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Lesson Overview
The ICS Organization: Part I lesson introduces you to the:
- Organizational structure of ICS.
- Five major management functions.
- Principle of span of control.
- Use of position titles.
- Roles and responsibilities of the Incident Commander and Command Staff.
This lesson should take approximately 30 minutes to complete. Remember, you must complete the entire lesson to receive credit.
ICS Organization
There is no correlation between the ICS organization and the administrative structure of any single agency or jurisdiction. This is deliberate, because confusion over different position titles and organizational structures has been a significant stumbling block to effective incident management in the past.
For example, the Department of Agriculture has an Office of Communication. This office has no relationship to the position of Communication Unit Leader in ICS, which is responsible for the hardware that the ICS organization uses to communicate.
Performance of Management Functions
Every incident or event requires that certain management functions be performed. The problem must be identified and assessed, a plan to deal with it developed and implemented, and the necessary resources procured and paid for.
Even if an incident is very small, and only one or two people are involved, these management functions still will apply to some degree.
Five Major Management Functions
There are five major management functions that are the foundation upon which the ICS organization develops. These functions apply whether you are handling a routine emergency, organizing for a major nonemergency event, or managing a response to a major disaster. The five major management functions are:
- Incident Command
- Operations
- Planning
- Logistics
- Finance/Administration
Management Function Descriptions
Below is a brief description of each ICS function:
- Command: Sets incident objectives and priorities and has overall responsibility at the incident or event.
- Operations: Conducts tactical operations to carry out the plan. Develops the tactical assignments and organization, and directs all tactical resources.
- Planning: Prepares and documents the Incident Action Plan to accomplish the incident objectives, collects and evaluates information, maintains resource status, and maintains documentation for incident records.
- Logistics: Provides support, resources, and all other services needed to meet the incident objectives.
- Finance/Administration: Monitors costs related to the incident. Provides accounting, procurement, time recording, and cost analyses.
Activity
The ICS Management Functions can be applied to something as common as planning a vacation. For each ICS Management Function, list the vacation activities that you would perform.
Management Function Vacation Activity Command Establish a budget and select the destination. Operations Select the method of travel, determine the route to the destination, and operate the vehicle. Planning Find the most expedient route to the destination, determine whether there is any current road construction or other obstacles, and determine how many miles will be traveled. Logistics Arrange for vehicle, fuel, lodging, and food. Finance/Administration Pay for the trip.
ICS Position Titles
To maintain span of control, the ICS organization can be divided into many levels of supervision. At each level, individuals with primary responsibility positions have distinct titles. Using specific ICS position titles serves three important purposes:
- Titles provide a common standard all users. For example, if one agency uses the title Branch Chief, another Branch Manager, etc., this lack of consistency can cause confusion at the incident.
- The use of distinct titles for ICS positions allows for filling ICS positions with the most qualified individuals rather than by rank.
- Standardized position titles is useful when requesting qualified personnel. For example, in ordering personnel, it is important to know if the positions needed are Unit Leaders, clerks, etc.
Supervisory Position Titles
The titles for all supervisory levels of the organization are shown in the table below.
Organizational Level Title Support Position Incident Command Incident Commander Deputy Command Staff Officer Assistant General Staff (Section) Chief Deputy Branch Director Deputy Division/Group Supervisor N/A Unit Leader Manager Strike Team/Task Force Leader Single Resource Boss
ICS Organizational Components
Sections: The organizational levels with responsibility for a major functional area of the incident (e.g., Operations, Planning, Logistics, Finance/Administration). The person in charge of each Section is designated as a Chief.
Divisions: Used to divide an incident geographically. The person in charge of each Division is designated as a Supervisor.
Groups: Used to describe functional areas of operations. The person in charge of each Group is designated as a Supervisor.
Branches: Used when the number of Divisions or Groups extends the span of control. Can be either geographical or functional. The person in charge of each Branch is designated as a Director.
Task Forces: A combination of mixed resources with common communications operating under the direct supervision of a Task Force Leader.
Strike Teams: A set number of resources of the same kind and type with common communications operating under the direct supervision of a Strike Team Leader.
Single Resources: May be individuals, a piece of equipment and its personnel complement, or a crew or team of individuals with an identified supervisor that can be used at an incident.
Roles and Responsibilities
You should now be familiar with the basic ICS organizational structure, the five major management functions, and the principle of span of control.
In this section, you'll learn about the expansion of the ICS organization and the roles and responsibilities of the Incident Commander and Command Staff.
Incident Commander’s Overall Role
The Incident Commander has overall responsibility for managing the incident. The Incident Commander must be fully briefed and should have a written delegation of authority. Initially, assigning tactical resources and overseeing operations will be under the direct supervision of the Incident Commander.
Expanding the Organization
As incidents grow, the Incident Commander may delegate authority for performance of certain activities to the Command Staff and the General Staff.
- Command Staff: The Command Staff provide information, safety, and liaison services for the entire organization.
- General Staff: The General Staff are assigned functional authority for Operations, Planning, Logistics, and Finance/Administration.
Command Staff
Depending upon the size and type of incident or event, it may be necessary for the Incident Commander to designate personnel to provide information, safety, and liaison services for the entire organization. In ICS, these personnel make up the Command Staff and consist of the:
Public Information Officer , who serves as the conduit for information to internal and external stakeholders, including the media or other organizations seeking information directly from the incident or event. Safety Officer , who monitors safety conditions and develops measures for assuring the safety of all assigned personnel. Liaison Officer , who serves as the primary contact for supporting agencies assigned to an incident.
Meet the Command Staff
Public Information Officer
“I report directly to the Incident Commander and advise him or her on issues related to information dissemination and media relations. I am the primary contact for anyone who wants information about the incident and our response to it. I serve both an external audience through the media, and an internal audience including both incident staff and agency personnel. It’s very important for me to coordinate with other information staff to ensure that we do not issue confusing or conflicting information. Since the Planning Section is gathering intelligence and other information pertinent to the incident, I get a lot of my information from them. Accurate information is essential. In the end, the Incident Commander will approve all information that I release. During a complex incident, I will probably need several Assistant Public Information Officers to help me.”
Safety Officer
“My job is to make sure everyone does the job safely and gets home in one piece. I advise the Incident Commander on issues regarding incident safety, but I would like to emphasize that safety is everyone’s responsibility. I work very closely with Operations to make sure that our people in the field are as safe as possible under the circumstances, including wearing appropriate protective equipment and implementing the safest tactical options. I conduct risk analyses and implement hazard mitigation measures. I normally do this through the planning process, but I do have the authority to stop any unsafe activity that I observe. While a lot of my attention is focused on Operations, I am also concerned about safety for the rest of the organization. I minimize other employee risk by promoting safe driving habits, eliminating tripping hazards, ensuring safe food handling, things like that. I spend a lot of time out of the command post looking at what’s going on. During a complex incident, I will need quite a few assistants to be my eyes and ears.”
Liaison Officer
“I’m the go between. I assist the Incident Commander by gathering information about agencies that are supporting our efforts on this incident. The Incident Commander’s time is devoted to managing the incident, so my job is to serve as a facilitator for cooperating and assisting agencies if they are not represented in the command. I provide briefings to agency representatives and work with them to address their questions and concerns about the operation. I ask agency representatives about restrictions on their resources that may impact how we can use them or special support requirements that they might have. I also ask about availability of any other specialized resources they might have that may prove useful. What I don’t do is try to coordinate their tactical activities. Operations needs to do that. During a complex incident, I may have a lot of agency representatives, but I can usually handle the job myself.”
