It is now approximately 5:15 pm. You are the first supervisor on scene and there is a need to quickly to establish Incident Command.

Let’s review a few of the NIMS Management Characteristics that apply to determining the best approach for the Incident Command function in an incident:

• Establishment and Transfer of Command – the first on scene need to explicitly establish incident or unified command and clearly state and record when command is transferred.
• Chain of Command and Unity of Command – all responders must be under a single command structure led by a designated Incident Commander (IC) or Unified Command (UC).
• Unified Command – if multiple organizations, disciplines, or jurisdictions are involved in the response, is a single IC sufficient, or is there a need for a unified command? UC is normally used for incidents involving multiple jurisdictions, a single jurisdiction with multiagency involvement, or multiple jurisdictions with multiagency involvement.