Introduction to the Incident Command System (ICS) and Its Benefits, Study Guides, Projects, Research of Communication

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IS-0100.b – Introduction to the Incident Command System (ICS) Page 2.2 Student Manual October 2013

UNIT INTRODUCTION

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Key Points

By the end of this unit, you should be able to:

• Identify three purposes of the Incident Command System (ICS).
• Identify requirements to use ICS.

o National Incident Management System (NIMS) o Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA) – 1986 o Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Rule 1910. o State and local regulations

IS-0100.b – Introduction to the Incident Command System (ICS) October 2013 Student Manual Page 2.

UNIT INTRODUCTION

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Key Points

The following video summarizes the purposes of ICS.

Video Transcript:

Disaster can strike anytime, anywhere. It takes many forms—a hurricane, an earthquake, a tornado, a flood, a fire or a hazardous spill, or an act of terrorism. An incident can build over days or weeks, or hit suddenly, without warning.

A poorly managed incident response can undermine our safety and well being. With so much at stake, we must effectively manage our response efforts.

Although most incidents are handled locally, partnerships among local, tribal, State, and Federal agencies as well as nongovernmental and private-sector organizations may be required.

As partners, we must respond together in a seamless, coordinated fashion.

The Incident Command System, or ICS, helps ensure integration of our response efforts. ICS is a standardized, on-scene, all-hazards approach to incident management. ICS allows all responders to adopt an integrated organizational structure that matches the complexities and demands of the incident while respecting agency and jurisdictional authorities. Although ICS promotes standardization, it is not without needed flexibility. For example, the ICS organizational structure can expand or contract to meet incident needs.

In this course, you’ll learn ICS principles. And more importantly, you’ll learn to interface better with your response partners.

IS-0100.b – Introduction to the Incident Command System (ICS) October 2013 Student Manual Page 2.

ICS OVERVIEW

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Key Points

ICS can be used to manage:

• Natural hazards.
• Technological hazards.
• Human-caused hazards.
• Planned events.

IS-0100.b – Introduction to the Incident Command System (ICS) Page 2.6 Student Manual October 2013

ICS OVERVIEW

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Key Points

An incident is an occurrence or event, natural or human-caused that requires a response to protect life or property.

IS-0100.b – Introduction to the Incident Command System (ICS) Page 2.8 Student Manual October 2013

NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS AND ICS REQUIREMENTS

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Key Points

• ICS works! It saves lives! Life safety is the top priority for ICS response.
• The use of ICS is mandated by the National Incident Management System (NIMS). NIMS provides a systematic, proactive approach guiding departments and agencies at all levels of government, the private sector, and nongovernmental organizations to work seamlessly to prepare for, prevent, respond to, recover from, and mitigate the effects of incidents, regardless of cause, size, location, or complexity, in order to reduce the loss of life and property, and harm to the environment.

In addition to the NIMS mandate, the following laws require the use of ICS:

• The Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA) of 1986 established Federal regulations for handling hazardous materials. SARA directed the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to establish rules for operations at hazardous materials incidents.
• OSHA rule 1910.120, effective March 6, 1990, requires all organizations that handle hazardous materials to use ICS. The regulation states: “The Incident Command System shall be established by those employers for the incidents that will be under their control and shall interface with other organizations or agencies who may respond to such an incident.”

Note that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requires States to use ICS at hazardous materials incidents.

(Continued on the next page.)

IS-0100.b – Introduction to the Incident Command System (ICS) October 2013 Student Manual Page 2.

NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS AND ICS REQUIREMENTS

Visual 2.8 (Continued)

According to the National Integration Center, “institutionalizing the use of ICS” means that government officials, incident managers, and emergency response organizations at all jurisdictional levels must adopt ICS. Actions to institutionalize the use of ICS take place at two levels:

• Policy Level: At the policy level, institutionalizing ICS means government officials (i.e., Governors, mayors, county and city managers, tribal leaders, and others) must:
  • Adopt ICS through executive order, proclamation, or legislation as the jurisdiction's official incident response system; and
  • Direct that incident managers and response organizations in their jurisdictions train, exercise, and use ICS in their response operations.
• Organizational Level: At the organizational/operational level, evidence that incident managers and emergency response organizations are institutionalizing ICS would include the following:
  • ICS is being integrated into functional and system-wide emergency operations policies, plans, and procedures.
  • ICS training is planned or underway for responders, supervisors, and command-level officers.
  • Responders at all levels are participating in and/or coordinating ICS-oriented exercises that involve responders from multiple disciplines and jurisdictions.

IS-0100.b – Introduction to the Incident Command System (ICS) October 2013 Student Manual Page 2.

NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS AND ICS REQUIREMENTS

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Key Points

NIMS represents a core set of doctrine, concepts, principles, terminology, and organizational processes that enables effective, efficient, and collaborative incident management.

• Preparedness: Effective emergency management and incident response activities begin with a host of preparedness activities conducted on an ongoing basis, in advance of any potential incident. Preparedness involves an integrated combination of planning, procedures and protocols, training and exercises, personnel qualifications and certification, and equipment certification.
• Communications and Information Management: Emergency management and incident response activities rely upon communications and information systems that provide a common operating picture to all command and coordination sites. NIMS describes the requirements necessary for a standardized framework for communications and emphasizes the need for a common operating picture. NIMS is based upon the concepts of interoperability, reliability, scalability, portability, and the resiliency and redundancy of communications and information systems.
• Resource Management: Resources (such as personnel, equipment, and/or supplies) are needed to support critical incident objectives. The flow of resources must be fluid and adaptable to the requirements of the incident. NIMS defines standardized mechanisms and establishes the resource management process to identify requirements, order and acquire, mobilize, track and report, recover and demobilize, reimburse, and inventory resources.

(Continued on the next page.)

IS-0100.b – Introduction to the Incident Command System (ICS) Page 2.12 Student Manual October 2013

NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS AND ICS REQUIREMENTS

Visual 2.10 (Continued)

• Command and Management: The Command and Management component within NIMS is designed to enable effective and efficient incident management and coordination by providing flexible, standardized incident management structures. The structures are based on three key organizational constructs: the Incident Command System, Multiagency Coordination Systems, and Public Information.
• Ongoing Management and Maintenance: Within the auspices of Ongoing Management and Maintenance, there are two components: the National Integration Center (NIC) and Supporting Technologies.

IS-0100.b – Introduction to the Incident Command System (ICS) Page 2.14 Student Manual October 2013

ICS BENEFITS

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Key Points

Without ICS, incident responses typically result in:

• Lack of accountability, including unclear chains of command and supervision.
• Poor communication, due to both inefficient uses of available communications systems and conflicting codes and terminology.
• Lack of an orderly, systematic planning process.
• No common, flexible, predesigned management structure that enabled commanders to delegate responsibilities and manage workloads efficiently.
• No predefined methods to integrate interagency requirements into the management structure and planning process effectively.

Using ICS enables us to avoid these weaknesses in all types of incident responses.

IS-0100.b – Introduction to the Incident Command System (ICS) October 2013 Student Manual Page 2.

ICS BENEFITS

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Key Points

By using management best practices, ICS helps to ensure:

• The safety of responders, faculty, workers, and others.
• The achievement of response objectives.
• The efficient use of resources.

IS-0100.b – Introduction to the Incident Command System (ICS) October 2013 Student Manual Page 2.

ICS BENEFITS

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Scenario: Continuing severe weather is causing widespread damage. 9-1-1 operators are receiving conflicting reports about life-safety needs, including a possible structural collapse of an assisted living facility.

Discussion Questions:

What are the priorities?

What are the incident management challenges? (Think about how ICS may address these challenges!)

Who needs to be involved?

IS-0100.b – Introduction to the Incident Command System (ICS) Page 2.18 Student Manual October 2013

UNIT SUMMARY

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Key Points

ICS:

• Is a standardized management tool for meeting the demands of small or large emergency and nonemergency situations.
• Represents best practices, and has become the standard for emergency management across the country.
• May be used for planned events, natural disasters, and acts of terrorism.
• Is a key feature of NIMS.

The next unit will cover the basic features of ICS.