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The Incident Command System-A Management Tool for Emergencies
The recent terrorist attacks on New York, Washington D.C., and the hijack related plane crash in Pennsylvania left many emergency management personnel thinking, ‘I’m sure glad I’m not the one in charge of that operation!’ Fortunately, most law enforcement supervisors will never have to manage an incident of that magnitude. However, suppose you did? Have you thought about how you would manage an airliner crash, a dam failure, a major hazardous materials release, a large urban fire, or a major explosion? How would you organize? How would you develop a plan of attack? How would you coordinate all of the incoming agencies and organizations? A scene from videotape produced by the California Commission on Peace Officers Standards and Training always stands out in my mind. It started with a collage of critical incidents, one of which was a major fire. Pandemonium reigned with panicking citizens and dozens of agencies interacting haphazardly, and, at the end, a sheriff’ deputy could be heard over the radio, saying in frustration, “Just tell me who’s in charge here!” So, how will YOU manage an incident when you suddenly find yourself in charge? Fortunately, a system out there will meet all of your needs (large or small) if you know how to use it. This system is called the Incident Command System or (ICS). Now, most of you have probably heard of ICS, but do you really understand why and how it works? Can you make its flexibility applicable to your situation? In this article, I will go over the basics of ICS and demonstrate why it can meet the requirements for incidents ranging from a simple traffic accident to an airliner crash or to a major earthquake. ICS was developed by the fire services, specifically FIRESCOPE, in the 1970’s after fires devastated southern California. This system has proven itself over the last 30 years to be an effective, flexible system for managing emergencies. California has incorporated ICS into its “Standardized Emergency Management System” which is used by all public safety agencies in the state during multi-agency jurisdictional incidents. Here are some of the management features that make ICS such a great tool to use: • Common Terminology—Any organization coming into an incident using ICS already understands what the various positions and organizational units are, and what they are responsible for, regardless of where in the country the incident occurs. • Modular Organizational Functions—ICS has an established organizational structure that can expand or contract, as the situation requires. • Resource Management—Through the organization of ICS, the associated assigned duties, and/or resources are more easily and effectively managed — an area upon which law enforcement agencies typically need to improve. • Facilities—ICS has common identifiers for the various facilities that would be used in an incident (e.g., Incident Command Post, Staging Area, DOC, EOC, et al). • Unified Command Structure—Allows for key agencies involved to come together as one management team. • Action Planning—Provides a process for developing your action plan for the event. • Area Command—Allows for operations in a large area such as an earthquake where multiple incident commands may be required. Okay, great. However, how does it work, and how can it be used? Let us look at the basic ICS structure:
As will often occur, although it should not, this structure may vary slightly depending upon which discipline (fire or police) is in charge, and even by the state in which it occurs. Accepting that, let us look at the basic functions of this organization. The Incident Commander (IC) is in charge of the field operations at the incident. Within the Command Staff reporting to the IC are the following: • Public Information Officer–Coordinates all of the activities related to dealing with the media. • Liaison Officer–Serves as the point of contact for incoming agencies and organization. • Safety Officer–Makes the IC aware of operational activities that may create an unacceptable safety risk to responders. • Scribe–records for the IC. One of the first things the IC must do is to determine what has happened, what is likely to happen, and what should be done. This task is assigned to the Planning & Intelligence Section. It is their responsibility to get a “handle” on what they are facing and what actions should be taken to resolve the incident. This will result in an “Incident Action Plan” (IAP). Obviously, operations do not stop while this is being accomplished. Nevertheless, at some point early on, a game plan needs to be developed. It will be the responsibility of the Operations Section to carry out that plan. Any operation or plan is going to require people, materials, supplies, equipment, and facilities. The task of the Logistics Section is to identify and manage all of these necessities. The Finance & Administration Section is responsible for procuring those items that need to be purchased and tracking costs. Together, these sections create this incident management cycle: assessment of the situation, the development, and implementation of the strategy, resource support, procurement, and reassessment. The key here is to have an Incident Commander who understands that he or she is like an orchestra leader. They are there to ensure that everything is coordinated and to be the conductor–not play the cymbals, the violin, and the trumpet, as well. When the IC tries to “wear all the hats,” he or she begins to lose sight of the big picture and things start falling through the cracks. One of the sections that I would like to spend a little more time on is the “Operations Section.” Keep in mind that any ICS organization is not just comprised of cops. It also includes everyone else involved in that incident: fire, public works, Red Cross, medical personnel, and even the dogcatcher! So, how do you structure your Operations Section? Let’s look at the following situation. You have a barricaded suspect. One way that you might organize your Operations Section:
With this organizational structure, personnel are assigned to specific functional areas with specific responsibilities. The Operations Section Chief (who is not usually a “Chief’) is able to oversee the operations of a variety of agencies and organizations. Unfortunately, what often happens is that the Incident Commander will try to oversee all of these functions and loses sight of what is going on with logistics, the media, and other agencies and organizations at the scene. Again, one of the main concepts of ICS (and why it is so successful when used properly) is that it divides functions up modularly and ensures that no one person is trying to wear all the hats. If an incident is so large that multiple incident command posts are required, such as in the aftermath of an earthquake, you can establish what is called an “Area Command.” An Area Command is similar in organization to an Incident Command Post, but its role is to coordinate between multiple Incident Command Posts. Some jurisdictions, especially in California, use their Department Operations Centers as Area Commands. In many cases, the function that an Area Command handles most is that of being a resource broker – deciding which IC gets the helicopter when three different IC’s want it. One of the keys to success on operations is multi-agency/jurisdictional coordination and cooperation. Suppose you have a large, overturned tanker containing propane or some other very hazardous material. What two agencies have a major role in this event? Of course, fire and police. Each will have its own roles and responsibilities - but each will also have its own restrictions and limitations. To maximize success, Unified Command should be used whenever possible. Under “Unified Command,” the two or three key agency heads get together and develop a single “Incident Action Plan.” This insures that there is one set of objectives, that there is a collective approach to developing strategies, and that the flow of information is greatly enhanced between all of the key players. There is still one Incident Commander, but you now have a “team approach” to incident management. Why has the Incident Command System been so successful for the fire services over the past thirty years? Because they train heavily in it and they use it on every incident. It has become second nature to them. So, why doesn’t law enforcement use ICS more often? The answer: because law enforcement seldom trains their personnel in the use of ICS and has not made it part of their organization’s standard practices. Why do we require constant weapons training and schedule periodic qualification shoots? So it will be second nature to us when we need to use our weapon. The same is true with ICS. Personnel must be trained and must practice and use ICS on a regular basis. Remember that ICS was designed not just for the “big one.” You can use it at almost any critical incident, large convention, sporting event, or planned demonstration where police intervention is required. The San Diego Police Department used ICS as a tool to prepare for, and manage the security of, the 2001 BioTech Conference during which thousands of protesters and heavy property damages were anticipated (these expectations were based on recent past events). As you can see, ICS is certainly not limited to just emergencies and disasters. ICS is a proven incident management system. However, like any other system, time must be invested into learning and practicing it. The California Law Enforcement Emergency Planning Guide is an excellent document that gives a complete overview of ICS along with checklists, incident forms, and position organization charts. It can be downloaded by going to the State of California website at www.oes.ca.gov. While you are there, download the Law Enforcement Mutual Aid Plan also. You will find it goes hand-in-glove with ICS. Then, that’s a whole other subject! If you would like to take a course on ICS via the Internet, you can log onto www.EmergencyTrainingOnline.com. Regardless of where you receive the training - get the training and use ICS. You never know when YOU will be the next Incident Commander.
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Presented by Mr. William Wolf at the CALEA November
Conference in San Diego, Ca. Mr. Wolf, a 27-year veteran of the San Diego
Police Department, retired in August of 2001 as a Sergeant. For 22 years,
he oversaw the City’s Emergency Management Office and the Police
Department’s Critical Incident Management Unit. Bill was a member of the
Governor’s committee that developed the State’s Standardized Emergency
Management System and served on the SEMS Training Advisory Committee. He
developed the Train-the-Trainer course, “SEMS/ICS for Law Enforcement.”
Bill is currently President of FLOW Technical Education Specialists, a company
providing online training via their website at www.EmergencyTrainingOnline.com.
