What are the four 4 sections that must be staffed on an incident management team?

The Incident Command System (ICS)

The ICS is a hierarchical management system used by governmental agencies, fire, and police to respond to an emergency. It is primarily a field response system but is adapted for use in the Emergency Operations Center (EOC). Devised by the fire service in 1971, it provides guidelines for common multiagency operating procedures, terminology, communications, and management. Its modular structure allows for a consistent and coordinated response to incidents of all types and complexity. Because of the growing interdependency among the response organizations of industry, business, and governmental agencies, the use of the ICS by business and industry is becoming commonplace, especially in light of the above standards. Emergency response teams (ERTs) may already be required by law or industry standard to utilize this system. If the organization’s response requirements don’t warrant the use of an ERT, business owners and responsible managers (including recovery planners) should still be aware of the methods and protocols, such as ICS, that are used by the local jurisdictions to manage emergencies at their site.

ICS is a tool that relies heavily on the concept of Management By Objectives (MBO). Response objectives are set by the senior responder and delegated to the subordinate positions after agreement that the objectives can be met. The senior responder is referred to as the incident commander. By using this approach, the incident commander can coordinate the response to complex and technical incidents without unreasonable expectations. ICS is also sensitive to the basic management principle of span of control that limits the ratio of subordinates. If the incident is small and the response is relatively simple, the ratio is eight subordinates to one manager. If the crisis expands and becomes more complex, the span of control is reduced to provide the most effective leadership. Some believe the span of control in an emergency situation should be five subordinates or less.

ICS is divided into five major functional units. The fire service version is expandable to 36 positions, but most are not relevant to business response. The five units (called sections) are as follows:

Incident command

Operations

Planning and intelligence

Logistics

Finance and administration

With small incidents, it is not necessary to establish all sections of the ICS. In this case, the incident commander (see below) will directly manage or assume the duties of each of the sections or activate the sections as additional personnel arrive. Operational need is the primary factor in determining what is activated.2 Each unit is headed by a section chief and may be further divided into subsections as required by the complexity of the incident or need to maintain the proper span of control.3

Planning

Develop response plans, team structure (Incident Command System, for example), policies, and procedures. If using the Incident Command System, it may be possible (and desirable) to develop Incident Action Plans ahead of time, since in most cases the response environment will be predictable. Many organizations locate the Command Post in the building lobby. Employees from certain departments are generally necessary to ensure an effective response. This includes security (access control, communication), facilities (resources, equipment shutdown), and environmental health and safety (technical support).

Is the ICS a Form of Law?

As you have seen, the ICS originated as an initiative by firefighters in western states to improve operational efficiency and now has been adopted as a nationwide, all-hazards template by federal and state officials. Consider how it is used as a metric for legal liability in the following case:

Donna Prince L. v. Waters

New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, 2008. 850 NYS2d 803

Plaintiff commenced this action seeking damages for, inter alia, the wrongful death of her husband (decedent). Decedent, a volunteer firefighter, was killed while fighting a fire that started in the basement of a house located in the Town of Pompey. Plaintiff alleged that defendant County of Onondaga (County) is liable pursuant to the doctrine of respondeat superior* for decedent’s death, which was allegedly caused by the negligence of defendant Mike Waters, as the County’s Fire Control Coordinator, and that defendants are also liable pursuant to General Municipal Law § 205–a (hereafter §205-a). Defendants moved for summary judgment dismissing the complaint, and Supreme Court granted the motion. We note at the outset that plaintiff has abandoned the wrongful death cause of action, inasmuch as she failed to oppose that part of defendants’ motion with respect to it and, indeed, has not addressed it on appeal. We agree with plaintiff, however, that the court erred in granting that part of defendants’ motion for summary judgment dismissing the §205-a cause of action, and we therefore modify the order accordingly.

To establish their entitlement to summary judgment dismissing the §205-a cause of action, defendants had to establish as a matter of law “either that [they] did not negligently violate any relevant government provision or that, if [they] did, the violation did not directly or indirectly cause plaintiff’s injuries.” The type of statute, ordinance, or regulation that may give rise to liability pursuant to §205-a is one “found in a ‘well-developed body of law and regulation’ that ‘imposes clear duties.’”

[Ed. Note: To support a cause of action under §205-a, a plaintiff law enforcement officer, inter alia, must identify the statute or ordinance with which the defendant failed to comply. Liability pursuant §205 will exist where there is negligent noncompliance with “any of the statutes, ordinances, rules, orders and requirements of the federal, state, county, village, town or city governments or of any and all their departments, divisions and bureaus,” provided that the statute, ordinance, rule, order, or requirement cited is found in a “well-developed bod[y] of law and regulation” that “impose[s] clear duties.”]

According to plaintiff, defendants failed to comply with the National Interagency Incident Management System–Incident Command System (NIIMS–ICS), adopted in New York by Executive Order as the State standard emergency command and control system. … [P]laintiff thereby identified a relevant government provision that may give rise to liability under §205-a. The NIIMS–ICS may form the predicate for liability pursuant to §205-a because it “ ‘mandates a reasonably defined and precedentially developed standard of care,’ and does not require the trier of fact to ‘second-guess [a firefighter’s] split-second weighing of choices.’” * * *

* Note: “Respondeat superior” means literally “let the master answer.” The phrase is used to denote the legal doctrine under which an employer can be held liable for damages caused by an employee who is acting within the scope of the job position.

Critical Thinking

The implication of a court using the ICS system as a standard of care is that agencies, at least in New York State, will determine that they must use it or else risk liability. What are the advantages and disadvantages of that result?

Plan Procedural Specifics

The second section of the EOP addresses definitions and assignment of roles and responsibilities. This section accounts for the real substance of the plan. While the first section dealt with creating a plan and organizing how it will be put into effect, this section is far more detailed and focuses on specifics within the emergency operations plan. This section begins with a school emergency management organization that follows the Incident Command System (ICS).

ICS is part of the National Incident Management System (NIMS). Developed in the aftermath of 9/11, NIMS is a consistent framework used by all agencies to respond to disasters. ICS is a NIMS tool developed for the command, control, and coordination of emergency response. In other words, “ICS helps you remember what tasks are important and when it is important to assign someone to do them.”2 Some administrators assume that first responders will meet this need, but responders often cannot arrive immediately, which means an in-house group must initially manage the incident. For many schools, the principal is the natural choice to fill the role of incident commander, but ICS requires redundancy. Who will serve as the incident commander's backup? Who will serve as that person's backup? In addition to the incident commander, schools must document positions such as public information officer, safety officer, liaison officer, operations, logistics, planning, and finance and administration. The goal is to have two alternates at every response position.

Collaboratively complete the ICS form utilizing personnel that are available during the school's normal operations, such as 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. This exercise can be challenging, but will pay dividends. The more difficult task surfaces in attempting to complete the ICS structure during the often-forgotten, after-hours timeframe. Many administrators question the feasibility of finding qualified individuals during this timeframe, but the need for a game plan to manage an after-hours emergency cannot be denied. To assist in addressing this need, we recommend asking staff members to complete a staff skills survey (Fig. 7.1) that identifies qualifications, certifications, training, and skills individuals possess. Once results are compiled, administrators often find that there are staff members working after-hours who have the skills to fill ICS positions. COVID-19 face mask requirements and the corresponding need for greater accountability during extracurricular activities may have forever eliminated the ineffective practice of assigning just one “administrator on duty.”

To assist in preparing emergency plans, the federal government has developed a course (ICS-100: Introduction to the Incident Command System) to familiarize school administrators with how ICS principles can be applied in school-based incidents and prepare schools to work together with community response personnel. In about an hour or two, school administrators can take this course and obtain professional development CEUs and certification at the FEMA website (https://training.fema.gov/is/courseoverview.aspx?code=IS-100.c).

Next, move from the high-level ICS components to more detailed roles and responsibilities. The actual first responder is usually the individual who discovers the emergency situation. For example, a teacher who encounters a fight between students might respond according to the following procedures.

Notify the school's incident commander immediately and get assistance.

Do not let a crowd incite participants.

Disperse onlookers and keep others from congregating in the area.

Use calm verbal commands to try to break up the fight first.

Avoid stepping between participants.

Once assistance arrives, work as a team to separate participants.

When participants are separated, move them quickly; escort the participants to the office and do not allow further visual or verbal contact.

Document all activities witnessed by staff.

Similarly, your EOP should detail the responsibilities of the incident commander and other members of the emergency team. Continue in this fashion to document the responsibilities of monitors who will ensure the proper execution of the planned response; the responsibilities for communicating with first responders, building occupants, families, representatives of the media, and other members of the community; and the responsibilities for maintaining emergency-related records.

Each response description should include the titles of the people who will lead and assist in the response. Be sure to include the name and contact information of the media coordinator (public information officer) who will take questions from reporters.

Other common features of each kind of emergency could involve evacuation from the building to a predetermined assembly site where faculty will ascertain who may still be in the building. Later may come relocation to another site where parents and students can reunite. Finally, the team leader will brief first responders and shift into a supporting role.

Emergency preparedness/FEMA on-line incident command courses

In the U.S., the Emergency Management Institute of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has developed Incident Command System (ICS) training that is available and specifically designed for the healthcare industry. The Introduction to ICS (IS-100) is a free on-line training program that is 2½ hours long and provides foundational understanding of an incident command system for hospitals.12 Many healthcare facilities require the completion of ICS 100 for all security officers and include the training as part of their mandatory training program.

The follow-up ICS program, Applying ICS to Healthcare Organizations (IS-200), is a 3-hour on-line program that provides additional training on and resources for supervisory personnel who are likely to have a role in the healthcare facilities emergency operations center.13 A large number of healthcare organizations require completion of both ICS 100 and 200 for the security supervisor positions and above. ICS is also utilized outside of the US with many countries developing training and educational content specific to healthcare emergency management.

Incident Command System

As part of the EOP, an incident management system must be in place to direct and coordinate actions and operations during and after disasters. The Incident Command System (ICS) was developed in the 1970s by an interagency task force working to coordinate response efforts to combat wildfires in California. Prior to its development, response to major events exposed vulnerabilities in inadequate communication because of conflicting terminology, lack of standardized management structure that would allow integration of resources, lack of personnel accountability, and lack of systematic planning. To meet those challenges, ICS was designed to be usable for managing all routine or unplanned events of any size or type, by establishing a clear chain of command, allowing different agencies to be integrated into a common structure, provide logistical and administrative support to operational personnel, and to ensure key functions were covered, while avoiding duplication of efforts.

There are a few incident command systems available, and one commonly used in the United States is the Hospital Incident Command System (HICS), sponsored by the California Emergency Medical Services Authority. The Hospital Incident Command System is a standardized all-hazard incident management system, that enables hospitals and community partners the capability to work together on organizing resources, staff, and facilities, in an effort to efficiently and effectively respond to an event outside of the normal operations of the organization.

The incident command system is divided into sections and primary functional roles. The Command section provides overall direction of the response by establishing response objectives for the system. The Incident Commander (IC) is the only position always activated in an incident. The IC sets the objectives, develops strategies and priorities, and maintains overall responsibility for effective performance of the ICS for the developing event. During an event where multiple organizations may have leadership responsibilities, such as in a fire response, bomb threat, and active shooter or hostage situations, Unified Command (UC) is initiated to allow multiple stakeholders to actively participate in incident management. Unified Command brings together lead personnel from each major organization involved in the incident to coordinate an effective response, while maintaining their own jurisdictional responsibilities. Unified Command may be established to overcome divisions formed by geographic boundaries, governmental levels, and functional or statutory responsibilities.

The Operations section of the incident management system is responsible for managing the tactical operations that achieve the incident objectives. The Operations Chief directs strategies, specific tactics, and resource assignments. The Security Branch Director reports to the Operations Chief in the ICS structure. The Security Branch Director coordinates all activities related to personnel and facility security such as access control, crowd and traffic control, and law enforcement interface. This role is most frequently filled by the lead security administrator for the hospital, but depending on circumstances and duration of the event, can be filled by other security personnel, or those acting in a security role. Staff must be trained for the security role in the ICS structure, and indeed for any ICS position they may be required to fill.

The Planning section of the incident management system collects and evaluates information for decision support, maintains resource status information, and overall incident documentation. The Logistics section of the incident management system provides support, resources, and other essential services to meet the operational objectives. Finally, the Finance section of the incident management system monitors costs associated with the incident, while providing accounting and cost analyses. Each of the sections can be subdivided as needed to meet the demands of the incident, and to manage span of control for proper safety and accountability.

The Incident Command System

Molino (2006) identified five common concepts relative to the control and management of emergencies. According to Molino, these concepts (referred to as the Five Cs of Command) form the basis of the Incident Command System (ICS):

Command

Control

Communications

Coordination

Cooperation

ICS was developed in the early 1970s after a series of major wildfires in southern California. The fires affected all levels of government (federal, state, and local), and highlighted various recurring problems that prevented responding agencies from working together. In particular, determining who was in charge of the overall response effort, duplication of efforts, poor coordination due to no joint planning, lack of a common organization, and ineffective intra-agency communications, hindered the overall emergency response to the fires. ICS established an on-scene management system that would help responding agencies work together using a coordinated and systematic approach that can be used for all types of incidents regardless of size (Bullock et al., 2008; Canton, 2007; McEntire, 2007):

Common Terminology: Common vocabulary is used instead of signal codes. Functional assignments are standardized and easily understood.

Integrated Communications: To accommodate various agencies, a common communications plan is used with assigned frequencies.

Unified Command Structure: The command structure expands when there is more than one responding agency, and all organizations share a common set of incident objectives and strategies.

Unit Integrity: Typically, responding units are not broken up before being deployed. Most responders receive orders through their existing chain of command.

Unity of Command: To avoid organizational confusion, every individual has a designated supervisor.

Effective Span of Control: One supervisor for every 3–7 subordinates, with 5 being the optimum number.

Modular Structure: Can expand or shrink based on needs.

Comprehensive Resource Management: Human, material, and equipment resources are always checked in, and their status maintained at all times.

Consolidated Action Plans: A single planning process, leading to one incident action plan.

The ICS structure is built around five major management activities or functions (McEntire, 2007) (Figure 28-4):

Command: The incident commander (IC) determines strategy and objectives and is responsible for overall command of the incident. Three positions/functions work closely with the IC:

Information Officer: Works with the media and releases information to the public as appropriate.

Safety Officer: Monitors operations and advises the IC on all matters related to safety.

Liaison Officer: Is the IC’s point of contact with representatives of other organizations.

Operations: Responsible for directing and coordinating all tactical operations to meet incident objectives.

Planning: Responsible for all incident-related data (gathering and analyzing) as well as the status of all available resources.

Logistics: Responsible for providing the necessary support (facilities, services, and materials) to meet all needs for the incident or situation.

Finance: Responsible for on-site financial and administrative management, including monitoring and documenting all costs related to the incident. This is especially important for reimbursement by the federal government when there is a Presidential Disaster Declaration.

It is important for protection officers to understand how ICS works for several reasons. First, it is a relatively simple on-scene management tool that has proven effective in a variety of settings over the years, including the private sector. Second, any time there is a serious incident that requires public safety personnel from any level of government to respond, they will likely be using ICS. Consequently, understanding ICS, and being able to seamlessly fit into this management system in an effort to solving problems, would be advantageous for all of the entities involved in the incident.

Background of Emergency Planning

The best emergency plan in the world will fail without leadership. Setting up the right structure to keep the response on track during a disaster or emergency is the first step to success. Fortunately, a great model has already been well tested and proved effective. The Incident Command System (ICS) is the structure developed that allows for flexibility while defining clear roles and functions to help navigate through a tough situation.

The ICS was first developed by the military and later adapted by crews fighting wildfires. As you can imagine, there were difficulties in coordinating response, allocating resources, and even planning what should be done. Crews were spread out across wilderness areas, each facing different challenges or needs. Multiple agencies were also involved, from local firefighters to sheriff’s departments as well as groups of firefighters brought in from out of state or other areas. Information from aerial surveillance had to be analyzed, strategies developed, and then the right resources with specific goals sent to the various areas around the fire to help contain it and protect homes or forests.

The basic structure consists of an incident commander who is ultimately responsible for all decisions. The incident commander is directly supported by a team, including a safety officer, security officer, public information officer, and liaison officer. There are several sections, each one in turn supported by a section chief who reports to the incident commander. The sections include operations, planning, logistics, and finance/administration.

The incident commander has the overall responsibility to determine what goals need to be accomplished and the steps to reach those goals. The liaison officer coordinates with any external agencies or groups that may be involved or have asked for help, such as the local office of emergency management or local police. The safety and security officers may be combined into one role and are, as the name implies, responsible for the overall safety and security of those involved with the emergency response. The safety/security role is to identify any threatening situations that could jeopardize responders and make recommendations to adjust for risks. The public information officer, or PIO, is responsible for any media statements or communications, as well as internal communications to employees or affected groups.

Once the incident commander has outlined the overall objectives, the other sections each take on specific roles to achieve those objectives. The planning team is focused on information: what is happening around the organization or externally, as well as gathering information on what resources are available. The planning team takes that information to develop a timeline outlining what needs to be done in the immediate future as well as down the road, even into the recovery phase.

The logistics group is responsible for finding out what resources are on hand, where the resources are, or how to get them. A large piece of this often involves getting a labor team set up. Depending on the type of emergency and the response needed, a labor team can help by providing runners to get information to the right people in the midst of chaotic communications. The labor team may need to help move internal equipment, evacuate customers or patients, direct traffic, or secure the facility.

The operations team is responsible for the “doing.” This team has to carry out the planned tasks and may be dependent on the supplies procured by the logistics team. This is where the rubber meets the road. If the emergency involves damage to a critical building, the operations team will be responsible for assessing and repairing the damage. Specific team members may include a cross section from across the organization, such as information technology personnel, especially if the disaster affects data servers or equipment. In a hospital, operations may be focused around clinical care, especially if the emergency is an influx of patients or involves the evacuation of patients to other care sites. The labor team put together by the logistics crew may be put to work in a needed role.

Next is the finance or administration section. This group is responsible for tracking expenses, purchases, payroll issues, time sheets, or any other item that reflects a cost to the organization. For example, during a blizzard, hospital staff may be forced to stay overnight to continue caring for patients. Nearby hotel rooms may be used to give everyone a chance to get some sleep and rest between shifts. The finance team tracks those expenses as well as who was working at what times. The administrative side also includes keeping a log of decisions made at the incident command level as well as collecting and keeping any related paperwork.

The Incident Command System is designed to be flexible. That means for some situations you may not need to assign a person to each and every role. For example, if the scope of an emergency is smaller or temporary, the same person may fill the role of the operations section chief as well as the logistics chief.

In law enforcement, the first police officer on a scene becomes the incident commander. His responsibilities include making sure the scene is safe, identifying what additional resources will be needed and what immediate goals need to be established, and beginning to work towards those goals. As other police officers arrive, he will assign them as needed, similar to how the operations chief would work. In short, the initial response and preliminary ICS may be one person and grow to include other officers, supervisors, and even other agencies, such as the fire department or paramedics.

Fire departments routinely use the ICS in an even more formal way. The initial fire truck on scene quickly becomes the command center and even uses that term as the radio identifier. Eventually, when a battalion chief arrives, that person becomes the incident commander and takes on that radio designation to provide continuity of communication for everyone in the field reporting back or requesting instructions from the incident commander.

The United States’ Federal Emergency Management Agency has numerous free courses available online that help train individuals on ICS. These courses are a great way to get those in your organization familiar with the type of command structure that should be used to deal with emergency situations.

Chapter 7, “Managing emergencies” resources

Federal repository/clearinghouse for emergency planning resources

https://schoolsafety.gov.

Guide for Developing High-Quality School Emergency Operations Plans

https://rems.ed.gov/docs/Guide_for_Developing_HQ_School_EOPs.pdf.

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)

Introduction to the Incident Command System: https://training.fema.gov/is/courseoverview.aspx?code = IS-100.c.

Lockdown Drill Evaluation Form – Many states now require lockdown drills, but evaluating their effectiveness can be difficult. Fig. 9.4 permits you to know which aspects of lockdown are most important, establish benchmarks for continuous improvement, and identify issues that should be addressed.

Incident Command Structure – The National Incident Management System (NIMS) seeks to establish consistent patterns and common language to utilize during emergencies. An Incident Command Structure (see Fig. 9.5) should be completed in order to comply with NIMS in becoming as prepared as possible for emergencies. Within this structure, key staff can be pre-assigned critical roles should an incident occur. Administrators should consider taking NIMS courses 100, 200, 700 and 800.

United States Department of Education Emergency Planning Resources

https://rems.ed.gov/.

National Weather Service Severe Weather Preparedness Guide for Schools

https://www.weather.gov/grb/schools.

STOP THE BLEED®

https://nationalstopthebleedday.org/.