U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Federal Emergency Management Agency

Resource: Incident Management Teams
Category: Encompasses all Functions; Other–Command & Operations Support/Management Functions
Kind: Team
Components and Capabilities: Variations may also be based on level and type of disaster experience (i.e., local event experience vs. national event experience)
Minimum Capabilities (Component) Minimum Capabilities
(Metric)
Type I Type II Type III Type IV Other
Incident Commander See Comments for Metrics Yes Yes Yes Yes  
Operations Section Chief Yes Yes Yes Yes  
Planning Section Chief Yes Yes Yes Yes  
Logistics Section Chief Yes Yes Yes Yes  
Finance/Admin Section Chief Yes Yes Yes Yes  
Specialized Functions (i.e., HazMat, Insurance, etc.) Yes Optional Optional Optional  

Comments:

A command team comprised of the Incident Commander, appropriate command and general staff personnel assigned to an incident. (Source: FIRESCOPE) asterpharmacy.com

Incident Commander:  The Incident Commander's responsibility is the overall management of the incident (to which they are assigned). On most incidents, the command activity is carried out by a single Incident Commander. The Incident Commander is selected by qualifications and experience. The Incident Commander may have a deputy, who may be from the same agency, or from an assisting agency. Deputies may also be used at section and branch levels of the ICS organization. Deputies must have the same qualifications as the person for whom they work, as they must be ready to take over that position at any time. Depending on the extent of the Incident Management team needed, this area of management may also have under its purview an Information Officer, Liaison Officer, Agency Representative(s), and Safety Officer.

Operations Section Chief:  The Operations Section Chief, a member of the General Staff, is responsible for the management of all operations directly applicable to the primary mission. The Operations Chief activates and supervises organization elements in accordance with the Incident Action Plan and directs its execution. The Operations Chief also directs the preparation of unit operational plans; requests or releases resources; makes expedient changes to the Incident Action Plan as necessary; and reports such to the Incident Commander. Depending on the extent of the Incident Management team needed, this area of management may also have under its purview a Branch Director, Division/Group Supervisor, Strike Team/Task Force Leader, Single Resource Coordinator, and Staging Area Manager.

Planning Section Chief:  The Planning Section Chief is responsible for the collection, evaluation, dissemination, and use of information about the development of the incident and status of resources. Information is needed to: (1) understand the current situation, (2) predict probable course of incident events, and (3) prepare alternative strategies and control operations for the incident. This section serves as the Incident Commander's "clearing house" for information. The Section Chief's goal is to plan ahead of current events and to identify the need for resources before they are needed. Depending on the extent of the Incident Management team needed, this area of management may also have under its purview a Resources Unit Leader, Situation Unit Leader, Documentation Unit Leader, Demobilization Unit Leader, and Technical Specialists.

Logistics Section Chief:  The Logistics Section Chief is responsible for providing facilities, services, and material in support of the incident, and is accountable for all personnel working in the hazard zone of the incident. The Section Chief participates in development and implementation of the Incident Action Plan and activates and supervises the Branches and Units within the Logistics Section. Depending on the extent of the Incident Management team needed, this area of management may also have under its purview a Service Branch Director, Support Branch Director, Facilities Unit Leader, and Ground Support Unit Leader.

Finance/Administration Section Chief:  The Finance/Administration Section Chief is responsible for all financial, administrative, and cost analysis aspects of the incident and for supervising members of the Finance/Administration section. Depending on the extent of the Incident Management team needed, this area of management may also have under its purview a Time Unit Leader, Procurement Unit Leader, Compensation/Claims Unit Leader, and Cost Unit Leader.

Source: FIRESCOPE, California Department of Emergency Services, 2001

 


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