All Hazard Incidents: Setting Objectives and Strategies

BY LARRY MILLER

Only a few years ago, few would have thought possible that the East and West Coast could ever agree on how best to manage a large complex incident. The West Coast and the wildfire fighting community have used the incident command system (ICS) since the 1970s and adapted it for all hazards in the 1980s. The East Coast and most of the rest of the country had their major incident operational procedures, but there was no common system for managing the large complex incidents.

The Oklahoma City Bombing in 1995 demonstrated the need for a common nationwide incident management system, as did the catastrophic disaster on 9/11 that changed everything (even in those places that had previously resisted using a national incident management system, or NIMS).

National Security Presidential Directive 51/Homeland Security Presidential Directive 20 (NSPD-51/HSPD-20), federal grant money, and almost 12 years of training and experience have now got the entire country using the ICS on extended-period, complex incidents. Who would have ever thought the day would come when the Fire Department of New York would be assigned to manage a wildfire in the West and a hurricane in the South, using ICS?

With its standardized planning process, ICS provides a proven way for all hazard emergency response commanders to transition a major or complex incident from reactive to proactive management. But teaching and implementing ICS in the all hazard community of law enforcement and structural firefighters is not without its difficulties.

HSPD 5, under “Policy,” says, “To prevent, prepare for, respond to, and recover from terrorist attacks, major disasters, and other emergencies, the United States Government shall establish a single, comprehensive approach to domestic incident management. The objective of the United States Government is to ensure that all levels of government across the Nation have the capability to work efficiently and effectively together, using a national approach to domestic incident management. In these efforts, with regard to domestic incidents, the United States Government treats crisis management and consequence management as a single, integrated function, rather than as two separate functions.”1

The planning and the development of the incident action plan (IAP) can seem very complex and time consuming for action-oriented responders accustomed to performing a rapid mental size-up and issuing verbal tactical commands during short-duration emergencies (i.e., initial attack) that constitute the majority of their responses.

The information below is intended for the initial-response incident commanders (ICs) and the ICs assigned to a Type III all hazard incident management team (AHIMT) during the critical initial period of an expanding complex incident.

COMPLEX AND EXPANDED EMERGENCIES

Having taught the National Fire Academy (NFA) class for Type III AHIMTs in every part of this country has made it very clear to me that one of the major issues confronting most ICs is developing written incident objectives and strategies during the initial phase of a complex and expanding incident (i.e., the first operational period) or an incident transitioning from initial response (largely verbal and reactive) to the more formal incident action plan (IAP, which is written and proactive).

The major issue is that developing well-written incident objectives and strategies that reflect the IC’s intent (i.e., what he wants done) can seem very time consuming during the initial response to low-frequency/high-risk incidents.

All emergency response and battlefield commanders realize that the emergency is likely to grow or worsen until tactics (i.e., boots on the ground) are applied. However, history also shows that improperly using and applying tactical resources can lead to increased loss of life and property and sustained human misery. Identifying the incident objectives and the corresponding strategies is essential to selecting the proper tactic.

The entire ICS planning process is designed to identify, allocate, and support the proper type, kind, and quantity of tactical resources to mitigate the impact of any natural or manmade disaster. Just as a carpenter would never pound a single nail until he has a plan for the project and the tools and materials on hand to support it, an IC should not take action on an incident until he is similarly prepared. Possessing a standard plan and materials list beforehand will accelerate the planning process. Let’s look at how the development of the plan starts.

Most incidents stay relatively small and are handled by the initial-response IC; the objectives and strategies are typically developed mentally and are almost never put to paper. As incidents grow in complexity, so does the need to write down incident information for later recall or to brief the next IC during a transfer of command to an incident management team (IMT).

In a municipal fire department, the IC will usually use some sort of command worksheet to capture information about the incident. The ICS 201 Incident Briefing form2 is used to document the initial responders’ actions during the incident’s first operational period. Regardless of how the information is captured, at a complex and expanding incident, the IC should use the following process.

ASSESS THE SITUATION

The IC must first size up or assess the situation so that he understands the problems, issues, and concerns (i.e., has situational awareness). Once the IC has identified problems, has good situational awareness, and understands the incident’s complexity, he can use the NIMS acronym POST (Priorities, Objectives, Strategies, and Tactics/Tasks) to outline the hierarchy of decision making.

Priorities remain fundamentally constant, regardless of the incident’s size or complexity: life safety, incident stabilization, and property/environmental conservation.

Life safety encompasses responders and the public. It includes rescuing endangered civilians; treating the injured; and providing for the safety, accountability, and welfare of response personnel. Life safety is an ongoing priority throughout the incident.

Incident stabilization seeks to keep the incident from escalating, minimize its effects, and bring it under control.

Property/environmental conservation means maintaining the property, the infrastructure, the evidence, the economy, and the environment and providing for recovery.

Some of the problems will not be addressed during the initial period of the incident, and it may take several operational periods to address all of the problems listed.

Objectives are broad descriptions or statements of the desired outcomes or actions needed to achieve them in a manner consistent with the priorities. Writing objectives is as much art as it is science; the more you practice, the better you will get. If the objective is too broad, it will lack direction, and the commander’s intent may be lost. If the objective is too detailed, it becomes more of a tactic, and it will take dozens of objectives to describe what needs to be done. It usually takes four to six objectives for the IC to convey his intent.

Make your objectives SMART: specific, measurable, action oriented, realistic, and time sensitive.

  • Specific: Provide a precise, unambiguous description of what must be done.
  • Measurable: Ensure that progress toward and achievement of the objective are determinable.
  • Action oriented: Use action verbs to describe the expected accomplishment.
  • Realistic: Ensure it is achievable with the resources that the agency (and assisting agencies) can allocate to the incident, even though it may take several operational periods to accomplish.
  • Time sensitive: Specify the time within which it must be accomplished.

Strategies are the actions through which the objectives are met. Once the IC has identified the priorities and has written the incident objectives, he must identify the strategies to accomplish the objectives.

Identifying strategies can also frustrate the IC new to ICS. The ICS 420-1 Field Operations Guide3 states that the IC also develops the strategies but, in reality, the IC may let the operations section chief develop them, or they may collaborate on the development of strategies and the operational portion of the incident organization.

The guide defines strategy as “the general plan or direction selected to accomplish incident objectives.” This pure definition of strategy is of little help; simply put, strategy answers the question, “What needs to be done to accomplish the IC’s incident objectives?” Several strategies may come out of each objective.

A strategy is best written using a one- or two-word description. Structural firefighters have used the simple memory tool “RECEO VS” (rescue, exposures, confine, extinguish, overhaul, ventilation, and salvage) to remember the strategies used to combat structure fires. Even seasoned ICs who have worked in the all hazard environment for years may carry a list of written incident objectives and strategies that attempt to cover most every contingency, especially for those low-frequency/high-risk incidents.

Tactics/tasks are specific activities implemented to achieve the identified strategies.

New students who have taken the AHIMT training always ask where they can get a list of all of these potential objectives and strategies. I have developed the following list to assist the all hazard IC in rapidly developing incident objectives and strategies to help with decision making.

All hazard incident problems, issues, and limitations, with few exceptions, fall into one of the following categories: taking care of responders; taking care of the public [emergency medical service (EMS) and health services]; maintaining civil order and catching the criminals/terrorists (police matters); hazard elimination and search/rescue (fire department); infrastructure and utilities (public works); and agency/stakeholder/political issues.

INCIDENT OBJECTIVES AND STRATEGIES

All hazard incident objectives and strategies, with few exceptions, will then fall into one of the following six incident objectives. Make them SMART to fit the specific incident. Consider strategies under the objectives that especially pertain to your situation.

As the IC is working through the size-up, he can determine which of the six objectives or parts thereof apply to the incident at hand. For example, in Objective 2, you may have a multicasualty incident that requires treating the injured, but there are no sick, and no evacuation or sheltering is required. In this case, cross off objective items related to the treatment of the sick and evacuation and care for the displaced and their animals; let the rest of the objective stand. Then below the objective, check the strategies that apply—e.g., EMS (triage, treatment, and transportation). All other strategies would not apply.

Once the IC has run through the six objectives and the associated strategies, he is ready to develop the incident organization required to manage the incident.

1 Provide for responders’ safety, health, welfare, and security.

  • Personal protective equipment, work/rest rotation, environmental mitigation.
  • Rapid intervention crew.
  • Responder family safety.
  • Medical unit for injured responders.
  • Rehabilitation.
  • Health, sanitation, food.
  • Assistant safety officers for applicable hazards: hazmats, urban search and rescue, wildland fire, structural, law, medical, health.
  • Critical incident stress debriefings.
  • Security: law enforcement escorts, body armor, gas masks, and so on.

2 Provide for the public’s safety, health, welfare, and security by treating the sick and injured, managing fatalities, and providing for the orderly evacuation and care of the displaced and their animals.

  • EMS: triage, treatment, transportation.
  • Evacuation: shelter in place/evacuate, notify evacuees using reverse 911, social networks if possible.
  • Transportation for mass evacuation.
  • Mass care: sheltering of special needs populations (e.g., elderly, handicapped).
  • Hospitals: distance, maximum capacity, specialties, contamination, security.
  • Public health: disease control.
  • Points of distribution/dispensing.
  • Volunteers: convergence and training.
  • Morgue.
  • Care for large and small animals.
  • Occupant support: assist businesses or residents in putting their lives back together.

3 Maintain civil order and provide for security and investigation.

  • Outer perimeter.
  • Explosives: detection/mitigation.
  • Intelligence: deterrence/detection/surveillance.
  • Inner perimeter: access control points, visible deterrent.
  • Force protection: Mobile field force, rapid deployment force, or special weapons and tactics team.
  • Investigation: Determine crime/cause; identify, locate, and arrest suspects.
  • Traffic control.
  • Evacuation.
  • Escort function.

4 Provide for search and rescue of the trapped and missing; contain, control, mitigate all fires and hazardous substances.

  • Light search and rescue.
  • Fire containment (i.e., hold fire east of, west of, south of, north of specified area).
  • Hazmat: establish hot, warm, and cold zones; safe refuge areas; and mass decontamination process.
  • Structural defense.
  • Urban search and rescue.
  • Environment.

5 Restore, control, and maintain access, vital infrastructure, and utilities; identify, isolate, and stabilize all structures that pose a safety threat to responders, the public, and the community.

  • Highway/road/street restoration: debris/snow/ice removal, washouts/blockages.
  • Critical infrastructure.
  • Utilities: sanitation, gas, electric, water for drinking and firefighting.
  • Engineer services: evaluate bridges/roadways, dams/reservoirs, levees, landslides, flood control systems, and buildings.

6 Ensure compliance with the agency administrator and stakeholders priorities.

  • Damage assessment, disaster declaration.
  • Cost containment/recovery.
  • Recovery/rehabilitation.
  • Economic impact.
  • Natural resources.
  • Limitations/expectations.
  • Political considerations.
  • Public outreach to business community, schools, residents, local tourism.

You can carry this job aid with you or preprint it on your command worksheets or ICS 201 Incident Briefing Form to help expedite the process. Adjust this list as needed to fit your needs. Remember, ICS is a tool to make your job more successful, not more complex.

Endnotes

1. Homeland Security Presidential Directive 5, “Management of Domestic Incidents,” http://www.dhs.gov/xabout/laws/gc_1214592333605.shtm.

2. Incident Command System Form 201, “Incident Briefing,” http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/ics/pdf/ics201.pdf.

3. Field Operations Guide, ICS 420-1, United States Fire Administration/National Fire Academy (July 2010), http://www.usfa.fema.gov/downloads/pdf/publications/field_operations_guide.pdf.

LARRY MILLER retired from the Los Angeles County (CA) Fire Department after 34 years; he served the last nine years as a chief deputy (second in command). He served as a California Type I incident commander and on the FIRESCOPE task force that adapted the ICS field operations guide for all hazards. Miller helped develop the National Fire Academy’s AHIMT program and has been teaching the program since its development. He has a bachelor’s degree in adult education and is an instructor with the National Fire Academy and Wildand Associates.

More Fire Engineering Issue Articles
Fire Engineering Archives

Transformer Fire Breaks Out at Bay County (MI) Power Plant

An oil spill at a Consumer Energy power plant Monday afternoon caused a fire at the facility.

MA Fire Department Orders Mall Closed Over Roof Load

The North Attleboro Fire Department responded to a significant water leak incident at the Emerald Square Mall on Friday.