The initial Incident Commander may continue to serve as a member of a Unified Command. It is also possible that the increase in complexity will lead to the appointment of more senior personnel to Incident Command.

Remember that Establishment and Transfer of Command is a NIMS Management Characteristic. You must clearly state and record when command is transferred.

The Transfer of Command should be conducted to create minimal disruption to the incident. Whenever possible, the Transfer of Command should include a complete briefing on the situation conducted face to face with the new Incident Commander or Unified Command.

The NIMS Management Characteristic Incident Action Planning also applies here. Incident objectives, tactics, and assignments for operations and support should be recorded and communicated through an Incident Action Plan (IAP). As your incident increased in size, complexity, and length, you should have started to document incident response activities in a written plan.

The ICS Form 201 is a standard format to record key situational information and document actions taken on an incident.