Incident Command System

(ICS)
What is an Incident?
An incident is an occurrence, either caused
by human or natural phenomena, that
requires response actions to prevent or
minimize loss of life, or damage to property
and/or the environment (i.e., fire, floods,
earthquakes, disease outbreaks, Hazmat,
terrorist incident, active shooter, etc.)

Incident Command System

(ICS)
What is ICS?
ICS is primarily a command and control
system delineating job responsibilities and
organizational structure for the purpose of
managing day-to-day operations for all types
of emergency incidents.

Incident Command System

(ICS)
ICS Purposes
Using management best practices, ICS helps
to ensure:
The safety of responders and others.
The achievement of tactical objectives.
The efficient use of resources.

Incident Command System

(ICS)
In the past, weaknesses in incident
management were due to:
Lack of accountability.
Poor communications.
Lack of a planning process.
Overloaded Incident Commanders.
No method to integrate interagency requirements.
The identification of these areas of management
weakness resulted in the development of ICS.

Incident Command System

(ICS)
ICS Benefits
Meets the needs of incidents of any kind or
size.
Allows personnel from a variety of agencies
to
meld rapidly into a common management
structure.
Provides logistical and administrative support
to
operational staff.
Is cost effective by avoiding duplication of
efforts.

Incident Command System

(ICS)

The basic features of the Incident Command

System include:
Common Terminology
Modular Organization
Management by objectives
Chain of Command & Unity of Command
Unified Command
Resource Management
Integrated Communication
Accountability
Mobilization

Incident Command System

(ICS)
Chain of Command
Chain of command is an orderly line of authority
within the ranks of the incident management
organization.

Unity of Command
Unity of command means that every individual
has a designated supervisor to whom they
report to at the scene of the incident.

Incident Command System

(ICS)
Unified Command

Enables all responsible agencies to manage

an incident together by establishing a set of
incident objectives and strategies.
Allows Incident Commanders to make joint
decisions by establishing a single command
structure.
Maintains unity of command. Each employee
only reports to one supervisor.

Incident Command System

(ICS)

ISUs Incident Command Structure

Incident Command System

(ICS)
Command Staff Consists of the following:
The Incident Commander Provides overall leadership for incident
response. Delegates authority to others. Takes general direction
from agency administrator/official.
Public Information Officer Information dissemination and media
relations.
Liaison Officer Assists Incident Commander by serving as point of
contact for agency representatives who are helping to support the
operation (i.e., Executive Policy Group, other agencies, etc.)
Safety Officer Advises Incident Commander on issues regarding
incident safety. Works with Operations Section to ensure safety of
field personnel.

Incident Command System

(ICS)
General Staff Consists of the Following:

Operations Section
Planning Section
Logistics Section
Finance Section

Incident Command System

(ICS)
General Staff Operations Section
The Operations Section is supervised by the Operations
Coordinator. The Operations Coordinator oversees the operational
response by functions or branches activated to deal with the
emergency. The Operations Section is responsible for coordinating
all operations in support of the emergency response and
implementation of the action plan(s). This section includes the
Response Teams, which are teams working toward reduction of the
immediate hazard and establishing situation control and the
restoration of normal conditions. Branches activated under
Operations may include: Public Safety, Communications/Dispatch,
Search & Rescue, Medical, Health & Safety, Building & Utility, and
IT/Telecommunications.

Incident Command System (ICS)

General Staff Operations Section

Incident Command System (ICS)

General Staff Planning Section
The Planning Section is supervised by the Planning Coordinator. The
Planning Coordinator is responsible for planning ongoing operations,
and supervising Situation Status and Damage Assessment (both
structural and infrastructure).
The Planning Section is responsible for collecting, evaluating,
processing and disseminating information; developing the action
plan, in coordination with the other section/functions/teams; and
maintaining documentation. In addition, the section maintains
information on the current and forecast situations and on the status
of resources. The functions under the Planning Section are: Situation
Status, Structural Damage Assessment and
Infrastructure Damage Assessment.

Incident Command System (ICS)

General Staff Planning Section

Incident Command System (ICS)

General Staff Logistics Section
The Logistics section is supervised by the Logistics Coordinator.
The Logistics Coordinator provides all resources and support for the
response operation, including procurement, delivery arrangements,
and deployment of the resources. The Logistics Section is
responsible for providing support to the Operations Section.
Logistics orders all resources from off-site locations and provides
facilities, services, personnel, equipment and materials. The
functions under Logistics are: Food Services, Facilities, Human
Resources and Transportation.
An additional responsibility of the Logistics Section is to develop
sources for obtaining material support from resources outside of
the jurisdiction involved.

Incident Command System (ICS)

General Staff Logistics Section

Incident Command System (ICS)

General Staff Finance Section
The Finance Section is the responsibility of the Finance Coordinator.
The Finance Coordinator sets up the accounting system to be used
for the emergency and oversees all accounting and financial
aspects of the disaster.
The Finance Section is responsible for all accounting and financial
aspects of the disaster and any other administrative requirements.

Incident Command System (ICS)

General Staff Finance Section

Incident Command System

(ICS)
Link

to FEMAs On-Line Training - IS-

100.HE Introduction to the Incident Command

System, ICS-100, for Higher Education
http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/IS/is100HElst.asp

Link

to FEMAs On-Line Training for

NIMS (National Incident Management
System)

http://training.fema.gov/emiweb/is/is700a.asp