When developing a solid cadre of fire officers who can manage large-scale events with the incident command system, process keeps coming up as being as important as management skills, tasks or activities. Participation in a multi-agency/multi-disciplinary unified command will become the system of choice for managing large-scale special events and emergency incidents throughout the United States.

Training and simulation will prepare these officers to make better decisions. Unified command is the choice for problem-solving and decision-making when situational awareness and experience with the threat elements are low. Unified command is a consultative decision-making process that works well in managing low-probability/high-consequence events.

The foundation for success starts with following the model ICS/NIMS curriculum. Having fire and rescue officers trained from Introductory ICS 100 through Advanced ICS 400 provides the basic building blocks to understanding the entire system. A course of study that includes practical experience under supervision also is recommended for all those aspiring to certification and credentialing under the system.

A logical step after formal ICS coursework is taking the skill courses. These are position-specific training programs that will qualify students to start a “task book” or sign-off sheet of all required skills for every ICS position that they are pursuing. Currently, there are courses for every position in the system, from firefighter to unit leader in every section. Under operations, positions from strike team/task force leader to division/group supervisor to branch director to operations section chief are represented. The same holds true for all sections and units.

One of the most critical positions in any unified command operation is the planning section chief. Just as ladder companies and truck work set the pace for engine company success, the PSC actually sets the pace of the command and general staff activities. The “incident metabolism” is oftentimes truly set by a driven PSC with a team of competent situation status and resource unit leaders in tow.

For many executive positions, focusing on process instead of strategy or tactics can keep an organization or a project on track. It is the same in major incident management. A great tool for all the agencies in focusing on the incident planning process is the Operational Period Planning Cycle, or the Planning P, which is available by the ICS Publications Group as part of the planning section chief's job aid.

At the beginning of the planning cycle is a series of five activities concerning initial response. The first is the incident/event occurrence. After the incident occurs, it must be discovered and the emergency response system activated. The second step is notifications. When an event is declared working or a significant potential for a reinforced response exists, the mature response system will have “event triggered” notifications to alert potential incident management team personnel of the possibility of activation and mobilization to the incident.

The third step on the base of the “P” is initial response and assessment. A trained fire officer/crew leader (trained to at least Type 5 Incident Commander/Fire Officer I level) conducts size-up, names the incident, assumes or passes command, announces the location of the command post and staging area, and requests additional resources. A solid incident management system will have a policy for scene reports to be broadcasted and transmitted to other available incident management team members.

The next activity for the officer assuming command is to fill out an ICS 201 incident briefing form. This very easy task provides good documentation of initial incident priorities, objectives, resources, organizational chart and a situational picture. Getting every first-in incident commander to take this step will do more than any other single procedure in facilitating a seamless, efficient transfer of command to the second-alarm/next-arriving chief officer. It also sets the pace for the transfer from a single-agency command to a unified command.

As the commander assigns other staff positions or if a unified command is called for, the next step is the initial unified command meeting. This is where the ICS 201 form is used to conduct an initial briefing and the members participating in unified command will discuss the current situation and resources; develop a single ICS organizational chart; and set up a unified ordering point, a single plans/intel and a unified logistics section.

It's at this point that all contributing jurisdictions come to consensus as to which is the lead agency in the unified command appoint an operations section chief, who is usually from the same agency as the unified commander.

The entry into the loop of the planning cycle is when the IC/UC sets objectives. This is the first order of business when merging multiple single commands (fire, law enforcement, EMS, public health) into a unified command.

Once the decision is made to unify command, then the commanders also agree that all participants will contribute to one incident action plan, one set of unified objectives, one unified ordering point, one planning section, one logistics section and a joint information center.

The unified objectives should be set by those from all disciplines that are participating in the UC. It is facilitated by any member of the unified commanders. The agenda includes:

1. Identify the UC.

2. Identify jurisdictional/agency priorities and objectives.

3. Present jurisdictional/agency limitations, concerns or restrictions.

4. Develop a collective set of incident objectives.

5. Establish and agree on acceptable priorities.

6. Agree on basic organizational structure.

7. Designate the best-qualified and acceptable operations section chief.

8. Agree on general staff personnel designations and planning, logistical and financial agreements and procedures.

9. Agree on resource-ordering procedures.

At a bombing in a commercial building, the initial unified objectives may look like this:

• Provide safety for responders and civilians.
• Provide force protection for incident personnel and facilities.
• Search for secondary/sequential explosive devices.
• Monitor for radiological and chemical involvement.
• Provide multi-casualty medical activities.
• Develop search-and-rescue plan.
• Protect evidence and intelligence.

The objectives developed should meet the criteria outlined in the acronym SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, reasonable, time-activated). You'll see that there are fire, law enforcement and EMS objectives combined into one plan. This is a much better approach than three agencies doing their own thing and attempting to occasionally coordinate efforts.

The next step in the planning cycle is the 30-minute tactics meeting, facilitated by the PSC. This meeting immediately follows the operations and command personnel developing the objectives. An ICS system operational planning worksheet and division assignment list, both ICS Form 215, are great forms to have handy.

The next step in the cycle is preparing for the planning meeting, where the elements of the IAP are discussed, modified and brought to consensus. It is also the place where the coordination between strategy, tactics and tasks are forged. This meeting formalizes and communicates the current situation status, the incident priorities and required logistical support, and administrative procedures. During the planning meeting, a course of action is set and the specific framework of the incident action plan is established.

After this meeting, the planning section staff (resources unit, situation unit, documentation unit and technical specialists) ready other ICS sections to provide the necessary data to develop specific portions of the IAP. The strategic direction is taken from the initial UC meeting. The tactical priorities are gleaned from the tactics meeting. The medical, communications and facilities and traffic plans are developed from information and expertise in the operations and logistics section using available incident personnel and other specialists. The IAP is then signed off on by the unified commander.

One hour before shift change (the end of the operational period) signals the next stage in the planning process: the operations briefing. This is where the strategic plan is translated into the operational tactics, actions and tasks that must be performed by all incident resources established at the section level. The tactical briefings are given by the operations section chief to the branch directors, division and group supervisors, and appropriate unit leaders.

After the operations briefing, the shift change occurs. The oncoming shift is turned loose on the control objectives and the out-going shift is debriefed, updating situation status changes and processing of unit logs and other incident documentation.

As the process continues into the new operational period, the IAP is executed, and progress toward the new incident objectives is assessed. A continuous feedback loop must be established from the resources working under operations section and the situation unit in the planning section so that deviations from the current plan (both positive or negative) are analyzed, assessed and taken into account for the development of the next IAP.

Some changes in the next IAP might be:

• Identification of resources needs for the next operational period.
• Longer crew/personnel rotation times.
• Change in security levels/access.
• Transition from rescue to recovery modes.

The next set of activities are to re-enter the planning cycle and have the IC/UC set new objectives for the next operational period. This loop continues on a regular schedule until the incident is over and the incident command team is demobilized and released.

Whatever your position in the incident management process, the Planning P is a solid, comprehensive process that will keep your incident on track and on schedule. Most ICS practitioners will agree that in poorly managed incidents, the cause is a lack of structure and process as opposed to a lack of command and control experience and training.

Look at your ICS procedures and see if you can revise and implement this planning cycle as well as the ICS 201 incident briefing form as a basic, first step toward improving your incident management throughout your local, regional and state-wide responses.

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John Linstrom is a senior associate with Citygate Associates, a municipal consulting practice in Sacramento, Calif. He's an adjunct faculty member for Texas A&M University and the National Fire Academy. Linstrom currently serves as a battalion chief/paramedic in Apple Valley, Calif. He also serves as commander of the DHS/FEMA DMORT for Region IX and has been involved in the national US&R program since 1996.

Online Tools

As many states and response systems attempt to get their arms around what it really means to be NIMS-compliant, we can look at the National Wildfire Coordinating Group, www.nwcg.gov, to review its approach to compliance.

Also, the NIMS Integration Center, www.fema.gov/nims, is an excellent resource.

Finally, a diagram of the Operational Period Planning Cycle, or “The Planning P,” is available at www.uscg.mil/hq/g-m/mor/media/Chapter_3.pdf