Incident Management System

• The first arriving line officer shall assume command and shall size up the incident.  The nature of the emergency, degree of involvement, endangered exposures, and other pertinent information shall be briefly radioed to Westmoreland 911.
• Upon the arrival of a senior line officer, the senior officer shall advise the Incident Commander (IC) whether command shall be transferred to the senior officer.
• The IC shall set up a command post, and shall issue orders to responding units for required operations.
• The IC shall identify the strategy and incident action plan.
• The IC shall review and evaluate the incident action plan periodically during the incident.
• If the incident action plan is changed during the incident, the IC shall communicate this change to all personnel operating at the incident.
• The IC shall determine tactical objectives, and shall assign other officers or members to particular functions within the operation, such as search and rescue, fire attack, protecting exposures, or water supply, as necessary to meet these tactical objectives.The IC shall assign other officers or members to particular geographical areas at the incident, such as interior, rear, pr roof, as necessary to meet the tactical objectives.
• The IC shall appoint and Incident Safety Officer (ISO) at all working incidents.
• The ISO shall have the authority to alter, suspend, or terminate any activities, which he/she judges to be unsafe or involve an imminent hazard.
• The ISO shall take appropriate action through the IC to mitigate or eliminate any unsafe condition, operation, or hazard that does not present and imminent danger.
• The IC shall, as soon as possible, assign at least two operational firefighters as a Rapid Intervention Team (RIT).  This team shall remain at a specific location ready for immediate assignment by the IC or the ISO in case of an emergency at the incident scene.
• The IC shall appoint a member as Accountability Officer (AO), to collect the Personnel Accountability Tags from all units or members at the scene.  The AO shall track all crews from all companies operating at the incident scene.
• The IC shall have the first responding EMS unit set up a Rehab Area and assign a Rehab Officer.
• The Rehab Officer shall be responsible for determining what additional EMS units are required at the incident scene.
• At incidents involving hostile situations, civil disturbances, or terrorism, the appropriate law enforcement agency shall be lead agency and will assume incident command.

April 2001