THE INCIDENT

COMMAND
SYSTEM (ICS)
- Organization
and Staffing

CHRISTINE AC. CAIDIC

PDRRMC-TWG for
OPERATIONS and WARNING
SAMAR PDRRMO
 OBJECTIVES

- To orient participants with

the ORGANIZATION AND
STAFFING of an Incident
Command System (ICS).
 OBJECTIVES

- Describe major ICS positions and

their
responsibilities
- Describe information flow within the
ICS
organization
- Develop an appropriate organization
chart for a specific incident
 ICS Organization
• Five Major Management Functions

Incident Command

Operations Planning Logistics

Finance/Admin
Section Section Section Section
 INCIDENT COMMAND

Incident Command
– sets incident objectives,

strategies and priorities

and has overall
responsibility.
 The INCIDENT COMMANDER
1. Upon arriving at an incident, the higher ranking
person will either assume command, maintain
command as is or transfer command to the third
party.
2. In some situations or agencies – a lower ranking
but more qualified person may be designated as
the Incident Commander.
3. He/She performs all major ICS
command and staff responsibilities
unless the ICS functions are
delegated and assigned.
 The INCIDENT COMMANDER
4. Provides the overall leadership for incident
response.
5. Delegates authorities to others. (may have one
or more deputies from same agency or from
agencies in another jurisdiction)
6. Takes general direction from Responsible
Official.
7. Responsible for:
- ensuring safety
- providing information to internal
and external stakeholders
- establish and maintain a liaison with agencies
 The INCIDENT COMMANDER
8. Assesses the need for staff
9. Establish incident objectives
10. Establish priorities in consultation with the
staff.
11. Directs staff to develop the Incident Action Plan
12. Selected by qualification and experience.
12. Establishes Incident Command Post (ICP)
13. Establishes appropriate ICS organization based
on the situation.
14. Ensures planning meeting are scheduled as
required
 The INCIDENT COMMANDER
15. Approves and authorizes the implementation
of the Incident Action Plan
16. Ensures that adequate safety measures are in
place.
17. Coordinates with key people and officials.
18. Approves requests for additional resources and
for the
release of resources
19. Keeps DRRMC Chairperson and/or Responsible
Official
informed of incident status.
20. Authorizes release of information to the news
 Characteristics of an Effective
INCIDENT COMMANDER
- Command Presence - Quick Thinking
- Understands ICS - Good Communicator
- Proven manager - Adaptable and
Flexible
- Puts safety first - Proactive
- Realistic about personal limitations
- Decisive - Politically astute
- Objective - Courage and
conviction
- Calm - God-fearing
COMMAND STAFF POSITIONS
1. The Information Officer
- coordinates the release of information
to the
public and responders
- responsible for interface with the media
- works in cooperation with the
Emergency
Operation Center Officer
COMMAND STAFF POSITIONS
2. The Safety Officer
- formulates measures to
protect personnel safety
- takes immediate action
to stop or prevent unsafe
acts when conditions or
time do not permit going
through lines of authority
- works with Operations on
tactics
COMMAND STAFF POSITIONS
3. The Liaison Officer
- acts as the point of contact for assisting
or
cooperating agencies
- acts as a diplomat
- works with private contractors to
address
needs
COMMAND STAFF POSITIONS
3. Agency Representatives
- delegated with full authority to make
decisions on all matters affecting that
agency’s
participation at the incident
- NOT part of the Command Staff
 OPERATIONS SECTION

Operations
– first organization assigned to the
incident
- develops tactical objectives, conducts
tactical operations to carry out the
plan and directs all tactical resources
- where tactical fieldwork is done
- has the most incident resources
- may have staging areas and special
organizations
 OPERATIONS SECTION CHIEF
- Directs and coordinates all
incident tactical operations.
- Organization develops as
required
- Organization can consist of:
o Branches,
Divisions,
Groups
o Task Forces and
Strike Teams
o Staging Areas
 OPERATIONS SECTION
OPERATIONS SECTION

INDIVIDUAL PUBLIC WORKS

ASSISTANCE AND
ENGINEERING
GROUP GROUP

TEMPORARY MASS POTABLE DEBRIS

HOUSING CARE WATER
CLEARING
TASK TASK TASK TASK
FORCE FORCE FORCE FORCE
 PLANNING SECTION

– prepares Incident
Action Plan to meet
incident objectives,
collects and evaluates
information, and
maintains both
resource status and
incident
documentation.
 PLANNING SECTION CHIEF

- Maintains resource status

- Maintains situation status
- Prepares Incident Action
Plan
- Provides documentation
service
- Prepares Demobilization
Plan
- Provides technical
specialists
 PLANNING SECTION

PLANNING SECTION

RESOURCE SITUATION DOCUMENTATION DEMOBILIZATION

TECHNICAL
UNIT UNIT UNIT UNIT
SPECIALISTS
 TECHNICAL SPECIALISTS
- Assigned wherever needed depending on
the requirements of the incident.
Examples are:
• Flood control specialists
• Environmental impact specialists
• Meteorologists
• Fuels specialist
• Structural engineer
• Etc.
 LOGISTICS SECTION

– provides
support,
resources, and
all services to
meet
operational
objectives.
LOGISTICS SECTION UNITS

• Supply Unit
• Facilities Unit
• Ground Support
• Communications Unit
• Food Unit
• Medical Unit
 LOGISTICS SECTION CHIEF

- Provides services and support to the

incident
event; responsible for:
• Facilities
• Transportation
• Communications
• Supplies
• Equipment Maintenance and Fuel
• Food Services
 LOGISTICS SECTION

LOGISTICS SECTION CHIEF

SERVICE BRANCH DIRECTOR SUPPORT BRANCH

COMMUNICATIONS FACILITIES UNIT

UNIT

MEDICAL UNIT A
(TRIAGE) LEADERS

MEDICAL UNIT B
(TREATMENT)
 FINANCE/ADMINISTRATIVE
SECTION

– monitors costs,
provides
accounting,
procurement,
time recording,
and cost
analyses.
FINANCE/ADMINISTRATIVE
SECTION CHIEF

- Monitors incident Costs

- Maintains financial records
- Administers procurement
contracts
- Performs time recording
 FINANCE/ADMINISTRATIVE
SECTION
FINANCE/ADMINISTRATIVE SECTION

PROCUREMENT TIME COST

COMPENSATION
UNIT UNIT UNIT
UNIT
COMMON RESPONSIBILITIES
OF ALL UNIT LEADERS
- Obtain briefing from Section Chief
- Participate in Incident Planning meetings if necessary
- Determine current status of unit activities
- Confirm dispatch and estimated time of arrival of staff
and supplies
- Assign specific duties to staff; supervise
- Develop and implement accountability, safety, and
security measures for personnel and resources
- Supervise demobilization of unit, including storage of
supplies.
- Provide supply unit leader with list of supplies to be
replenished.
- Maintain unit records, including unit log.
 INCIDENT COMMAND
INCIDENT COMMANDER

INFORMATION OFFICER

LIAISON OFFICER

SAFETY OFFICER

PLANNING OPERATIONS LOGISTICS FINANCE/

SECTION SECTION SECTION
ADMIN
CHIEF CHIEF CHIEF SECTION
CHIEF
 SPAN OF CONTROL

- Refers to the number of individuals or

resources that one person can effectively
manage
- Effective span of control ranges from 3 to 7
reporting elements per supervisor
- If the number of reporting elements is not
within this range, expansion or
consolidation of the ICS organization may
be needed
 SPAN OF CONTROL

- Is between 3 to 7 subordinates
- Optimally does not exceed 5
subordinates.
Note:
- Do not combine organizational units
- One person may supervise more than one
unit
 MAINTAINING SPAN OF
CONTROL
The following supervisory levels can be added to help manage
span of control:
DIVISIONS GROUPS BRANCHES
Divide an Describe Are used when
incident functional the number of
geographically areas of Divisions or
operation. Groups
exceeds the
span of control.
Can be either
geographical or
functional.
 ICS POSITION TITLES
Organizational Title Support Position
Level
Incident Command Incident Commander Deputy

Command Staff Officer Assistant

Section (General Chief Deputy

Staff)
Branch Director Deputy

Division/Group Supervisor

Strike Team/Task Leader

Force
Unit Leader Manager

Single Resource Use Unit Designation

 ICS ORGANIZATIONAL
COMPONENTS
- Sections: Responsible for major functional areas of the
incident (Chief)
- Divisions: Responsible for certain geographic areas of the
incident (Supervisor)
: Labeled by letters (A,B,..)
- Group: Responsible for functional areas of operations
(Supervisor)
: Established based on the needs of an incident
: Labeled according to the job that they are assigned

: Work wherever their assigned task is needed and

are not limited geographically.
 ICS ORGANIZATIONAL
COMPONENTS
- Branches: Used when the number of Divisions or Groups
exceeds the span of control (Director)
: Have functional or geographical
responsibility for major parts of incident
operations
: Identified by Roman numeral or functional
name
- Task Force: Mixed resources with common
communications (Task Force Leader)
- Strike Teams: Resources of the same kind and type with
common communications
(Strike Team Leader)
 ICS ORGANIZATIONAL
COMPONENTS
- Unit: Has responsibility for a specific
incident planning, logistics, or
finance/administration activity
- Single Resources: Individuals, a piece of
equipment and its personnel
complement, or a crew or team of
individuals with an identified
supervisor
 ICS Organization
Incident
Incident Commander
Commander

Public
Public Information
Information Liaison
Liaison
Officer
Officer Officer
Officer

Safety
Safety
Officer
Officer

Finance/Admin.
Finance/Admin.
Operations
Operations Section
Section Planning
Planning Section
Section Logistics
Logistics Section
Section Section
Section

Resources
Resources Demob.
Demob. Service
Service Support
Support
Unit Unit Branch Branch Procurement
Procurement Cost
Cost
Unit Unit Branch Branch Unit Unit
Air
Air Ops
Ops Unit Unit
Branches
Branches Branch
Branch
Situation
Situation Doc.
Doc.
Unit
Unit Unit
Unit Commun.
Commun. Supply
Supply
Unit
Unit Unit
Unit

Divisions
Divisions Groups
Groups Strike
Strike Team
Team Medical
Medical Facilities
Facilities
Unit
Unit Unit
Unit

DANA
DANA Food
Ground
Ground
Food Support
Unit Support
Unit Unit
SAR Unit
SAR
EMS
EMS

FIRE
FIRE SUPPRESION
SUPPRESION MODULAR
EVAC
EVAC &
& RELIEF
RELIEF SIMPLE to COMPLEX
LAW
LAW ENFORCEMENT
ENFORCEMENT
 COMMAND vs.
COORDINATION
•Command – Incident Commander commands on-
scene operations and reports to
Responsible Official

•Coordination - Responsible Official, through the DRRMC

and EOC, coordinates with other agencies
for the following:
a) Making policy decisions
b) Establishing priorities
c) Resolving critical resource issues
d) Mobilizing and tracking resources
e) Collecting, analyzing, and disseminating information
 UNITY OF COMMAND
OPERATIONS
SECTION
- Establishes a clear
line of supervision STAGING
AREA
- means that every BRANCHES
SPECIAL
OPERATIONS
individual has a
designated supervisor
DIVISIONS GROUPS
to whom they report
at the scene of the Task Forces Task Forces

incident.
Strike Teams Strike Teams

Single Single
Resources Resources
 CHAIN OF COMMAND
- Orderly ranking of OPERATIONS
management SECTION

positions in line of STAGING

authority AREA
SPECIAL
BRANCHES
OPERATIONS
- Chain of command refers
to the orderly line of
DIVISIONS GROUPS
authority within the ranks
of the incident
Task Forces Task Forces
management organization.
Strike Teams Strike Teams

Single Single
Resources Resources
 COMMON TERMINOLOGY

a. Organizational Elements

- All ICS major functions and

functional
units are named and defined.
Terminology for each
organizational
element is standard consistent.
 COMMON TERMINOLOGY

b. Resource Descriptions
- Major resources personnel,
facilities,
major equipment, and supply items
are
given common names and are listed
by
type and kind with respect to their
 COMMON TERMINOLOGY

c. Incident Facilities
- Facilities used during the
response are named
according to
common terminology.
 COMMON TERMINOLOGY

d. Position Titles
- All ICS managers and supervisors
are referred to by standardized
ICS titles such as Officer, Chief,
Director, Supervisor or Leader.
 COMMON TERMINOLOGY

- All ICS communications should use

clear text (that is, plain language).
Do not use radio codes, agency-
specific codes, acronyms, or other
jargon.
 COMMON TERMINOLOGY

Jargon Example:
- “Railroad Street Command for
Engine 44, you’re 10-1.”
Clear Text:
- “Railroad Street Command from
Engine 44, you are
unreadable.”
 COMMON TERMINOLOGY

Jargon Example:
- “OPSEC from Div. A, I have you 10-
4.”
Clear Text:
- “Operations Section Chief Ramos
from Division Alpha. You are
coming in clear.”
THE RESPONSIBLE OFFICIAL AND
THE INCIDENT COMMANDER
THE RESPONSIBLE OFFICIAL

- Chairs local DRRMC

- Provides overall policy direction
and strategic objectives for the
response
- Delegates authority to IC
- Ensures availability of resources
- Serves as link to higher authorities
THE RESPONSIBLE OFFICIAL
DELEGATES AUTHORITY
- Responsible Official delegates authority to
Incident Commander for on-scene
operations
- Incident Commander has direct tactical and
operational responsibility for conducting
incident management activities
- Incident Commander keeps Responsible Official
informed on operations and concerns; requests
clarification of policy and direction as needed.
THE INCIDENT COMMANDER

- Provides overall leadership for on-

scene response operations
- Takes policy direction from
Responsible Official and establishes
incident objectives
- Ensures incident safety
- Maintains liaison with participating
response agencies
INCIDENT MANAGEMENT ROLES
INCIDENT COMMANDER DRRMC
Manages incident at the scene Provides the following to the
Incident Commander, through
Responsible Official or Council
Chair:
- Policy
- Mission
- Strategic Direction
- Authority
Keeps Responsible Official and
DRRMC informed of all important
matters pertaining to the incident

To maintain unity of command and safety

of responders, the chain of command
must NOT be bypassed.