“Who’s In Charge?”

1. “Who’s In Charge?” “THE COMMAND SECTION”

2. The Incident/Unified Commander • Incident/Unified Commander(s) provides direction and guidance through: • Key command decisions • Setting incident priorities • Developing unified objectives • Making staff assignments to the Incident Management Team (IMT)

3. Command and the “P”

4. Command Section must … • Analyze the overall requirements of the incident: • Situational Awareness/Common Operational Picture • Resource Allocation/Status • Impact • Legal Implications • The Emergency Operations Plan

5. Command Section must … • Determine the most appropriate direction for the management team to follow relative to: • Life/Safety • Hazard Control • Property Conservation • Legal Issues • Capabilities • Political Will

6. Decisions • Incident name • Determining agencies that will be represented in Unified Command • Support facilities and locations • ICP, Base, JIC etc… • Operational periods

7. Decisions, decisions …

8. Decisions • Delegation of authority to the staff • Information management process • Staffing of primary positions (OSC and Deputy) • Incident Priorities • Unified Command Meeting • Unified Objectives • How Command will function • Deputies • Staff

9. Incident Priorities • Safety of responders and the public • Minimize further loss of property/impact on the environment • Mitigate further threat/attack • Infrastructure restoration • Investigate, apprehend and prosecute those responsible for the incident

10. Unified Incident Objectives • Safety • Search and Rescue • Fire/Salvage • Law Enforcement • Transportation Management • HazMat/Environmental

11. Objectives …

12. Developing Objectives • “SMART” Objectives • S - Specific • M - Measurable • A – Attainable • R - Relevant • T - Time-bound • Based on priorities (all stakeholders) • Written as “action” statements • The “Commander’s Intent”

13. Incident Objectives • SAFETY: • Provide for the safety and welfare of citizens and response personnel • Identify safety and risk management factors and monitor for compliance for both the public and responders • Conduct Operational Risk Assessment and ensure controls are in place to protect responders and the public.

14. Incident Objectives • Search and Rescue (SAR) • Account for all affected responders and civilians • Locate and evacuate all victims • Conduct joint agency SAR efforts

15. Incident Objectives • Fire and Salvage • Continue fire fighting operations and contain, extinguish and overhaul fire • Contain spread of fire to … • Conduct damage/stability assessment • Develop and implement a salvage plan

16. Incident Objectives • Law Enforcement • Establish and maintain enforcement of safety/ security zones • Establish incident security plan including credentialing and other scene control measures • Ensure a coordinated effort is in place for investigation, evidence collection, storage and security • Ensure witness/victim management procedures are in place

17. Incident Objectives • Transportation Management • Conduct roadway assessment and establish priorities for facilitating commerce • Establish and maintain coordination for possible movement of State/Federal assets • Develop and secure dedicated emergency access/egress routes

18. Incident Objectives • HazMat/Environmental • Ensure control of the source and minimize release of the product • Determine projected effect of product and identify sensitive area(s) • Develop strategies for protection … • Develop and implement a plan to effectively contain, clean up, recover and dispose of spilled product • Ensure continuous monitoring of impact zone

19. Management Objectives • The “Responder Safety Objective” • Manage a coordinated interagency response effort that reflects the makeup of Unified Command • Establish an appropriate IMT organization that can effectively meet the initial and long term challenges required to mitigate the incident • Identify all appropriate agency/organization mandates, practices, and protocols for inclusion in the overall response effort

20. Management Objectives (cont’d)… • Identify and minimize social, political and economic adverse effects • Implement a coordinated response with law enforcement and other responding agencies including MCEs • Evaluate all planned actions to determine potential impacts on social, political and economic entities • Identify competing response activities (LE and Mitigation) to ensure that they are closely coordinated

21. Tasks vs. Objectives • Incident Management Team members expect command to assign them specific tasks based on the unique characteristics of an incident • Common tasks that are normally performed by the staff during response should not be addressed as tasks • The Operations Section Chief normally receives tasks (work assignments) from command in the form of incident objectives

22. Putting the “Staff” to work …

23. Example of Common Tasks Safety Officer PIO Liaison Officer Intelligence Officer Planning Logistics Admin/Finance

24. Safety Officer • Develop a site safety plan, including support facilities • Monitor safety plan for compliance • Report any serious incidents, accidents, or injuries immediately to command

25. Public Information Officer • Develop a media strategy • Locate and establish a JIC • Provide talking points to Command for press briefings, VIP visits and town hall meetings

26. Liaison Officer • Develop a plan to ensure communication and coordination with appropriate stakeholders and assisting agencies • Keep Command informed of any stakeholder adverse feelings/relationships that may develop.

27. Intelligence Officer • Identify critical intelligence needs • Develop intelligence flow plan and brief IMT • Be the central point of coordination for all interagency intelligence organizations • Field Intelligence Support Teams • Joint Terrorism Task Forces • Intelligence Fusion Centers, etc… • Screen intelligence information for OPSEC/Security Sensitive Information (SSI) classification

28. Planning • Ensure that all off-site information reporting is approved by Command prior to release • Develop a contingency plan for sustaining long-term IMT staffing • Brief IMT staff on document control system, including handling and storing secure documents • Provide all documents that need review or approval by Command at least one hour prior to implementation or release

29. Logistics • Develop and brief the IMT on the internal/external resource ordering process • Monitor for compliance • Ensure that appropriate security is established at incident support facilities • Develop and establish a secure communications plan for both internal and external use and brief the IMT staff.

30. Finance/Admin • Provide Command with a summary cost estimate • Establish a claims system and brief the IMT on the process • Advise Command of unusual high cost (i.e. specialized equipment use, workers comp issues, etc.)

31. The Incident/Unified Commander … • Provides direction and guidance through: • Key decisions • Setting priorities • Developing objectives • Making staff assignments • Coordinates interaction of the sections • Issues the “Commander’s Intent” • Has the ultimate responsibility