Box 6: What is the Incident Command System (ICS)?

Box 6: What is the Incident Command System (ICS)?

The Incident Command System (ICS) provides a standardized, on-scene and off-scene, all-hazard incident management concept designed to enable effective and efficient incident management by integrating a combination of facilities, equipment, personnel, procedures, and communications operating within a common organizational structure. It allows management teams to adopt an integrated organizational structure to match the complexities and demands of single or multiple incidents involving multiple agencies and includes all the personnel at the scene of an incident, such as first responders, public health personnel, emergency planners, personnel from environmental agencies, and toxicologists [WHO, 2009; FEMA, 2017; OSHA, 2005]. The ICS structure is recommended by the United Nations [WHO, 2009] and is used in many countries, including Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom. The ICS is normally structured to facilitate activities in five major functional areas: command, operations, planning, logistics, and finance and administration. A typical ICS structure is shown below [OSHA, 2005; BCERMS, 2015; KMC, 2016]:

When responding to an emergency situation, the ICS sets objectives based on the following priorities [WHO, 2009]:

1. life saving; 2. incident stabilization; and 3. property preservation.

ICS training is provided by Canadian institutions [NAIT, 2017, JIBC, 2016] and through online courses [FEMA, 2017a; FEMA, 2017b; OSHA, 2018]