Emergency Management and Incident Command
Emergency Management and Incident Command tests whether an officer can operate in NIMS/ICS, work in unified command, and understand how an emergency operations center supports a long or multi-jurisdiction incident. Expect questions on span of control, incident action planning, the preparedness cycle, and all-hazards planning.
ICS and NIMS
- Core principles: common terminology, modular organization, management by objectives, unity of command, span of control of roughly three to seven, and comprehensive resource management.
- Unified command brings multiple agencies with jurisdiction into one command structure with a single set of objectives and one incident action plan.
- The incident action plan sets objectives for the operational period and drives assignments and resource ordering.
Emergency management
- The preparedness cycle is plan, organize, equip, train, exercise, evaluate, and improve.
- The EOC coordinates policy, resource support, and public information; it does not command the incident. The incident commander at the ICP does.
- Know mutual aid, continuity of operations, and recovery roles, and how emergency support functions assign lead agencies.
Worked example
A flood crosses city and county lines. Unified command includes fire, police, and public works, with one set of objectives and one incident action plan. The EOC coordinates sheltering, resource requests, and public messaging. As the incident expands, the operations section chief adds divisions and groups to keep span of control manageable.
Traps
- Treating the EOC as the command post.
- Letting agencies issue separate objectives and separate plans under "unified command."
- Exceeding span of control without expanding the organization.
- Skipping the after-action improvement step of the preparedness cycle.