Incident Commander
Encyclopedia
The incident commander is the person responsible for all aspects of an emergency response; including quickly developing incident objectives, managing all incident operations, application of resources as well as responsibility for all persons involved. The incident commander sets priorities and defines the organization of the incident response team
Incident Response Team
An incident response team or emergency response team is a group of people who prepare for and respond to any emergency incident, such as a natural disaster or an interruption of business operations. Incident response teams are common in corporations as well as in public service organizations...

s and the overall incident action plan. The role of incident commander may be assumed by senior or higher qualified officers upon their arrival or as the situation dictates. Even if subordinate positions are not assigned, the incident commander position will always be designated or assumed. The incident commander may, at their own discretion, assign individuals, who may be from the same agency or from assisting agencies, to subordinate or specific positions for the duration of the emergency.

In the United States, most agencies use an Incident Commander for the roles and responsibilities as defined under the National Incident Management System
National Incident Management System
The National Incident Management System is emergency management doctrine used nationwide to coordinate emergency preparedness and incident management and response among the public and private sectors.NIMS is a comprehensive, national approach to incident management that is applicable at all...

 as a part of the Incident Command System
Incident Command System
The Incident Command System is "a systematic tool used for the command, control, and coordination of emergency response" according to the United States Federal Highway Administration...

.

The incident command system in a Canadian EMS scenario

  • Incident Commander – oversees all operations at the incident.
    • usually one of the first officers on scene.
    • assessment of the scene.
    • establish command as well as command centre.
    • request required resources.
    • initiates triage
      Triage
      Triage or ) is the process of determining the priority of patients' treatments based on the severity of their condition. This rations patient treatment efficiently when resources are insufficient for all to be treated immediately. The term comes from the French verb trier, meaning to separate,...

      .

  • triage officer – oversees all patient assessment
    Triage
    Triage or ) is the process of determining the priority of patients' treatments based on the severity of their condition. This rations patient treatment efficiently when resources are insufficient for all to be treated immediately. The term comes from the French verb trier, meaning to separate,...

    , tagging and movement to treatment areas
  • treatment officer – oversees all treatment
    First aid
    First aid is the provision of initial care for an illness or injury. It is usually performed by non-expert, but trained personnel to a sick or injured person until definitive medical treatment can be accessed. Certain self-limiting illnesses or minor injuries may not require further medical care...

     and the treatment area
  • transportation officer – oversees all ambulance
    Ambulance
    An ambulance is a vehicle for transportation of sick or injured people to, from or between places of treatment for an illness or injury, and in some instances will also provide out of hospital medical care to the patient...

     movement, priority, identity, and destination of patients.
  • staging officer – oversees all acquisition, release and distribution of resources.

Duties in a US fire-fighting scenario

  • Obtain briefings and guidelines for level of involvement from requesting agency and/or prior Incident Commander.
  • Obtain delegation of authority if requesting agency desires Team to assume operational control and/or under unified command
    Unified command
    Unified command may refer to:* Unified Combatant Command, military* Unified Command , incident command system* Unified Command , command system in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill...

     to allow all affected jurisdiction
    Jurisdiction
    Jurisdiction is the practical authority granted to a formally constituted legal body or to a political leader to deal with and make pronouncements on legal matters and, by implication, to administer justice within a defined area of responsibility...

    s shared responsibility.
  • Ensure incident safety.
  • Establish Incident Command Post and operational plan if not already accomplished.
  • Maintain contact with state fire marshal
    Fire Marshal
    A fire marshal, in the United States and Canada, is often a member of a fire department but may be part of a building department or a separate department altogether. Fire marshals' duties vary but usually include fire code enforcement and/or investigating fires for origin and cause...

     and ERC.
  • Provide other command assistance as requested by agency/jurisdiction.
  • Coordinate the multiple aid from interagencies like: USFS, BLM, BIA, state, county, city and volunteer fire/emergency resources.

See also

  • Incident management team
    Incident Management Team
    In the United States, there are predominantly five types of incident management teams . An incident such as a wildland fire is initially managed by local fire departments or fire agencies, but if the fire becomes complex additional resources are called in to address the emergency, and higher...

  • Incident command post
    Incident command post
    According to the National Incident Management System , and the Incident Command System , the Incident Command Post is one of five predesignated temporary facilities and signifies the physical location of the tactical-level, on-scene incident command and management organization...

  • Incident command system
    Incident Command System
    The Incident Command System is "a systematic tool used for the command, control, and coordination of emergency response" according to the United States Federal Highway Administration...


External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK