Unified Command

Unified Command Definition: Is an authority structure in which the role of incident commander is shared by two or more individuals, each already having authority in a different responding agency.

Unified Command Attributes o Enables all responsible agencies work together to establish a common set of: o Incident OBJECTIVES (WHAT) o Strategies/Tactics (HOW) o Maintains unity of command. Each employee only reports to one supervisor. o No one is expected to violate their own department/district’s training, policies, or practices.

Unified Command “But who has the final say?”

Unified Command RELATIONSHIPS O Relationships must be built BEFORE the incident. O “2 AM is NOT the time to be exchanging business cards”

Unified Command With an org chart and a comm plan, you can run any incident.

Key Roles O Unified Commander O Operations Section Chief O Division or Group Supervisor O Public Information Officer

Key Roles O Unified Commander: O Overall responsible for the incident O Sets objectives O Handles the politics O Makes final/key policy decisions O Should be looking a mile down the road O DOES NOT DIRECTLY CONTROL ASSETS/RESOURCES IN THE FIELD.

Key Roles O Operations Section Chief: O DIRECTLY CONTROLS ASSETS/RESOURCES IN THE FIELD O Determines HOW to accomplish the Commander’s objectives with the resources available O Determines what additional resources to order

Key Roles O Division or Group Supervisor O Division is a geographic section of the incident O Group is a functional section of the incident O Supervises and coordinates the work of the personnel assigned to his/her Division or Group. O Reports to the Operations Section Chief

Key Roles O Public Information Officer O Handles all media O MUST COORDINATE WITH ALL AGENCIES O News travels fast, try to keep up O COORDINATE WITH ALL AGENCIES O Give the media information or they will find it themselves O Make sure you coordinate with all agencies

Priorities:  Life Safety-  Comes before everything else.  Should be the automatic response of first responders initially.  Stop the killing; Stop the dying;  Incident Stabilization-  Don’t let it get worse.  Contain the incident  Remove potential additional victims  Property-  Prevent property damage  Everything else:  Investigation, interview victims/witnesses, forensics, peer support  Student Re-unification  Media  HINT: make a quick list of tasks or issues to be handled, also known as “Incident Size-up,” rank them in priority, and work from there.

Unified Command (LE, Fire, School) Law Enforcement 1. Stop shooter 2. Locate victims 3. Establish perimeter 4. ID crime scenes 5. Begin Crim Inv (OIS) Fire 1. Locate, TTT Victims (Triage, Treat, Transport) 2. Provide patient tracking 3. Provide on-scene support School 1. Provide intel to LE 2. Account for students and staff 3. Transport students and staff to reunification location JIS (LE, Fire, School, Hospitals)

Overall Tips 1) Organize by FUNCTION or LOCATION, with a manageable span of control.

Overall Tips o Unified Commanders should be a little distance from the chaos of the scene. o Allows you to get the big picture o Reduces information overload o Allows you to think ahead/proactively to address future problems o Guide overall operation o Should be able to stand and hold a cup of coffee

Overall Tips o Even for Supervisors, Ops Chief, Unified Commanders, don’t forget calming techniques: o Breathing- slow, deep, rhythmic o Slow down- deliberate actions end up taking less time than frantic actions o Focus on one task at a time o These allow you to think more clearly and make better decisions.

Overall Tips o These large incidents require a lot of staff. Even having extra staff to answer phones, scribe, run errands, etc can be HUGELY helpful. o Extra staff can: o Set up a better ICP for you o Set up/run reunification o Help the PIOs/JIS handle the media o Provide Logistics support