By Jeremy Hurd
Firefighters use the incident command system (ICS) almost every day. It is typically used on every emergency incident that has at least two units on scene. The first-arriving unit on scene establishes the ICS, and the incoming units automatically fall under its organizational chart. This happens almost automatically because firefighters and emergency medical services (EMS) personnel have been trained in this system.
Without a basic structural setup, the ICS cannot be efficiently expanded. As a scene grows, the ICS structure grows along with it and expands to whatever level the incident commander (IC) deems necessary. Another important aspect of the ICS is that many departments can communicate on the scene. The commonality of the language used in the ICS allows these departments to seamlessly join efforts because everyone is speaking the same language. Instructors at the National Fire Academy have often used the phrase “playing from the same sheet of music” to describe the ability of many departments to work together.
Command Teams
When the ICS is expanded for a command team such as a hurricane team, an all-hazards team, or even a federal team, it is imperative that each member is appropriately trained. Many job-specific positions must be filled on these teams, and individuals require significant training to qualify for the specific slots. The roles are not necessarily specific to the type of incident. What matters is that the personnel are adequately trained to function efficiently in their position. For example, a Planning Section chief (PSC) deployed on a command team would be activated to act as an assistant to the PSC of the jurisdiction to which the team has been deployed. That PSC does not need to know everything about the incident for which he has been activated, but he needs to know everything there is to know about being an effective PSC and assisting the jurisdictional PSC to perform his duties.
A major advantage of the ICS is that it can be easily expanded. The system works when a few units are on scene and also when an incident expands and the number of personnel grows, providing an adequate structure that ensures appropriate accountability of personnel. If the firefighting and EMS personnel on an incident scene are not safe, they will not be able to meet the needs of the civilians they were called to serve.
These principles apply also when a state of emergency is declared. There is often a mad scramble to staff these positions because the departments had not planned for it. One of the issues that arises in these situations is that federal money is often available for the employees assigned to these positions. An inexperienced individual with little opportunity to earn overtime may see activation on a command team as an opportunity for extra earnings and not consider whether he has been trained for the position.
Fire departments should not neglect to plan and thus have to rely on filling these positions with untrained individuals. The department should have ready a list of individuals who are trained and prepared to respond when the need arises.
The training level for individuals deployed on a command team varies widely from one jurisdiction to another. Higher-level teams typically follow federal guidelines closely. The problem usually occurs when local departmental teams need an individual position filled and do not have someone qualified for the position. An able-bodied individual is placed in the position and given a booklet with guidelines to follow. That individual may spend the next few hours skimming through the operating guidelines to decide which steps to take. The individual’s ability to operate in the position is based solely on whatever training the individual had previously. To make matters worse, that individual may operate in that position for the duration of the incident but may be assigned to a completely different position the next time an emergency incident arises.
Usual Procedure
In a large metro department with multiple battalions, there is typically a team within each battalion that is staffed for an emergency. The chief of each battalion sends out an e-mail each year asking for individuals who have an interest in the battalion hurricane command team. The respondents are evaluated according to their interest and training and are assigned to the battalion command team by the chief. Unfortunately, despite the high number of employees in these types of departments, few have the requisite training. Since each battalion command team is selected annually, the level of employees’ training is based on who had been assigned to that battalion for the previous year. Appointments are influenced by previous positions, unit bids, promotions, retirements, and other movements within the department.
In a smaller career department, the same issues arise, but they occur on a departmentwide level. The positions are filled based on availability; often, there are not enough trained individuals to fill the positions.
In a volunteer department, the situation is a little more difficult. Since the firefighters typically have a full-time job, it is difficult to have enough time to keep up with the required training, much less with the desired training, for these specialty positions. There also is less funding available for this type of training on the outside chance that the positions will never need to be filled.
Training Requirements
Most fire department employees around the country are required to have ICS 100, ICS 200, ICS 700, and ICS 800. Only those who seek the requisite training go above and beyond those requirements. G 300 and G 400 would be a great basic requirement for one desiring a position on a command team, but not many employees have this training. There are even fewer employees who have attended the O 305 class, which covers the basic training for the all-hazards incident command teams. Still fewer have received the job-specific training for a position such as Logistics Section chief or Finance Section chief.
When a disaster occurs, the following positions are typically filled: IC, Safety, Liaison, Station Manager, and Logistics. Each of these positions is filled with an individual chosen by the chief or other administrator. As mentioned above, the level of training varies widely among individuals and within each battalion in a large department. This often results in firefighters being placed in positions for which they have not been trained.
When a flash flood occurred a few years ago, I was asked to respond to the affected battalion to assist with the command team that had been established to deal with the overwhelming number of calls resulting from the flooding. I was trained as a public information officer (PIO) for a Type III all-hazards incident management team (AHIMT), but I was placed in the Logistics Section chief position. I was untrained for that position, but it had to be filled. Logistics tasks were done and the needs were met, but there were delays and errors throughout the event because of the lack of training. This type of issue occurs often when a position is filled on the basis of whoever is available.
In our department [Palm Beach County (FL) Fire Rescue], there has been a push to have all interested individuals trained in the National Incident Management System. This training includes ICS 100, 200, 300, 400, 700, and 800; 0 305; and job-specific training. It has taken a few years to achieve this level of training and education; but now there are individuals trained in some of these positions, which means there are more qualified people available to fill each position. All fire departments need to make the same push to offer these classes to their employees.
In researching this topic, I spoke to a firefighter assigned to be the station manager during his third month on the job. He was still on probation, and he was in charge of all the paperwork including Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) reimbursement paperwork. Another employee told of being assigned to the finance position on a command team. He informed the chief that he had no idea of what the finance chairperson did, but the chief responded that he had no one else available to put in the position. This individual was responsible for tracking all expenditures and logging them correctly. He did not know how to do any of it.
FEMA and the All-Hazards IMT
Over the past few years, the fire service has changed from specialty task-driven individuals and units to an all-hazards approach to responses. There was a time when it responded only to fires. That shifted in the late 1970s when the focus was on integrating EMS calls into the fire service. Estimates are wide-ranging, but a recent report gave some interesting facts. The U.S. Fire Department Profile (2015) states that only “39.1% of all fire departments in the United States provide no EMS support.” In the past 15 years, there have been more responses to calls for hazardous materials, active shooter, active assailant, suspicious package calls, and other types of incidents. The fire service has become a group of all-hazard response units, and firefighters respond to just about anything. This shift has also necessitated more teams that can respond to multiple-casualty events that continue through several operational periods. These teams must be trained and ready to respond to any call at any time and must be prepared for a long deployment. This model for Typed Incident Management Teams can be used for a fire department team as well.
FEMA’s Web site (https://training.fema.gov/allhazards) describes the AHIMT as “a comprehensive resource (a team) to either enhance ongoing operations through provision of infrastructure support or when requested, transition to an incident management function to include all components/functions of a Command and General Staff.” The site provides extensive information on the AHMIT that includes its components, the official roles and responsibilities of each team member, operational periods, and so on.
Establishing an Incident Command Team
The first step in establishing an effective incident command team within your department is to decide that you need a team. That seems obvious, but not all departments have determined such a need. Once you decide to go ahead, choose a generalized name for your team, such as “Department Command Team,” and establish that the team will be trained in “all hazards” and prepared to handle any type of incident that may occur within your department’s jurisdiction.
Then, develop criteria and a process for selecting team members. Positions should not be filled based on an employee’s current position or the administrator’s bias. Allow all individuals who meet the requirements for a specific position to apply. This would enable you to build a pool of eligible employees for each position.
Establish an agenda that ensures that all team members will be fully trained for their respective positions. List the classes members will be required to take and the deadline for completing training, which will depend on the size of your department. The classes ICS 100, ICS 200, ICS 700, and ICS 800 are highly recommended (not only for team members but for all firefighters). Additionally, members in supervisory positions should take G 300 and G 400. You may have to offer the classes more than once a year, depending on the size of your department. If desired, your department can make these same classes a requirement for taking a supervisory test before the captain’s test.
Another recommendation is that the G 305 class be a requirement for becoming a member of the department command team. This class provides a detailed look at how the ICS system works at a complex incident and how an incident can overwhelm the supply of normal resources.
Finally, team members should take the class specific to the team position, such as IC, PIO, Operations Section chief, and so on. These courses are listed on the FEMA Web site.
Develop a list of employees who have the certifications for each ICS team position. Include on that list the employee’s time on the job, the classes completed, and the employee’s home location. This list will grow once the number of classes offered increases.
Implementing this policy should not necessitate an entire paradigm shift in most departments because we have been doing ICS for a long time. However, it will take time to implement completely. Adopting this action plan will ensure you have a department made up of qualified employees ready to work as effective and efficient members of the command structure whenever the need arises.
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references
Emergency Management Institute. (no date). ICS training courses. Retrieved from https://training.fema.gov/emiweb/is/icsresource/trainingmaterials.htm.
Florida Fire Chiefs (no date). Florida Fire Chiefs’ Association Statewide Emergency Response Plan (SERP) https://www.myfloridacfo.com/division/sfm/Documents/SERP.pdf.
Loflin, M. E. (2009, August 1). Incident commander checklist: a quick reference guide. Fire Engineering. Retrieved from http://emberly.fireengineering.com/articles/print/volume-162/issue-8/features/incident-commander-checklist-a-quick-reference-guide.html.
United States Fire Administration. (no date). An overview of incident management teams. Retrieved from https://www.usfa.fema.gov/training/imt/imt_overview.html.
United States Fire Administration. (no date). Incident Management Team professional development and training. Retrieved from https://www.usfa.fema.gov/training/imt/.
United States Fire Administration. (2010-2014). Strategic Plan Fiscal Years 2010-2014. Retrieved from https://www.usfa.fema.gov/downloads/pdf/strategic_plan.pdf.
Jeremy Hurd is an EMS captain with Palm Beach County (FL) Fire Rescue (PBCFR) and runs the department’s professional development program. He is also the PBCFR’s chaplain and has helped develop a comprehensive behavioral health program for the department. He is on the advisory board of the Rosecrance Institute’s Florian Program and is on the board of Trustbridge Hospice of Palm Beach County. Hurd is enrolled in the National Fire Academy’s Executive Fire Officer Program and is pursuing a master’s degree in executive leadership disaster preparedness. Hurd teaches at FDIC International and hosts “Chaplain’s Corner” on Fire Engineering’s BlogTalkRadio.
