ICS: KNOW WHO’S IN CHARGE
VOLUNTEERS CORNER
The Incident Command System was devised so that every fire department would have an established fireground management system—a system that could be initiated at every incident, even small ones, but that also could be enlarged as the situation required.
It is not a new concept. The Incident Command System was created by FIRESCOPE in Southern California for the management of large brush fires and is the basis for the system now being used by the National Fire Academy. The Phoenix Fire Department also has authored a popular system called the Fireground Commander, which is touted by the National Fire Protection Association. Either method can be used to advantage. Some departments will create their own systems, drawing on one or both of the others. Other fire departments will stay with the traditional fireground systems that they have developed and used over the years.
ICS has come to the forefront because of two documents: NFPA 1500, Standard on Fire Department Occupational Safety and Healthy Program and OSHA 29 CFR 1910.120, Hazardcnis Waste Operations and Emergency Response. Both documents require the use of ICS. All fire departments in OSHA states that handle hazardous-material incidents are required to use ICS as well. EPA regulations also require anyone handling hazardous-material emergencies to use ICS. NFPA is currently developing -Standard 1561, which will contain requirements for ICS. The new NFPA 472, Standard for Professional Competence of Responders to Hazardous Materials Incidents, has numerous objectives in the area of incident management. Also, industrial fire brigades who will be working with local fire departments will be using ICS since they are under OSHA regulations. Thus, many fire departments who in the past did not have a formal ICS are incorporating one into their operations.
To many fire service members, particularly those first introduced to the ICS at a major incident, the ICS appears large, complicated, and difficult to implement effectively. Although most agree that a system of fireground management is necessary, for some it is difficult to fathom application of the ICS on a large scale. An overview will help put the Incident Command System in perspective.
DEVELOPING AN ICS
Start your ICS simple and work to the more complex situations. Develop procedures to determine the following at an incident:
- Who is initially in charge of the scene?
- How is command established and what are the responsibilities and priorities?
- Who is in charge as additional companies arrive?
- How will command transfer smoothly and quickly from the first firefighter in charge to the final incident commander?
There must be an established method of transferring the responsibility for command from one individual to another. This should include but not necessarily be limited to
- communication between the officer taking charge and the one being relieved;
- a situation report on the status ol the fire and the progress (or lack of it) of the efforts to control it;
- how current resources are deployed;
- additional firefighters or equipment needed;
- current tactical operations in progress and the strategy they are based on; and
- any recommendations for the officer taking charge.
When the situation becomes more complex, the ICS must include how to divide up the incident scene to keep it manageable. This simply applies spanof-control techniques to the fire and relieves the officer in charge of some of the responsibility. Most fire departments are concerned with how the operational side is divided. There are also several staff functions that may be necessary, including logistics, planning, and finance.
Operations can be divided geographically into divisions (sectors) or by the specific task assigned into groups (functions). This can be fur,ther broken down into task forces, .strike teams, or individual companies. A strike team is defined as five like .units—for example, five engine companies and a strike team commander. A task force is five unlike units and a commander. Groups or functions perform like activities. For example, one could be assigned to perform ventilation; another, search and rescue; and a third, water supply.
Your department should decide how it will divide geographically such as north, south, east, and west; side one, two, three, and four; front, rear, and interior; or right and left side. Possibly needed functions should be determined and defined. Each position, whether staff, operational, or functional, should be defined and its responsibilities listed.
The way to make ICS work is to use it constantly. Training classes, drill exercises, and even station work can be organized along the lines of your ICS procedures. Soon they will become second nature. Then you can apply them to the emergency scene as routinely as you do water to a fire.
Develop an ICS if you don’t currently have one. Once you establish the system, put it in written form and distribute it to all members so they can understand how it works. Then, put it in operation. It will be easier than you anticipated, improve overall incident management, and comply with regulations for responding to hazardous-material incidents.
