Co-authored by Chelsey Perkins, Planning Specialist, Connect Consulting Services; and Erik Angle RN, MICN, MEP, NHDP, Emergency Preparedness Coordinator, Sutter Roseville Medical Center
It could be a day just like any other day. Then the world around you can change forever. From natural disasters (such as wildfires, earthquakes, tornadoes, and hurricanes) to human- caused disasters (such as terrorism, active shooters, hazardous materials spills) disasters will happen. Knowing the risks, planning for the risks, and understanding actions to perform when they do happen can be critical for your safety and safety of your personnel, your business, and your customers. The use of the Incident Command System (ICS) is one of the key actions that can be used for successful response to all-hazard disaster incidents. Below you will find a how-to-guide to operationalize ICS within your organization.
ICS is a vetted concept and has been around more than 30 years. Through two separate incidents, wildfires in 1970 and the 9/11/2001 terrorist attacks, the system evolved and has been adopted by a wide variety of local, state, and national emergency management and law enforcement organizations due to its many documented successes. Today, it serves as a model all-risk, all-agency emergency management system.
ICS is a system, not a policy, used to direct, control, and coordinate the efforts of individual agencies as they work towards the common goal of stabilizing an all-hazard incident to protect life, property, and the environment. The “all-hazard” concept means that aspects of ICS can be used for any type for disaster, from natural (Wildfire or Severe Weather Responses) to human-caused (such as 9/11 or the Las Vegas Harvest Festival Active Shooter Incident) ICS uses principles and best practices that have been proven repeatedly to improve safety, efficiency, and effectiveness and applies these principles to emergency response. During all-hazard emergencies, problems and challenges often occur because leadership and management systems that work well on a day-to-day basis cannot effectively meet the additional needs during a disaster. Key benefits for using ICS include:
- Establishes a predictable Chain of Command, no confusion on who would be in charge (i.e., Incident Commander)
- Provides a manageable span of control, limiting the number of personnel being managed under a leader and providing ability to add other leadership roles to supervise (i.e., Section Chiefs, Branch Directors)
- Clearly delineates roles and responsibilities with titles and Job Action Sheets
- Uses standard or common terminology to ensure clear communication (i.e., no codes, no jargon) through a common communication plan
ICS divides an emergency response into five manageable functions essential for safe emergency response operations.
These Include:
- Command Section sets the priorities and objectives for overall command and response to the incident. This section includes the key roles:
- The Incident Commander is responsible for the overall management of the incident and is always activated in response
- The Public Information Officer reports to the Incident Commander and is responsible for the development and release of information about the incident.
- The Safety Officeris responsible for monitoring and assessing hazardous and unsafe situations as well as developing measures for assuring personnel and responder safety.
- The Liaison Officer serves as the point of contact for assisting and coordinating activities between the facility and other responders and agencies.
- Operations Section has responsibility for tactical “boots on the ground” operations to carry out objectives for incident response
- Planning Section is responsible for collection, evaluation, and dissemination of information and intelligence related to the incident and provide documentation of incident response
- Logistics Section is responsible for providing the necessary resources and support to meet incident response needs
- Finance and Administration Section is responsible for monitoring and documenting all costs, including additional staffing costs and workers compensation if injuries occur during the response as well as provides the necessary financial support related to the incident
The basic structure of ICS is the same regardless of the type of emergency, is scalable for response, and will reflect the magnitude of the incident. Not all positions and roles need to be filled but only activated as needed.
To create a culture of preparedness for your agency, it can be done by a process:
- Establish a Team or key individual at your agency to be a designated Subject Matter Expert and oversee developing an emergency preparedness/response plan. This would include development of an ICS structure and training.
- Know your capabilities and risks. Conduct a risk assessment regarding hazards your agency and region may face and your current ability to address those. This will help develop mitigation steps needed for response, including training, role designation of personnel in ICS and response.
- Use the risk assessment to help develop your emergency plan(s) and program. This may include response to specific hazards, communication, command and control structure in ICS, leadership orders of succession and even identified training needed. This should be done annually as a best practice.
- Approve and implement the plan(s). Make it a “living document” and useful, not something that just gathers dust and is outdated the minute it gets approved. Update the plan on a as needed basis and routinely review for accuracy and applicability. Practice the plan, use lessons learned in drills/exercises and actual incidents to streamline your plan, and train your ICS staff for their roles (as a common issue identified in poor incident response is lack of trained personnel holding key ICS positions).
In conclusion, ICS is a tried and true is the system used to command, control, and coordinate the response efforts of individual agencies as they work towards the common goal of stabilizing an emergency to protect life, and property. It is tried and true system based on best-practices and lessons learned from disaster incident response. When disaster strikes, from natural or human-caused, knowledge and use of ICS can be a crucial tool to have for safe all-hazard response.
This article was created in conjunction with the 2022 Emergency Preparedness Summit combining industry experts and USC faculty to bridge the gap between theoretical learning and real experience. The Summit is available at csda.net under the Learn tab.