Overall Organizational Functions ICS was designed by identifying the primary activities or functions necessary to effectively respond to incidents. Analyses of incident reports and review of military organizations were all used in ICS development. These analyses identified the primary needs of incidents.
ICS Organizational Structure and Elements Command Staff: The staff who report directly to the Incident Commander, including the Public Information Officer, Safety Officer, Liaison Officer, and other positions as required.
The Incident Commander must also have the authority to establish an ICS structure adequate to protect the safety of responders and citizens, to control the spread of damage, and to protect the environment. Management by Objectives ICS is managed by objectives.
Planning Section: Responsible for the collection, evaluation, and dissemination of information related to the incident, and for the preparation and documentation of the Incident Action Plan. The Planning Section also maintains information on the current and forecasted situation, and on the status of resources assigned to the incident.
The Incident Command System or ICS is a standardized, on-scene, all-risk incident management concept. ICS allows its users to adopt an integrated organizational structure to match the complexities and demands of single or multiple incidents without being hindered by jurisdictional boundaries.
The Incident Command System comprises five major functional areas: Command, Operations, Planning, Logistics, and Finance/Administration.
The ICS organization has five major functions as described in the figure below. These functions are command, operations, planning, logistics, and finance/administration (with a potential sixth functional area to cover the intelligence function).
ICS Principles for ESSFive Primary Management Functions. ... Establishing and Transferring of Command. ... Single and Unified Command. ... Management by Objectives. ... Incident Action Planning. ... Comprehensive Resource Management. ... Unity and Chain of Command. ... Manageable Span of Control.More items...
ICS organizational structure and procedures enable emergency response personnel to work safely together to take control of a critical incident. It can also assist organizations to effectively and efficiently manage the aftermath of a critical incident.
Incident Command: Sets the incident objectives, strategies, and priorities, and has overall responsibility for the incident. Operations: Conducts operations to reach the incident objectives. Establishes tactics and directs all operational resources.
Incident personnel should adhere to principles of accountability, including check-in/check-out, incident action planning, unity of command, personal responsibility, span of control, and resource tracking.
Under NIMS, the State Operational Center (SOC) organizational structure reflects basic Incident Command System (ICS) functions. However, ICS is a field-based tactical communications system, whereas NIMS provides a system for managing the event at the local, operational area, region and state levels.
NIMS provides commonality in preparedness and response efforts that allow diverse entities to readily integrate and, if necessary, establish unified command during an incident.
14 Core Features of the Incident Command System (ICS)Lack of common organization.Poor on-scene and inter-agency communications.Inadequate joint planning.Lack of valid and timely intelligence.Inadequate resource management.Narrow prediction capability.
At a multi-agency incident, different agencies may use three levels of command and control. These are Operational, Tactical and Strategic.
The major activities of the Planning Section may include:Preparing and documenting Incident Action Plans.Managing information and maintaining situational awareness for the incident.Tracking resources assigned to the incident.Maintaining incident documentation.Developing plans for demobilization.
14 featuresHint: There are 14 features.
Incident personnel should adhere to principles of accountability, including check-in/check-out, incident action planning, unity of command, personal responsibility, span of control, and resource tracking.
Logistics Section: Major ActivitiesOrdering, obtaining, maintaining, and accounting for essential personnel, equipment, and supplies.Providing communication planning and resources.Setting up food services for responders.Setting up and maintaining incident facilities.Providing support transportation.More items...
ICS was designed by identifying the primary activities or functions necessary to effectively respond to incidents. Analyses of incident reports and review of military organizations were all used in ICS development. These analyses identified the primary needs of incidents.
Typically, staff in the Planning Section are responsible for gathering and analyzing operational information and sharing situational awareness, and staff in the Operations Section are responsible for executing tactical activities.
The Finance/Administration Section Chief is responsible for managing all financial aspects of an incident. Not all incidents will require a Finance/Administration Section. Only when the involved agencies have a specific need for finance services will the Section be activated. Major responsibilities of the Finance/Administration Section Chief are to:
The Operations Section Chief is responsible for managing all tactical operations at an incident. The Incident Action Plan (IAP) provides the necessary guidance. The need to expand the Operations Section is generally dictated by the number of tactical resources involved and is influenced by span of control considerations.
An Incident Management Team (IMT) is a rostered group of ICS-qualified personnel consisting of an Incident Commander, Command and General Staff, and personnel assigned to other key ICS positions. The level of training and experience of the IMT members, coupled with the identified formal response requirements and responsibilities of the IMT, are factors in determining “type,” or level, of IMT.
In the context of large or complex incidents, Command Staff members may need one or more assistants to help manage their workloads. Each Command Staff member is responsible for organizing his or her assistants for maximum efficiency.