the first
  person on the scene of an emergency.
• What has occurred?
• What is the current status of the emergency?
• Is there anyone injured or trapped?

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IMPLEMENTING the SYSTEM, cont.

• Can the emergency be handled with the resources
  on scene or en route?
• Does the emergency fall within the scope of the
  individuals training?
• If no life-threatening situation demands
  immediate action, the IC should begin to
  formulate an Incident Action Plan.

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TRANSFER of COMMAND

• Be prepared to transfer to next-arriving person
  with higher level of expertise or authority
• Face-to-face is best
• Command can only be transferred to someone who is
  on scene
• Give a Situation Status Report

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The Incident Commander and other staff members
are very busy
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Fire Corps can help out by

• Assisting with tracking at Staging
• Assisting Command Staff as a scribe
• Setting up and running the Re-hab Area
• Diverting traffic
• Other duties as assigned
• Following ICS rules No Free-lancing and
  waiting patiently to be deployed

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Insert your local fire department information
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QUESTIONS