1. INCIDENT COMMAND SYSTEM (ICS)
DEFINITION
A nationally used standardized on-scene emergency management system specifically designed to allow its user(s) to adopt an integrated organizational structure.
*FIRESCOPE (Firefighting Resources of California Organized for Potential Emergencies) is a cooperative inter-agency program established by the fire services.

2. How Will You Operate in an Emergency?
What should happen…
When…
At whose direction.

3. Planning Steps
Step 1: Identify key players. Step 2: Develop considerations. Step 3: Identify resource requirements. Step 4: Establish chain of command and lines of succession. Step 5: Develop the response plan.

4. Who Should Be Involved as Key Players?
Local Emergency Manager
Local service agency personnel
Local police, fire department
Senior Leadership
School Superintendent
Campus Leadership
School Principals, Directors
Transportation Coordinator

5. Who Should Be Involved?
What internal expertise (employee skills) do you have to help develop your plan?
Faculty/Staff
English teacher or newspaper advisor
Science teacher
School Nurse
_________________________________
Cafeteria Supervisor
Building and Grounds Supervisor

6. Preparing for the Situation
Hazards and Probability of impact
Campus buildings potentially affected
Locations of special populations
Critical resource needs
Campus and area maps

7. How Will You Operate?
All schools should have an organizational system in place that includes:
The person in charge and their line of
succession.
Administrative staff.
Faculty.
Maintenance personnel.

8. ICS Principles
Emergencies require certain tasks or functions to be performed.
Every incident needs a person in charge.
No one should direct more than 7 others.
No one should report to more than 1 person.

9. ICS Principles
To ensure that school and response personnel are “speaking the same language”:
No codes should be used unless absolutely
necessary.
When codes are necessary, ensure that both
school and response personnel know them in
advance.

10. ICS Organization Incident Commander Information Officer Safety Officer
Liaison Officer
Operations
Planning
Logistics
Finance/Admin

11. Incident Command System
Incident Commander responsibilities:
Assess the situation
Establish objectives
Track resource availability
Develop and monitor the action plan
Ensure proper documentation
Appoint additional staff as necessary

12. School Site ICS Organization
Principal
(School Commander)
Health Teacher (Safety Officer)
English Teacher (Information Officer)
Assistant Principal (Liaison Officer)
Science Teacher (Operations Chief)
History Teacher (Planning Chief)
Social Studies Teacher (Logistics Chief)
Math Teacher (Finance/Admin Chief)

13. How Will You Operate?
What other assignments might you need in a severe emergency or disaster?
Search and rescue
Medical
Student care and reunification
Crisis Response

14. School Site ICS Structure
Incident Commander
Safety Officer
Information Officer
Liaison Officer
Operations
Planning
Logistics
Admin
Security
Documentation
S&R
Situation Analysis
Medical
Student Care
Student Release
Crisis Response

15. Incident Commander: Principal
Medical Incident
Incident Commander: Principal
Operations
Logistics
Planning
Administration
EMS Medic
Ambulance

16. Major Incident Incident Commander Safety Officer Information Officer
Liaison Officer
Operations
Planning
Logistics
Admin
All Agencies
Red Cross
District
Staging
Police
Fire
School

17. ORGANIZATIONAL FLEXIBILITY
Review
ORGANIZATIONAL FLEXIBILITY
Only activate the branches that you need.
Management
Public Information Officer
Only those parts of the planned organization that are necessary to meet current objectives need to be activated, and the organization can be arranged in various ways within or under the five SEMS functions.
Operations
Logistics
Finance & Administration
Planning & Intelligence

18. CONSISTENT HEIRARCHY Review
Appropriate supervision ratio (Span of Control)
3 to 7 personnel per supervisor
Clear organizational lines of authority
(Chain of Command)
Means that all parts of the organization within each activated SEMS level are linked together to form a single overall organization.