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15 March 2024
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Featured FRI Magazine article: Incident command: are all emergency services on the same page? by Lenny Naidoo (FRI Vol 1 no 12)
https://www.frimedia.org/uploads/1/2/2/7/122743954/fri_vol1no12_lr.pdf
This week’s featured Fire and Rescue International magazine article is: Incident command: are all emergency services on the same page? Written by Lenny Naidoo (FRI Vol 1 no 12). We will be sharing more technical/research/tactical articles from Fire and Rescue International magazine on a weekly basis with our readers to assist in technology transfer. This will hopefully create an increased awareness, providing you with hands-on advice and guidance. All our magazines are available free of charge in PDF format on our website and online at ISSUU. We also provide all technical articles as a free download in our article archive on our website.
Incident command: are all emergency services on the same page? (FRI Vol 1 no 12)
By Lenny Naidoo
The evolution of the incident command system goes back to 1971 when the United States Congress approved funding for the US Forest Service Research to design a system that was to make a quantum jump in the capabilities of southern California wildland fire protection agencies to effectively coordinate interagency action and to allocate suppression resources in dynamic multiple fire situations. This system became known as FIRESCOPE (Fire fighting Resources Organised for Potential Emergencies).
Ten years later the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and other agencies formally accepted the incident command system (ICS). The incident command system is now more than thirty years in existence and has been utilised in South Africa for close on 20 years or so.
The basics of the incident command system is taught at entry level on the Fire fighter I program and this is an important stepping-stone to successfully dealing with incidents. It is essential that all fire service staff members understand the concepts of incident command.
The system is doomed to fail if all responders cannot work together to achieve the objectives of the system.
Irrespective of the type of ICS being used, the principles and objectives remain the same.
What is important is that emergency services remain focussed on what an incident management system (IMS) is all about. Incident management is a set of personnel, policies, procedures, facilities and equipment, integrated into a common organisational structure designed to improve emergency response operations of all types and complexities.
In simpler terms, incident management is about managing an incident, regardless of the magnitude of said incident.
It is a strategy that is used to ensure that there is order during the life of the incident.
Primary ICS management functions
• Command
• Operations
• Logistics
• Planning
• Finance/administration
The incident commander (IC) is responsible for all of the above functions. The incident commander can perform all functions or may delegate these functions. Delegation does not relieve the IC of responsibility.
Components of the IMS
• Common terminology
• Modular organisation
• Integrated communications
• Unified command structure
• Consolidated action plans
• Manageable span of control
• Predesignated incident facilities
Bronze, silver, gold command (UK)
• Bronze (operational command) - typically first arriving IC at an incident – the IC leads from the front getting involved in all operations
• Silver is more complicated (tactical command) - IC manages the incident, determining priorities, allocating resources
• Gold – most incidents and the early stages of serious incidents, may only require operational, or operational and tactical levels of command
• Larger incidents or more than one incident will require tactical or gold command. This is the most senior in an organisation and is common in major incidents. Does not deal with operations on the ground and is usually far away from the incident.
• Gold often involves political or policy decisions, which extends beyond a single organisation.
• Major incidents place huge demands on the equipment of responding organisations, the community and environment
The evolution of ICS has led to a national incident management system (NIMS).
A snap shot of NIMS
Responsibilities: The jurisdiction must identify personnel who will be of importance in the assistance of implementing and making sure the jurisdiction fully adopts all components of NIMS in a timely matter.
Local jurisdictions are responsible for the following:
• Incorporate NIMS into emergency management plans
• Establish interregional emergency management response aid agreements
• Fully adopt the incident command system in all exercises and incidents
• Establish a baseline for NIMS compliance through the NIMCAST tool
• Participate in table top or simulation exercise annually in order to evaluate our emergency plan and NIMS capabilities
• Identify educational requirements for all jurisdictional first responders and ensure training is completed in a timely manner
• Identify and type resources in conformance with homeland security standards
• Submit biannual progress reports
Local disciplines first responders (health, emergency medical services, law enforcement and fire) are responsible for the following:
• Incorporate NIMS into all emergency operations plans
• Participate in jurisdictional exercises and adjust emergency management plans as needed
• Identify individuals who need to attend basic educational training for NIMS and incident command
Currently in South Africa IMS is the accepted way to deal with emergencies; however, there is no absolute proof that all fire services are using the IMS concept.
Smaller fire services have capacity and training issues and may not be fully into the IMS concepts. It is also not clear whether IMS is used for all incidents, small and large.
Recommendations
1. All fire services receive training and development on incident command systems
2. All call takers and dispatchers receive training on incident command systems
3. All first responders receive training on incident command systems
4. Regular exercises be conducted with all first responders
5. Incident command system be implemented at every incident
This week’s featured Fire and Rescue International magazine article is: Incident command: are all emergency services on the same page? Written by Lenny Naidoo (FRI Vol 1 no 12). We will be sharing more technical/research/tactical articles from Fire and Rescue International magazine on a weekly basis with our readers to assist in technology transfer. This will hopefully create an increased awareness, providing you with hands-on advice and guidance. All our magazines are available free of charge in PDF format on our website and online at ISSUU. We also provide all technical articles as a free download in our article archive on our website.
Incident command: are all emergency services on the same page? (FRI Vol 1 no 12)
By Lenny Naidoo
The evolution of the incident command system goes back to 1971 when the United States Congress approved funding for the US Forest Service Research to design a system that was to make a quantum jump in the capabilities of southern California wildland fire protection agencies to effectively coordinate interagency action and to allocate suppression resources in dynamic multiple fire situations. This system became known as FIRESCOPE (Fire fighting Resources Organised for Potential Emergencies).
Ten years later the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and other agencies formally accepted the incident command system (ICS). The incident command system is now more than thirty years in existence and has been utilised in South Africa for close on 20 years or so.
The basics of the incident command system is taught at entry level on the Fire fighter I program and this is an important stepping-stone to successfully dealing with incidents. It is essential that all fire service staff members understand the concepts of incident command.
The system is doomed to fail if all responders cannot work together to achieve the objectives of the system.
Irrespective of the type of ICS being used, the principles and objectives remain the same.
What is important is that emergency services remain focussed on what an incident management system (IMS) is all about. Incident management is a set of personnel, policies, procedures, facilities and equipment, integrated into a common organisational structure designed to improve emergency response operations of all types and complexities.
In simpler terms, incident management is about managing an incident, regardless of the magnitude of said incident.
It is a strategy that is used to ensure that there is order during the life of the incident.
Primary ICS management functions
• Command
• Operations
• Logistics
• Planning
• Finance/administration
The incident commander (IC) is responsible for all of the above functions. The incident commander can perform all functions or may delegate these functions. Delegation does not relieve the IC of responsibility.
Components of the IMS
• Common terminology
• Modular organisation
• Integrated communications
• Unified command structure
• Consolidated action plans
• Manageable span of control
• Predesignated incident facilities
Bronze, silver, gold command (UK)
• Bronze (operational command) - typically first arriving IC at an incident – the IC leads from the front getting involved in all operations
• Silver is more complicated (tactical command) - IC manages the incident, determining priorities, allocating resources
• Gold – most incidents and the early stages of serious incidents, may only require operational, or operational and tactical levels of command
• Larger incidents or more than one incident will require tactical or gold command. This is the most senior in an organisation and is common in major incidents. Does not deal with operations on the ground and is usually far away from the incident.
• Gold often involves political or policy decisions, which extends beyond a single organisation.
• Major incidents place huge demands on the equipment of responding organisations, the community and environment
The evolution of ICS has led to a national incident management system (NIMS).
A snap shot of NIMS
Responsibilities: The jurisdiction must identify personnel who will be of importance in the assistance of implementing and making sure the jurisdiction fully adopts all components of NIMS in a timely matter.
Local jurisdictions are responsible for the following:
• Incorporate NIMS into emergency management plans
• Establish interregional emergency management response aid agreements
• Fully adopt the incident command system in all exercises and incidents
• Establish a baseline for NIMS compliance through the NIMCAST tool
• Participate in table top or simulation exercise annually in order to evaluate our emergency plan and NIMS capabilities
• Identify educational requirements for all jurisdictional first responders and ensure training is completed in a timely manner
• Identify and type resources in conformance with homeland security standards
• Submit biannual progress reports
Local disciplines first responders (health, emergency medical services, law enforcement and fire) are responsible for the following:
• Incorporate NIMS into all emergency operations plans
• Participate in jurisdictional exercises and adjust emergency management plans as needed
• Identify individuals who need to attend basic educational training for NIMS and incident command
Currently in South Africa IMS is the accepted way to deal with emergencies; however, there is no absolute proof that all fire services are using the IMS concept.
Smaller fire services have capacity and training issues and may not be fully into the IMS concepts. It is also not clear whether IMS is used for all incidents, small and large.
Recommendations
1. All fire services receive training and development on incident command systems
2. All call takers and dispatchers receive training on incident command systems
3. All first responders receive training on incident command systems
4. Regular exercises be conducted with all first responders
5. Incident command system be implemented at every incident