Book 30 Command

Question 1

INCIDENT COMMAND PROCEDURES

To fix the responsibility for Incident Command on a specific individual through a standard identification system, depending on the arrival sequence of members, companies, and Command Officers shall.

Ensure that a strong, dedicated, and visible Incident Command will be established from the
onset of the incident.

Establish an effective incident organization, defining the activities and responsibilities
assigned to the Incident Commander and the other individuals operating within the Incident Command System.

Provide a system to process information to support incident management, planning, and
decision making.

Provide a system for the orderly transfer of Incident Command to subsequent arriving officers.

Answer 1

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Question 2

The Incident Commander is responsible for the overall management of the incident.

Operations will manage all activities directly applicable to the primary mission(s) and ensure the overall safety and welfare of all operating resources. Of primary concern to Operations will be the addressing of the tactical priorities.

Answer 2

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Question 3

The tactical priorities (listed in order of priority) are:

1. RESCUE - Remove endangered occupants/persons and treat the injured.
2. HAZARD CONTROL - Stabilize the incident, neutralize all hazards and provide for life safety.
3. LOSS LIMITING - Conserve property and limit further impact.
4. VICTIM/OCCUPANT STABILITIZATION - Provide for the safety, accountability, and welfare of non-responders affected by the incident. This priority is on-going throughout the incident.
5. SAFETY - Provide for the safety, accountability, and welfare of all responders at the incident. This priority is on-going throughout the incident.

Answer 3

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Question 4

The Standards of Command ( 8 ) define those standard activities that are performed by the Incident Commander to achieve the tactical priorities and incident objectives. The Standards of Command are:

1) ASSUMPTION OF COMMAND - Assume and announce Incident Command and establish an
effective Incident Command Post.

2) SITUATIONAL AWARENESS - Rapidly evaluate the situation (size-up) and continually update,
and /or obtain briefing from the previous IC.

3) COMMUNICATIONS – Identify, develop, initiate, maintain, and control the communications
process, establish a communications plan.

4) INCIDENT OBJECTIVES, STRATEGY AND INCIDENT ACTION PLAN– Based on the tactical priorities, identify incident objectives, an overall strategy and develop an incident action plan.

5) RESOURCE DEPLOYMENT - Assign resources consistent with plans and standard operating
procedures, standard operating guidelines and the incident action plan.

6) INCIDENT ORGANIZATION – Develop an effective Incident Command organization based on incident objectives and initiate/maintain a tactical worksheet.
7) EVALUATE AND REVISE - Review, evaluate, and revise (as needed) the Incident Management plan based on conditions, actions and needs.
8) TRANSITION OF COMMAND - Provide for the continuity, transfer, and termination of Incident Command.

The ________ is responsible for all of the Standards of Command.

The first ___ Standards of Command must be addressed immediately, anytime there is an assumption of Incident Command.

Answer 4

Incident Commander

six (6)

Question 5

The Size-Up shall include:

A. Unit designation of the resource arriving on the scene.

B. The address or location of the incident.

C. A brief description of the incident situation, (i.e. building size, occupancy, Hazmat release, multi-vehicle accident, etc.)

D. Obvious conditions (working fire, Hazmat spill, multiple patients, etc.).

E. Brief description of action taken or to be taken.

F. Any obvious safety concerns.

G. Any additional resource requests and a staging location.

H. Declare offensive or defensive strategy, if appropriate.

Answer 5

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Question 6

The radio designation “Incident Command” or “IC” will be used along with the geographical location of the incident (i.e. “Alvarado IC”, “Metro IC”).

Answer 6

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Question 7

Where fast intervention is critical, utilization of the portable radio will permit the company officer’s involvement in the attack without neglecting Incident Command responsibilities.

Answer 7

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Question 8

If the company officer assumes the Incident Command mode, the following options are available regarding the assignment of their remaining crew members.

A. The company officer who remains as the Incident Commander may place the company into action with a member who is designated as the Acting Company Officer. The individual and collective experience of the crew will regulate this action.

B. The officer may assign their crew members to work under the supervision of another
company officer. In such cases, the officer assuming Incident Command must clearly communicate with the officer of the other company and indicate the assignment of those personnel.

C. The officer may elect to assign the crew members to perform staff functions to assist
Incident Command, such as information reconnaissance, filling out the tactical worksheet, etc.

Answer 8

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Question 9

The following guidelines outline the progressive transfer of Incident Command.

A. The first Fire Department resource/member arriving on the scene will automatically assume Incident Command. This will normally be a company officer, but could be any sworn fire department member, regardless of rank.

B. The first arriving company officer will assume Incident Command after transfer of Incident Command procedures have been completed.

C. The first arriving Truck Company officer will assume Incident Command after transfer of Incident Command procedures have been completed.

D. The first arriving Battalion Chief shall assume Incident Command, following transfer of
Incident Command procedures.

E. Assumption of Incident Command is discretionary for all ranks above Battalion Chief.

Answer 9

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Question 10

When a Chief Officer arrives on the scene at the same time as the initial arriving Company, the Chief Officer shall assume Incident Command.

To prevent this “gap”, Incident Command SHALL NOT BE PASSED OR TRANSFERRED TO AN OFFICER WHO IS NOT ON THE SCENE.

Answer 10

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Question 11

Should a situation occur where a later arriving Company Officer or Chief Officer cannot locate or communicate with the initial Incident Commander (after several radio attempts), they will assume command, announce their assumption of command and initiate whatever actions are necessary to confirm the safety of the initial Incident Command resource.

Answer 11

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Question 12

Within the chain of Incident Command, the actual Transfer of Incident Command will be regulated by the following procedure:

A. The officer assuming Incident Command will communicate with the person being relieved
by radio or face-to-face. Face-to-face is the preferred method to transfer Incident Command.

B. The person being relieved will brief the officer assuming Incident Command indicating at
least the following:

1. General situation status (CONDITIONS): Incident conditions (fire location and extent, Hazmat spill or release, number of patients, etc.)

Incident Action Plan (offensive, defensive, etc.)

Status of the tactical priorities.

Safety considerations.

2. Deployment and assignments of operating companies and personnel (ACTIONS). 3. Appraisals of need for additional resources (NEEDS).

C. The person being relieved of Incident Command should review the tactical worksheet (the dispatch printout with tactical notes, the F-666 or the ICS-201) with the officer assuming

Incident Command. The tactical worksheet provides the most effective foundation for Incident

Command transfer as it outlines the location and status of personnel and resources in a
standard format that should be well-known to all members.

The mere arrival of a higher ranking officer on scene does not mean that Incident Command has been automatically transferred to that officer. Incident Command is only transferred when the above outlined transfer of Incident Command process has been completed.

Answer 12

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Question 13

The Incident Commander is responsible for managing the incident. The fire department empowers the Incident Commander with the authority to turn their decisions into actions (formulate a plan and assign companies). Simply stated, the Incident Commander outranks everybody*. If a higher ranking officer wants to affect a change in the management of an incident, they must first be on the scene of the incident, and then implement the transfer of command procedures.

Note: Any member can effect a change in incident management in extreme situations relating to safety by notifying Incident Command and initiating corrective action.

Answer 13

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Question 14

When there are no working incidents METRO FIRE COMMUNICATIONS (MFC) operates as Department Command under the supervision of the Deputy Department Commander (DDC).

Answer 14

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Question 15

The Platoon-Duty Assistant Chief (AC) assigned to the incident will normally be the highest ranking officer in the Incident Command Post. The Chief Officer who has served as the “initial” Incident Commander will normally continue to focus on the completion of the tactical priorities and assume the role of “Deputy IC”, “Operations.”, or Planning Section Chief based upon the needs of the Incident and the A/C would become the Incident Commander.

Answer 15

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Question 16

The basic configuration of Incident Command addresses three operational levels:

Strategic Level - Overall direction of the incident.

Tactical Level - Objectives assigned to Divisions, Groups, etc.

Task Level - Work assigned to individual companies/members.

Answer 16

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Question 17

The Strategic

Level responsibilities include:

Determining the appropriate strategy: OFFENSIVE OR DEFENSIVE

Establishing a strategic plan for the incident.

Developing an Incident Action Plan.

Obtaining and allocating resources.

Predicting outcomes and planning.

Assigning specific objectives to tactical level resources.

Ensuring that Staging (and Base, when applicable) has been established and functional.

Answer 17

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Question 18

Tactical Level

officers include Division/Group Supervisors, who are in charge of grouped resources. Tactical Level officers (Division/Group Supervisors) are responsible for geographic areas or functions, and supervising personnel assigned to their respective Division/Group.

Answer 18

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Question 19

The Task Level refers to those activities normally accomplished by a company(ies) or specific personnel. The task level is where the hands-on work is actually done.

Answer 19

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Question 20

Whenever two resources are assigned to the same geographic area or function at an incident, one of the officers shall be placed in command of that geographic area or function (Division/Group Supervisor).

Answer 20

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Question 21

Where the number of Divisions/Groups exceed the span of control that the Incident Commander can effectively manage, the incident organization should be divided into Branches.

Answer 21

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Question 22

The Incident Commander determines strategic goals and assigns tactical priorities and resources to the Divisions/Groups. Each Division/Group Supervisor is responsible for the tactical deployment of the resources at their disposal in order to complete the tactical priorities assigned by the Incident Commander. Division/Group Supervisors are also responsible for communicating needs and progress to Incident Command.

Answer 22

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Question 23

The use of Divisions/Groups effectively reduces the overall amount of radio traffic. Most routine communications within a Division/Group should be conducted in a face-to-face manner between company officers and their Division/Group Supervisor.

Answer 23

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Question 24

When establishing a Division/Group, the Incident Commander will assign each Division/Group Supervisor:

A. Tactical objectives.

B. A radio designation (Roof Division/Group, Division “Alpha”, Ventilation Group, Division 14, etc.)

C. The identity of resources assigned to the Division/Group.

Answer 24

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Question 25

Division/Group Supervisors assigned to operate within the IDLH must be accompanied by a partner (normally a Firefighter/Staff Assistant).

Answer 25

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Question 26

Rehab is part of the Medical Unit in the Logistics Section.

Answer 26

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Question 27

As the incident organization grows in complexity and/or scope and/or the span of control within existing Divisions/Groups is maximized, the Incident Commander may implement an additional intermediate level within the Incident Command organization know as Branching.

Answer 27

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Question 28

The Branch level of the organization is designed to provide COORDINATION between the Divisions/Groups and Incident Command. Branch Directors supervise and manage a number of Division/Group Supervisors, and report to the Incident Commander or Operations.

Answer 28

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Question 29

Strategic Level - Incident Commander

Coordination Level - Branch Directors

Tactical Level - Division/Group Supervisors

Task Level – Company Officers

Answer 29

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Question 30

The intent of the Branch Level of the Incident Command structure is to divide an incident into manageable components and reduce the Incident Commander’s span of control.

Answer 30

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Question 31

Branch Directors manage and direct activities of Division/Group Supervisors.

Answer 31

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Question 32

The radio designation of a Branch may reflect its function,geographic area, or may be numbered. (i.e., Fire Control Branch, Medical Branch, High Rise Branch, Branch II, etc.).

Answer 32

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Question 33

Normally, the Fire Department’s involvement and needs at an incident can be managed implementing four of the five
ICS sections. They are:

Incident Command (previously discussed)

The Operations Section

The Planning Section

The Logistics Section

Answer 33

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Question 34

The Operations Section is responsible for completing the tactical priorities, and the safety and welfare of the personnel working in the Operations Section.

Answer 34

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Question 35

Implementing an “Operations” radio designation indicates a transition of command. It is absolutely essential that all personnel operating at the incident be made aware of the activation of “Operations”. All Division/Group Supervisors and/or Branch Directors must then direct their communications to the “Operations” officer.

The Operations Chief will normally communicate face to face with the Incident Commander to request additional resources, provide progress reports, etc.

Answer 35

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Question 36

Once the Operations Chief is in place and functioning, the Incident Commander’s focus should be on the strategic issues, overall strategic planning and other components of the incident. This focus is to
look at the “big picture” and the impact of the incident from a broad perspective. The Incident
Commander should provide direction, advice and guidance to the Operations Chief in directing the tactical aspects of the incident.

Answer 36

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Question 37

The Planning Section is responsible for developing and maintaining the incident’s situational awareness. Situational awareness would include the gathering, assimilating, analyzing, and
processing of incident relevant information needed for effective decision making.

Situation Status
Resource Status

Answer 37

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Question 38

The Logistics Section is the support mechanism for the organization. Logistics provides services and support systems to all the organizational components involved in the incident. Incident Command
may assign the Logistics Section its own radio channel.

Medical unit/rehab
Base

Answer 38

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Question 39

Incident Command terminology is required anytime when?

Answer 39

a category “B” assignment is held to work at an incident.

Question 40

In a stationary command post, An ____ shall be initiated to assist in managing resources.

Answer 40

Tactical worksheet

Question 41

Book 30 Command

When a Division Command Team is working with a Battalion Command Team at an Incident Command Post there are _____ members responsible for implementing the Standards of Command.

Answer 41

four (4)

Question 42

Book 30 Command

Ensure that a strong, dedicated, and _____ Incident Command will be established from the onset of the incident.

Answer 42

visible

Question 43

Book 30 Command

The primary function of a company officer working within a Division/Group is to direct the operations of their individual ____ in performing assigned task.

Answer 43

crews