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9 May 2025
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Featured FRI Magazine article: Incident typing by Reinard Geldenhuys
Incidents are typed according to five levels of complexity
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Incident typing assists with decisions about resource requirements
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The Western Cape is already using standardised incident typing
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https://www.frimedia.org/uploads/1/2/2/7/122743954/fri_vol_3_no_5.pdf
This week’s featured Fire and Rescue International magazine article is: Incident typing by Reinard Geldenhuys, chief fire officer, Overberg District Municipality (FRI Vol 3 no 5). 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 typingBy Reinard Geldenhuys, chief fire officer, Overberg District Municipality
In previous articles, we dealt with the establishment of the incident command system in South Africa and the rollout of the system. As the system grows, the need to formalise interpretations increases.
In the good/bad old days we use to have the old Civil Defence exercises. More often than not in some small town in the rural areas we would simulate a taxi or small bus incident with ten patients and that would constitute a disaster or in today’s terms a ‘major incident’ for that town. The same incident in a metropole like Cape Town or Tshwane, it will just be another incident for the day.
The name of the acts and our approach have changed since those days but the incidents remain the same and the perception and description of the size, intensity and seriousness of incidents remains subjective to the available resources to deal with that incident.
Therefore, the need for a standardised classification of incidents arose stronger and stronger. The South African Incident Command System (ICS) Workgroup adopted the following classification and typing of incidents based on the five levels of complexity in order to make decisions about resource requirements:
Type 5
Type 4
Type 3
Type 2
Type 1
The above incident typing is used as a standard in the Western Cape and is also taught in current ICS courses throughout the country.
It is our vision that as the ICS process is rolled out to its entirety, we will be able to match the qualification and experience level to the level or type of incident to be managed.
This week’s featured Fire and Rescue International magazine article is: Incident typing by Reinard Geldenhuys, chief fire officer, Overberg District Municipality (FRI Vol 3 no 5). 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 typingBy Reinard Geldenhuys, chief fire officer, Overberg District Municipality
In previous articles, we dealt with the establishment of the incident command system in South Africa and the rollout of the system. As the system grows, the need to formalise interpretations increases.
In the good/bad old days we use to have the old Civil Defence exercises. More often than not in some small town in the rural areas we would simulate a taxi or small bus incident with ten patients and that would constitute a disaster or in today’s terms a ‘major incident’ for that town. The same incident in a metropole like Cape Town or Tshwane, it will just be another incident for the day.
The name of the acts and our approach have changed since those days but the incidents remain the same and the perception and description of the size, intensity and seriousness of incidents remains subjective to the available resources to deal with that incident.
Therefore, the need for a standardised classification of incidents arose stronger and stronger. The South African Incident Command System (ICS) Workgroup adopted the following classification and typing of incidents based on the five levels of complexity in order to make decisions about resource requirements:
Type 5
- The incident can be handled with one or two single resources with up to six personnel.
- Command and general staff positions (other than the incident commander) are not activated.
- No written incident action plan (IAP) is required. ƒ
- The incident is contained within the first operational period and often within an hour to a few hours after resources arrive on scene.
- Examples include a road shoulder fire, vehicle fire, an injured person, etc.
Type 4
- Command staff and general staff functions are activated only if needed.
- Several resources are required to mitigate the incident. ƒ
- The incident is usually limited to one operational period in the control phase.
- No written incident action plan (IAP) is required but an incident organiser MUST be filled in
Type 3
- When capabilities exceed initial attack, the appropriate ICS positions should be added to match the complexity of the incident.
- Some or all of the command and general staff positions may be activated, as well as division/group supervisor and/or unit leader level positions.
- A Type 3 incident management team (IMT) or incident command organisation manages initial action incidents with a significant number of resources, an extended attack incident until containment/control is achieved or an expanding incident until transition to a Type 1 or 2 team. ƒ
- The incident may extend into multiple operational periods. ƒ
- A written IAP is required for each operational period.
Type 2
- This type of incident extends beyond the capabilities for local control and is expected to go into multiple operational periods.
- A Type 2 incident may require the response of resources out of area, including provincial and/or national resources, to effectively manage the operations, command, and general staffing.
- Most or all of the command and general staff positions are filled. ƒ
- A written IAP is required for each operational period.
- Many of the functional units are needed and staffed.
- Operations personnel normally do not exceed 200 per operational period and total incident personnel do not exceed 500 (guidelines only). ƒ
Type 1
- This type of incident is the most complex, requiring national resources to safely and effectively manage and operate.
- All command and general staff positions are activated.
- Operations personnel often exceed 500 per operational period and total personnel will usually exceed 1 000.
- Branches need to be established.
- Use of resource advisors at the incident base is recommended.
- There is a high impact on the local jurisdiction, requiring additional staff for office administrative and support functions.
The above incident typing is used as a standard in the Western Cape and is also taught in current ICS courses throughout the country.
It is our vision that as the ICS process is rolled out to its entirety, we will be able to match the qualification and experience level to the level or type of incident to be managed.