Vocabulary List

• Incident Command System: A standardized approach to the command, control, and coordination of on-scene incident management.

• Single Incident Command: When an emergency or disaster occurs in a single jurisdiction or area, a single commander is designated to manage the incident. 

• Unified Incident Command: The use of Unified Command enables jurisdictions and those with authority for the incident to jointly manage and direct incident activities.

• Command Staff: The Incident Commander or Unified Command assigns Command Staff as needed to support the command function. The Command Staff typically includes a Public Information Officer (PIO), a Safety Officer, and a Liaison Officer.

• General Staff: The General Staff consists of the Operations, Planning, Logistics, and Finance/Administration Section Chiefs. These individuals are responsible for the functional aspects of the incident command structure.

• Emergency Operations Center (EOC): A facility from which staff provide information management, resource allocation and tracking, and/or advanced planning support to personnel on scene or at other EOCs.

• Jurisdiction: Jurisdiction has two definitions depending on the context: 

• A range or sphere of authority. Public agencies have jurisdiction at an incident related to their legal responsibilities and authority. Jurisdictional authority at an incident can be political or geographical (for example, local, state, tribal, territorial, and federal boundary lines) and/or functional (for example, law enforcement, public health). 

• A political subdivision (for example, municipality, state, federal) with the responsibility for ensuring

• Community Emergency Response Team (CERT): The Community Emergency Response Team program educates volunteers about disaster preparedness for the hazards that may occur where they live.

(National Incident Management System, n.d.)

Objectives

This Week's Objectives:

• Describe the Incident Command System and its function in an emergency or disaster.

• Describe the roles of the Incident Command System.

• Describe an Emergency Operations Center and its purpose.

• List the four main sections of an Incident Command System and Emergency Operations Center.

Introduction to the Incident Command System Training

ICS Training available at FEMA: Course Welcome (or use FEMA: Emergency Managment Institute) 

Training may take approximately two hours to complete.

Incident Command System

(National Incident Management System, n.d.)

As described by organizations around the world, the Incident Command System (ICS) is a standardized approach to the command, control, and coordination of on-scene incident management that provides a common hierarchy within which staff from multiple organizations can be effective. ICS specifies an organizational structure for incident management that integrates and coordinates a combination of procedures, personnel, equipment, facilities, and communications. Using ICS for every incident helps hone and maintain skills needed to coordinate efforts effectively. ICS is used by many levels of government, many non-governmental organizations, and private sector organizations. ICS applies across disciplines and enables incident managers from different organizations to work together in an effective way. This system includes five major functional areas, staffed as needed, for a given incident: Command, Operations, Planning, Logistics, and Finance/Administration. 

Incident Command is responsible for the overall management of the incident. A single incident commander or Unified Command (team of leaders) conducts the command function on an incident. Command and General Staff support the Incident Command to meet the incident’s needs. 

When an incident occurs within a single jurisdiction or area and without jurisdictional or lead agency overlap, the appropriate authority designates a single Incident Commander who has overall incident management responsibility. In some cases where incident management crosses jurisdictional and/or functional agency boundaries, the various jurisdictions and organizations may still agree to designate a single incident commander. The figure below is a sample organizational structure for an ICS organization with a single Incident Commander. 

Access the appendix for a description of the image.

Unified Command

Unified Command improves unity of effort in multijurisdictional or multi-agency incident management. The use of Unified Command enables jurisdictions and those with authority for the incident to jointly manage and direct incident activities through the establishment of a common set of incident objectives, strategies, and a single incident action plan. However, each participating partner maintains authority, responsibility, and accountability for its personnel and other resources, and each member of Unified Command is responsible for keeping other members of Unified Command informed. 

Whether using a single Incident Commander or a Unified Command, the command function does the following: 

• Establishes a single ICP for the incident.

• Establishes consolidated incident objectives, priorities, and strategic guidance, and updates them every operational period.

• Selects a single Section Chief for each position on the general staff needed based on current incident priorities.

• Establishes a single system for ordering resources.

• Approves a consolidated IAP for each operational period.

• Establishes procedures for joint decision making and documentation.

• Captures lessons learned and best practices.

The exact organization of the Unified Command depends on factors such as incident location (in other words, which jurisdictions or organizations are involved) and the nature of the incident (in other words, which agencies from the jurisdiction(s) or organization(s) involved are needed). The figure below is a sample Unified Command structure. The organizations participating in the Unified Command use a collaborative process to establish and rank incident priorities and determine incident objectives.

Access the appendix for a description of the image.

Agencies or organizations involved in the incident that lack jurisdictional responsibility or authority are referred to as cooperating or assisting agencies. Whether represented in Unified Command or through the Liaison Officer, every jurisdiction, organization, and/or agency representative is responsible for communicating agency-specific information, including the following: 

• Statutory authorities and responsibilities.

• Resource availability and capabilities.

• Constraints, limitations, concerns.

• Areas of agreement and disagreement between agency officials.

Command Staff

The Incident Commander or Unified Command assigns Command Staff as needed to support the command function. The Command Staff typically includes a Public Information Officer (PIO), a Safety Officer, and a Liaison Officer who report directly to the Incident Commander or Unified Command and have assistants as necessary. The Incident Commander or Unified Command may appoint additional advisors as needed.

The Public Information Officer (PIO) interfaces with the public, media, and/or with other agencies with incident-related information needs. The PIO gathers, verifies, coordinates, and disseminates accessible, meaningful, and timely information on the incident for both internal and external audiences. The PIO also monitors the media and other sources of public information to collect relevant information and transmits this information to the appropriate components of the incident management organization. In incidents that involve PIOs from different agencies, the incident commander or Unified Command designates one as the lead PIO. All PIOs should work in a unified manner, speak with one voice, and ensure that all messaging is consistent. The Incident Commander or Unified Command approves the release of incident-related information. In large-scale incidents, the PIO participates in or leads the Joint Information Center (JIC). 

The Safety Officer monitors incident operations and advises the Incident Commander or Unified Command on matters relating to the health and safety of incident personnel. Ultimate responsibility for the safe conduct of incident management rests with the Incident Commander or Unified Command and supervisors at all levels. The Safety Officer is responsible to the Incident Commander or Unified Command for establishing the systems and procedures necessary to assess, communicate, and mitigate hazardous environments. This includes developing and maintaining the incident safety plan, coordinating multi-agency safety efforts, and implementing measures to promote the safety of incident personnel and incident sites. The Safety Officer stops and/or prevents unsafe acts during the incident. Agencies, organizations, or jurisdictions that contribute to joint safety management efforts do not lose their individual responsibilities or authorities for their own programs, policies, and personnel. Rather, each contributes to the overall effort to protect all personnel involved in the incident. 

The Liaison Officer is the incident command’s point of contact for representatives of governmental agencies, jurisdictions, non-governmental organizations, and private sector organizations that are not included in the Unified Command. Through the Liaison oOfficer, these representatives provide input on their agency, organization, or jurisdiction’s policies, resource availability, and other incident-related matters. Under either a single Incident Commander or a Unified Command structure, representatives from assisting or cooperating jurisdictions and organizations coordinate through the Liaison Officer. The Liaison Officer may have assistants. 

Additional Command Staff positions may be necessary, depending on the incident and specific requirements established by Incident Command. The Incident Commander or Unified Command may appoint technical specialists to serve as command advisors. Command Staff advisors are distinguished from officers because they serve in advisory capacities and lack the authority to direct incident activities.

General Staff

General staff consists of the Operations, Planning, Logistics, and Finance/Administration Section Chiefs. These individuals are responsible for the functional aspects of the incident command structure. The Incident Commander or Unified Command activates these section chiefs as needed. These functions default to the Incident Commander or Unified Command until a section chief is assigned. The section chiefs may have one or more deputies as necessary. The sections are discussed more fully below. 

The Incident Commander or Unified Command selects the Operations Section Chief based on current incident priorities and should review that selection periodically as the incident evolves. Operations Section personnel plan and perform tactical activities to achieve the incident objectives established by the Incident Commander or Unified Command. Objectives typically focus on saving lives, reducing the immediate hazard, protecting property and the environment, establishing situational control, and restoring normal operations. Incident operations can be organized and executed in many ways. The Operations Section Chief organizes the section based on the nature and scope of the incident, the jurisdictions and organizations involved, and the incident’s priorities, objectives, and strategies. Key functions of Operations Section personnel include the following: 

• Direct the management of tactical activities on the Incident Commander or Unified Command’s behalf.

• Develop and implement strategies and tactics to achieve incident objectives.

• Organize the Operations Section to best meet the incident’s needs, maintain a manageable span of control, and optimize the use of resources

• Support the incident action plan development for each operational period.  

Planning Section personnel collect, evaluate, and disseminate incident situation information to the Incident Commander or Unified Command and other incident personnel. The staff within this section prepare status reports, display situation information, maintain the status of assigned resources, facilitate the incident action planning process, and prepare the incident action plan based on input from other sections and Command Staff and guidance from the Incident Commander or Unified Command. Additional key functions of Planning Section personnel include the following: 

• Facilitate incident planning meetings.

• Record the status of resources and anticipated resource needs.

• Collect, organize, display, and disseminate incident status information and analyze the situation as it changes.

• Plan for the orderly, safe, and efficient demobilization of incident resources.

• Collect, record, and safeguard all incident documents. 

Logistics Section personnel provide services and support for effective and efficient incident management, including ordering resources. Staff in this section provide facilities, security (of the incident command facilities and personnel), transportation, supplies, equipment maintenance and fuel, food services, communications and IT support, and medical services for incident personnel. Key functions of Logistics Section personnel include the following: 

• Order, receive, store or house, and process incident-related resources.

• Provide ground transportation during an incident, maintain and supply vehicles, keep vehicle usage records, and develop incident traffic plans.

• Set up, maintain, secure, and demobilize incident facilities.

• Determine food and water needs. This includes ordering food, providing cooking facilities, maintaining food service areas, and managing food security and safety (in cooperation with the Safety Officer).

• Maintain an incident communications plan and acquire, set up, issue, maintain, and account for communications and IT equipment.

• Providing medical services to incident personnel.

The Incident Commander or Unified Command establishes a Finance/Administration Section when the incident management activities involve on-scene or incident-specific finance and administrative support services. Finance/Administration staff responsibilities include recording personnel time, negotiating leases and maintaining vendor contracts, administering claims, and tracking and analyzing incident costs. If the Incident Commander or Unified Command establishes this section, staff should closely coordinate with the Planning and Logistics Sections to reconcile operational records with financial documents. Finance/Administration Section staff support an essential function of Incident Command System in large, complex incidents involving funding originating from multiple sources. In addition to monitoring multiple sources of funds, the section’s staff track and report the accrued costs as the incident progresses. This allows the Incident Commander or Unified Command to forecast needs and request additional funds as needed. Key functions of Finance/Administration Section personnel include the following: 

• Track costs, analyze cost data, make estimates, and recommend cost savings measures.

• Analyze, report, and record financial concerns resulting from property damage, responder injuries or fatalities at the incident.

• Manage financial matters concerning leases and vendor contracts.

• Manage administrative databases and spreadsheets for analysis and decision-making.

• Record time for incident personnel and leased equipment.

The collection, analysis, and sharing of incident-related information are important activities for all 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. Situational awareness is the understanding of an environment, what is happening in that environment, and how it can change with respect to time or other factors. However, some incidents involve intensive intelligence gathering and investigative activity, and for such incidents, the Incident Commander or Unified Command may opt to reconfigure intelligence and investigations responsibilities to meet the needs of the incident. This may occur when the incident involves a criminal or terrorist act and/or other non-law-enforcement intelligence/investigations efforts such as epidemiological investigations. The purpose of the Intelligence/Investigations function is to ensure that intelligence and investigative operations and activities are properly managed and coordinated to do the following: 

• Prevent and/or deter potential unlawful activity, incidents, and/or attacks.

• Collect, process, analyze, secure, and disseminate information, intelligence, and situational awareness.

• Identify, document, process, collect, create a chain of custody for, safeguard, examine and analyze, and store evidence or specimens.

• Conduct thorough and comprehensive investigations that lead to the perpetrators’ identification and apprehension.

• Conduct missing persons and mass fatality investigations.

• Inform and support life safety operations, including the safety and security of all response personnel, by helping to prevent future attacks or escalated impacts.

• Determine the source or cause of an ongoing incident (for example, disease outbreak, fire, complex coordinated attack, or cyber incident) to control its impact and/or help prevent the occurrence of similar incidents. The Incident Commander or Unified Command makes the final determination regarding the scope and placement of the Intelligence/Investigations function within the command structure. 

Emergency Operations Center

Jurisdictions and organizations use Emergency Operations Centers (EOCs) as important elements in their emergency management programs. EOCs are locations where staff from multiple agencies typically come together to address imminent threats and hazards and provide coordinated support to incident command, on-scene personnel, and/or other EOCs. EOCs may be fixed locations, temporary facilities, or virtual structures with staff participating remotely. The purpose, authorities, and composition of the teams that staff EOCs vary widely, but the teams generally consolidate and exchange information, support decision making, coordinate resources, and communicate with personnel on scene and at other EOCs. EOC staff may share the load with on-scene incident personnel by managing certain operations, such as emergency shelters or points of distribution. When on-scene incident command is not established, such as in a snow emergency, staff in EOCs may direct tactical operations. Finally, EOC staff may coordinate the efforts of several geographically disparate incidents or activities. A jurisdiction or organization may also activate EOC staff to support prevention and protection activities and to find resources to backfill those that the jurisdiction or organization has already deployed. Primary functions of staff in EOCs, whether virtual or physical, include the following: 

• Collect, analyze, and share information.

• Support resource needs and requests, including allocation and tracking.

• Coordinate plans and determin current and future needs.

• In some cases, provide coordination and policy direction.

Agencies and departments also have operations centers. However, these organization-specific operations centers differ from multidisciplinary EOCs. Departmental Operations Center (DOC) staff coordinate their agency or department’s activities. While they communicate with other organizations and EOCs and may exchange liaisons with other agencies, DOC staff are primarily inward looking, focusing on directing their own assets and operations. Bringing representatives from various stakeholder and partner organizations together in EOCs optimizes unity of effort and enables staff to share information, provide legal and policy guidance to on-scene personnel, plan for contingencies, deploy resources efficiently, and generally provide whatever support is required. Determining which organizations are represented in EOCs should be accomplished during the emergency operations planning process. Factors to consider include the authorities and responsibilities of various organizations, the resources and information the organizations have or have access to, and the organizations’ expertise and relationships. The composition of EOC teams may also vary depending on the nature and complexity of the incident or situation. 

Many jurisdictions and organizations configure their EOCs using the standard ICS organizational structure. The structure is familiar to many people, and it aligns with the on-scene incident organization. Some jurisdictions and organizations use the standard ICS organizational structure but modify certain titles to create an ICS-like organization that distinguishes EOC functions from their field counterparts. The figure below is an example of such a structure. 

Access the appendix for a description of the image.

Multi-Agency Coordination (MAC) Group 

Multi-Agency Coordination (MAC) Groups, sometimes called policy groups, are part of the off-site incident management structure. MAC Groups consist of representatives from stakeholder agencies or organizations. They are established and organized to make cooperative multi-agency decisions. MAC Groups act as policy-level bodies during incidents, supporting resource prioritization and allocation, and enabling decision-making among elected and appointed officials and those responsible for managing the incident (for example, the Incident Commander). In some instances, EOC staff also carry out this activity. 

MAC Groups typically consist of agency administrators, executives, or their designees. Organizations at any level (for example, local, state, tribal, or federal) or within any discipline (for example, emergency management, public health, critical infrastructure, or private sector) may establish a MAC Group. In some jurisdictions, local law or policy may require a MAC Group to authorize additional resources and/or provide guidance to EOC staff and/or incident command. 

MAC Groups are primarily responsible for resource prioritization and allocation. Unlike Unified Command, they do not perform incident command functions, nor do they replace the primary functions of operations, coordination, or dispatch organizations. When competition for resources is significant, MAC Groups may relieve the coordination and dispatch organizations of some prioritization and allocation responsibilities. 

Joint Information System

Dissemination of timely, accurate, accessible, and actionable information to the public is important at all phases of incident management. Many agencies and organizations at all levels of government develop and share public information. Jurisdictions and organizations coordinate and integrate communication efforts to ensure that the public receives a consistent and comprehensive message. Joint Information Systems (JISs) consist of the processes, procedures, and tools to enable communication to the public, incident personnel, the media, and other stakeholders. 

JISs integrate incident information and public affairs into a cohesive organization to provide coordinated and complete information before, during, and after incidents. The JIS mission is to provide a structure and system for the following: 

• Develop and deliver coordinated interagency messages.

• Develop, recommend, and execute public information plans and strategies on behalf of the Incident Commander or Unified Command, EOC director, or MAC Group.

• Advise the Incident Commander or Unified Command, MAC Group, and EOC director concerning public affairs issues that could affect an incident management effort.

• Address and manage rumors and inaccurate information that could undermine public confidence.

JISs cut across the three levels of incident management (on-scene/tactical, center/coordination, policy/strategic) and help ensure coordinated messaging among all incident personnel. 

Public information processes are coordinated before an incident and include the plans, protocols, procedures, and structures used to provide public information. PIOs at all levels of government and within the private and nonprofit sectors and Joint Information Centers (JICs) are important supporting elements of the JIS. Key elements of the JIS include the following: 

• Interagency coordination and integration.

• Gathering, verifying, coordinating, and disseminating consistent messages.

• Public affairs support for decision-makers.

• Flexibility, modularity, and adaptability.

Joint Information Center

The Joint Information Center (JIC) is a facility that houses JIS operations, where personnel with public information responsibilities perform essential information and public affairs functions. JICs may be established as standalone coordination entities, at incident sites, or as components of EOCs. Depending on the needs of the incident, an incident-specific JIC may be established at an on-scene location in coordination with local, state, and federal agencies, or at the national level if the situation warrants. The PIO prepares public information releases for Incident Commander, Unified Command, EOC director, or MAC Group clearance. This helps ensure consistent messages, avoid release of conflicting information, and prevent adverse impact on operations. Jurisdictions and organizations may issue releases related to their policies, procedures, programs, and capabilities; however, these should be coordinated with the incident-specific JIC(s). 

An incident should have a single JIC, but the system is flexible and adaptable enough to accommodate multiple physical or virtual JICs. For example, multiple JICs may be needed for a complex incident covering a wide geographic area or multiple jurisdictions. In instances when multiple JICs are activated, staff in the JICs coordinate their efforts and the information they provide. Each JIC has procedures and protocols to communicate and coordinate effectively with the others. When multiple JICs are activated, staff coordinate to determine the final release authority. A national JIC may be used when an incident includes federal coordination and is expected to go on for some time (for example, weeks or months) or when the incident affects a large area. JICs can be organized in many ways, depending on the nature of the incident.

Management by Objectives 

The Incident Commander or Unified Command establishes objectives that drive incident operations. Management by objectives includes the following: 

• Establish specific, measurable objectives.

• Identify strategies, tactics, tasks, and activities to achieve the objectives.

• Develop and issue assignments, plans, procedures, and protocols for various incident management functional elements to accomplish the identified tasks.

• Document results against the objectives to measure performance, facilitate corrective actions, and inform development of incident objectives for the subsequent operational period. 

Incident Action Plans 

In addition to incident reports, personnel can also improve situational awareness and better understand incident objectives and tactics by referring to Incident Action Plans (IAP). IAPs contain the incident objectives that the Incident Commander or Unified Command establishes and address tactics for the planned operational period, generally 12–24 hours. 

The incident action planning process and IAPs are central to managing incidents. The incident action planning process helps synchronize operations and ensure that they support incident objectives. Incident action planning is more than producing an IAP and completing forms—it provides a consistent rhythm and structure to incident management. 

Personnel managing the incident develop an IAP for each operational period. A concise IAP template is essential to guide the initial incident management decision process and the continuing collective planning activities. The IAP is the vehicle by which leaders on an incident communicate their expectations and provide clear guidance to those managing the incident. The IAP does the following: 

• Informs incident personnel of the incident objectives for the operational period, the specific resources that will be applied, actions taken during the operational period to achieve the objectives, and other operational information (for example, weather, constraints, limitations, and so on).

• Informs partners, EOC staff, and MAC Group members regarding the objectives and operational activities planned for the coming operational period.

• Identifies work assignments and provides a roadmap of operations during the operational period to help individuals understand how their efforts affect the success of the operation.

• Shows how specific supervisory personnel and various operational elements fit into the organization.

• Often provides a schedule of the key meetings and briefings during the operational period.

Coalitions

A coalition is a group of people who come together for a common purpose and to achieve a common goal. Coalitions come in all shapes and sizes and the application in the emergency management field is strong. Coalitions that support emergency management activities are usually supported and/or led by communities, faith-based groups, grassroots organizations, non-governmental organizations, healthcare agencies and first responders, among others. 

(Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) | FEMA.Gov, 2022)

In some countries, a coalition that directly supports emergencies and disasters is called the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT). CERT is a program that educates volunteers about disaster preparedness for the hazards that may occur where they live. CERT trains volunteers in basic disaster response skills, such as the following:

• Fire safety

• Light search and rescue

• Team organization

• Disaster medical operations

The CERT program offers a consistent approach to volunteer training and organization that professional responders can rely on during disaster situations, allowing them to focus on more complex tasks. Visit FEMA: Community Emergency Response Team to learn more about CERT.

Faith-based organizations can also serve as instrumental partners to emergency management efforts. Faith-based organizations can provide volunteers, facilities, and other resources to support disaster response. Training and planning exercises may enhance the disaster preparedness (and response and recovery capabilities and capacity) of the voluntary, faith-based, and community partner organizations, staff, and volunteers. 

Faith-based and Volunteer Partnerships

(Faith-Based and Volunteer Partnership Resources | FEMA.Gov, 2023)

Among other disasters, fires, tornadoes, floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, arson, and active shooters can all affect houses of worship. With incidents occurring with little to no warning, many houses of worship should develop and update plans and procedures to ensure the safety and security of their congregations, staff, and facilities. 

Training and planning exercises may enhance the disaster preparedness (and response and recovery capabilities and capacity) of the voluntary, faith-based, and community partner organizations, staff, and volunteers.

A variety of organizations and coalitions can foster partnerships between government and faith-based organizations (FBOs) to increase a nation’s resilience by creating trust and developing relationships. As organizations and coalitions seek to build bridges across communities and help overcome coordination challenges among FBOs, emergency managers and other stakeholders engage a broad cross-section of FBOs in all stages of the disaster cycle. FBOs, in particular, are usually trusted leaders in their community and can serve as trustworthy sources of information related to emergency preparedness and response (DHS Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships | Homeland Security, n.d.).

Local Emergency Planning Committees (LEPC)

(Local Emergency Planning Committees (LEPC), n.d.)

Depending on where you live, there might be something called local emergency planning committees. These committees are community-based organizations that assist in preparing for emergencies. Local emergency planning committees may develop an emergency response plan, review the plan annually, and provide information about emergencies, disasters and hazards in the community to residents.

LEPC membership must include the following (at minimum):

• Elected officials.

• Police, fire, civil defense, and public health professionals.

• Environment, transportation, and hospital officials.

• Facility representatives.

• Representatives from community groups and the media.

References

Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) | FEMA.gov. (2022, August 29). https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/individuals-communities/preparedness-activities-webinars/community-emergency-response-team

DHS Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships | Homeland Security. (n.d.). Retrieved September 22, 2023, from https://www.dhs.gov/faith

Faith-Based and Volunteer Partnership Resources | FEMA.gov. (2023, July 27). https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/individuals-communities/faith-volunteer

Federal Emergency Management Agency. (2017, October). National Incident Management System. https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/2020-07/fema_nims_doctrine-2017.pdf

Hazard Mitigation Planning Process | FEMA.gov. (2021, January 15). https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/risk-management/hazard-mitigation-planning/create-hazard-plan/process

Local Emergency Planning Committees (LEPC). (n.d.). DPS – Emergency Management. Retrieved September 22, 2023, from https://dem.utah.gov/local-emergency-planning-committees-lepc/