I85PREP
⌘ K
NIMS/ICS study materials
NIMS/ICS study resources

NIMS/ICS: ICS Functional Areas and the Roles of the Incident Commander and Command Staff

NIMS/ICS · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.

All guide sections

ICS Functional Areas and the Roles of the Incident Commander and Command Staff

The Incident Commander

The IC is established by the first arriving qualified person and holds overall authority until formally transferred. The IC sets objectives, approves the IAP, establishes command, and delegates. The IC retains responsibility for everything not delegated; delegation of authority is written, not implied. The IC may be the only person in the organization on a small incident.

Command Staff

Command Staff report directly to the IC and have no section of their own - they serve a staff function.

  • Public Information Officer - single point for media and public information; approves releases and works with a JIC when one is established.
  • Safety Officer - monitors safety conditions, has emergency authority to stop or modify unsafe operations, and prepares the ICS 208 Incident Safety Plan.
  • Liaison Officer - point of contact for assisting and cooperating agencies and their agency representatives.

Intelligence/Investigations may be placed in Command Staff or General Staff depending on the incident.

Where the boundaries sit

Command Staff advise; they do not command tactical resources. A Safety Officer can halt an unsafe action but cannot re-task a crew - that goes back through Operations and the IC. The PIO does not approve operational content beyond public information release.

Worked example

An IC on a flood response activates a PIO and Safety Officer but no Liaison Officer initially. When three assisting agencies arrive, the IC adds a Liaison Officer to manage agency representatives and keep field coordination from bypassing command. A near-miss on a swift-water boat prompts the Safety Officer to suspend boat operations; the IC concurs and directs Operations to change tactics.

Traps

The Safety Officer's stop-work authority does not make them part of Operations. The PIO speaks for the incident organization, not for one agency. On small incidents the IC may also fill a General Staff role such as Operations Chief - permitted, but span of control suffers.