The Functional Areas and Positions unit introduces you to ICS organizational components, the Command Staff, the General Staff, and ICS tools.

This unit presents information that is similar to materials covered in the ICS-100 course. Note that the discussion of the positions will be more detailed than the coverage in the ICS-100 course.

The objectives of this unit are as follows:

• Describe the functions of organizational positions within the Incident Command System (ICS).
• Identify the ICS tools needed to manage an incident.
• Demonstrate the use of an ICS Form 201, Incident Briefing.

This unit provides more indepth information on ICS.

The Incident Commander:

• Has overall incident management responsibility delegated by the appropriate jurisdictional authority.
• Develops the incident objectives to guide the incident planning process.
• Approves the Incident Action Plan and all requests pertaining to the ordering and releasing of incident resources.

In some situations or agencies, a lower ranking but more qualified person may be designated as the Incident Commander.

The Incident Commander may have one or more Deputies. Deputies may be assigned at the Incident Command, Section, or Branch levels. The only ICS requirement regarding the use of a Deputy is that the Deputy must be fully qualified and equally capable to assume the position.

The three primary reasons to designate a Deputy Incident Commander are to:

• Perform specific tasks as requested by the Incident Commander.
• Perform the incident command function in a relief capacity (e.g., to take over for the next operational period). In this case, the Deputy will assume the primary role.
• Represent an assisting agency that may share jurisdiction or have jurisdiction in the future.

The Command Staff is only activated in response to the needs of the incident. The Command Staff includes the following positions:

• Public Information Officer
• Liaison Officer
• Safety Officer

Ask the participants:

What are the major responsibilities of the Public Information Officer?

Acknowledge the participants’ responses. If not mentioned by the participants, add the following:

• The Public Information Officer is responsible for interfacing with the public and media and/or with other agencies with incident-related information requirements.
• The Public Information Officer develops accurate and complete briefings and releases on the incident’s cause, size, and current situation; resources committed; and other matters of general interest for both internal and external consumption.
• The Public Information Officer may also perform a key public information-monitoring role.
• Whether the command structure is single or unified, only one incident Public Information Officer should be designated. Assistants may be assigned from other agencies or departments involved. The Incident Commander must approve the release of all incident-related information.

Ask the participants:

What are some examples of types of incidents where you might activate a Safety Officer?

Acknowledge the participants’ responses. Add any examples from your past experience. Be sure to mention that designation of a Safety Officer is required for all HazMat incidents.

Summarize the following Safety Officer responsibilities:

• The Safety Officer monitors incident operations and advises the Incident Commander on all matters relating to operational safety, including the health and safety of emergency responder personnel.
• Although the ultimate responsibility for safety rests with the Incident Commander and supervisors, the Safety Officer is responsible for establishing systems and procedures to ensure emergency responder safety, as well as the general safety of incident operations.
• The Safety Officer has emergency authority to stop and/or prevent unsafe acts during incident operations.
• The Safety Officer, Operations Section Chief, and Planning Section Chief must coordinate closely regarding operational safety and emergency responder health and safety issues.
• The Safety Officer must also ensure the coordination of safety management functions and issues across jurisdictions, across functional agencies, and with private-sector and nongovernmental organizations.

Ask the participants:

What are the major responsibilities of the Liaison Officer?

Acknowledge the participants’ responses. If not mentioned by the participants, add the following:

• The Liaison Officer is the point of contact for representatives of other governmental agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and/or private entities.
• Representatives from assisting or cooperating agencies and organizations coordinate through the Liaison Officer. Agency and/or organizational representatives assigned to an incident must have the authority to speak for their parent agencies and/or organizations on all matters, following appropriate consultations with their agency leadership.
• Assistants and personnel from other agencies or organizations (public or private) involved in incident management activities may be assigned to the Liaison Officer to facilitate coordination.

In a large or complex incident, Command Staff members may need one or more Assistants to help manage their workloads. Each Command Staff member is responsible for organizing his or her Assistants for maximum efficiency. Assistants are subordinates of principal Command Staff positions.

As the title indicates, Assistants should have a level of technical capability, qualifications, and responsibility subordinate to the primary positions.

Assistants may also be assigned to Unit Leaders (e.g., at camps to supervise unit activities).

• An agency or jurisdiction will often send resources to assist at an incident. In ICS these are called assisting agencies.
• An assisting agency is defined as an agency or organization providing personnel, services, or other resources to the agency with direct responsibility for incident management.

• A cooperating agency is an agency supplying assistance other than direct operational or support functions or resources to the incident management effort.
• Don’t get confused between an assisting agency and a cooperating agency!

An assisting agency has direct responsibility for incident response, whereas a cooperating agency is simply offering assistance.

• An incident may start small and then expand. As the incident grows in scope and the number of resources needed increases, there may be a need to activate Teams, Divisions, Groups, Branches, or Sections to maintain an appropriate span of control.
• The ability to delegate the supervision of resources not only frees up the Incident Commander to perform critical decisionmaking and evaluation duties, but also clearly defines the lines of communication to everyone involved in the incident.
• Next, we’ll review the major organizational elements that may be activated during an expanding incident.

The Operations Section is responsible for all activities focused on reducing the immediate hazard, saving lives and property, establishing situational control, and restoring normal operations.

The Operations Section: 

• Directs and coordinates all incident tactical operations.
• Is typically one of the first organizations to be assigned to the incident.
• Expands from the bottom up.
• Has the most incident resources.
• May have Staging Areas and special organizations.

The Operations Section Chief:

• Is responsible to the Incident Commander for the direct management of all incident-related operational activities.
• Establishes tactical objectives for each operational period.
• Has direct involvement in the preparation of the Incident Action Plan.

The Operations Section Chief may have one or more Deputies assigned. The assignment of Deputies from other agencies may be advantageous in the case of multijurisdictional incidents.

Use this visual to transition into a discussion of Staging Areas.

Ask the participants what they consider when selecting the location for a Staging Area.

• Staging Areas are set up at the incident where resources can wait for a tactical assignment.
• All resources in the Staging Area are assigned and ready for deployment. Out-of-service resources are NOT located at the Staging Area.
• After a Staging Area has been designated and named, a Staging Area Manager will be assigned. The Staging Area Manager will report to the Operations Section Chief or to the Incident Commander if the Operations Section Chief has not been designated.

• Divisions are established to divide an incident into physical or geographical areas of operation.
• Groups are established to divide the incident into functional areas of operation.
• For example, a Damage Assessment Task Force, reporting to the Infrastructure Group Leader, could work across divisions established to manage two distinct areas of the building that had been damaged — the west side of the building (West Division) and the north side (North Division).

• Branches may be used to serve several purposes, and may be functional or geographic in nature.
• In general, Branches are established when the number of Divisions or Groups exceeds the recommended span of control of one supervisor to three to seven subordinates for the Operations Section Chief.
• Branches are identified by Roman numerals or functional name.
• Branches are managed by a Branch Director. Branch Directors may have deputy positions as required. In multiagency incidents, the use of Deputy Branch Directors from assisting agencies can be of great benefit to ensure and enhance interagency coordination.

• Some incidents may require the use of aviation resources to provide tactical or logistical support. On smaller incidents, aviation resources will be limited in number and will report directly to the Incident Commander or to the Operations Section Chief.
• On larger incidents, it may be desirable to activate a separate Air Operations organization to coordinate the use of aviation resources. The Air Operations organization will then be established at the Branch level, reporting directly to the Operations Section Chief.
• The Air Operations Branch Director can establish two functional groups. The Air Tactical Group coordinates all airborne activity. The Air Support Group provides all incident ground-based support to aviation resources.

The Planning Section will have responsibility for:

• Maintaining resource status.
• Maintaining and displaying situation status.
• Preparing the Incident Action Plan (IAP).
• Developing alternative strategies
• Providing documentation services.
• Preparing the Demobilization Plan.
• Providing a primary location for technical specialists assigned to an incident.

The Planning Section is typically responsible for gathering and disseminating information and intelligence critical to the incident, unless the Incident Commander places this function elsewhere.

One of the most important functions of the Planning Section is to look beyond the current and next operational period and anticipate potential problems or events.

The Planning Section will have a Planning Section Chief. The Planning Section Chief may have a Deputy. Technical Specialists:

• Are advisors with special skills required at the incident. 
• Will initially report to the Planning Section, work within that Section, or be reassigned to another part of the organization.
• Can be in any discipline required (e.g., epidemiology, infection control, chemical-biological-nuclear agents, etc.).

Ask the participants:

What are the major responsibilities of each Planning Unit?

Acknowledge the participants’ responses.

If not mentioned by the group, add the following:

The major responsibilities of Planning Units are:

• Resources Unit. Responsible for all check-in activity and for maintaining the status on all personnel and equipment resources assigned to the incident.
• Situation Unit. Collects and processes information on the current situation, prepares situation displays and situation summaries, and develops maps and projections. 
• Demobilization Unit. On large, complex incidents, assists in ensuring that an orderly, safe, and cost-effective movement of personnel is made when they are no longer required at the incident.
• Documentation Unit. Prepares the Incident Action Plan, maintains all incident-related documentation, and provides duplication services.

Early recognition of the need for a Logistics Section can reduce time and money spent on an incident. The Logistics Section is responsible for all support requirements, including:

• Communications.
• Medical support to incident personnel.
• Food for incident personnel.
• Supplies, facilities, and ground support.

It is important to remember that Logistics Unit functions, except for the Supply Unit, are geared to supporting personnel and resources directly assigned to the incident.

The Service Branch may be made up of the following units:

• The Communications Unit is responsible for developing plans for the effective use of incident communications equipment and facilities, installation and testing of communications equipment, supervision of the Incident Communications Center, distribution of communications equipment to incident personnel, and maintenance and repair of communications equipment.
• The Medical Unit is responsible for the development of the Medical Plan, obtaining medical aid and transportation for injured and ill incident personnel, and preparation of reports and records.
• The Food Unit is responsible for supplying the food needs for the entire incident, including all remote locations (e.g., Camps, Staging Areas), as well as providing food for personnel unable to leave tactical field assignments.

The Support Branch within the Logistics Section may include the following units:

• The Supply Unit is responsible for ordering personnel, equipment, and supplies; receiving and storing all supplies for the incident; maintaining an inventory of supplies; and servicing nonexpendable supplies and equipment.
• The Facilities Unit is responsible for the layout and support of incident facilities (e.g., Base, Camp(s), and Incident Command Post (ICP)). The Facilities Unit Leader provides sleeping and sanitation facilities for incident personnel and manages Base and Camp operations. Each facility (Base, Camp) is assigned a manager who reports to the Facilities Unit Leader and is responsible for managing the operation of the facility. The basic functions or activities of the Base and Camp Managers are to provide security service and general maintenance.
• The Ground Support Unit is responsible for supporting out-of-service resources; transporting personnel, supplies, food, and equipment; fueling, service, maintenance, and repair of vehicles and other ground support equipment; and implementing the Traffic Plan for the incident.

The Finance/Administration Section:

• Is established when incident management activities require finance and other administrative support services.
• Handles claims related to property damage, injuries, or fatalities at the incident.

Not all incidents will require a separate Finance/Administration Section. If only one specific function is needed (e.g., cost analysis), a Technical Specialist assigned to the Planning Section could provide these services.

Ask the participants:

What are the major responsibilities of each Finance and Administration Unit?

Acknowledge the participants’ responses. If not mentioned by the group, add the following:

Finance/Administration Units include the following:

• The Time Unit is responsible for equipment and personnel time recording.
• The Procurement Unit is responsible for administering all financial matters pertaining to vendor contracts, leases, and fiscal agreements.
• The Compensation/Claims Unit is responsible for financial concerns resulting from property damage, injuries, or fatalities at the incident. 
• The Cost Unit is responsible for tracking costs, analyzing cost data, making cost estimates, and recommending cost-saving measures.

Some important tools you should have available at the incident include:

• ICS forms.
• Position description and responsibilities.
• Emergency Operations Plan.
• Agency policies and procedures manual.
• Maps.

When receiving ICS forms, some questions you should ask yourself about each form are:

• Purpose – What function does the form perform?
• Preparation – Who is responsible for preparing the form?
• Distribution – Who needs to receive this information?

The Incident Briefing Form (ICS Form 201) is an eight-part form that provides an Incident Command/Unified Command with status information that can be used for briefing incoming resources, an incoming Incident Commander or team, or an immediate supervisor. The basic information includes:

• Incident situation (map, significant events).
• Incident objectives.
• Summary of current actions. 
• Status of resources assigned or ordered for the incident or event.

Occasionally, the ICS Form 201 serves as the initial Incident Action Plan (IAP) until a Planning Section has been established and generates, at the direction of the Incident Commander, an IAP.

The ICS Form 201 is also suitable for briefing individuals newly assigned to the Command and General Staffs.

The following commonly used ICS forms can be found on the NIMS Resource Center at http://www.fema.gov/nims:

• ICS Form 201, Incident Briefing
• ICS Form 202, Incident Objectives
• ICS Form 203, Organization Assignment List
• ICS Form 204, Assignment List
• ICS Form 205, Incident Radio Communications Plan
• ICS Form 206, Medical Plan
• ICS Form 207, Organizational Chart
• ICS Form 209, Incident Status Summary
• ICS Form 210, Status Change Card
• ICS Form 211, Check-In List
• ICS Form 213, General Message
• ICS Form 214, Unit Log
• ICS Form 215, Operational Planning Worksheet
• ICS Form 215a, Incident Action Plan Safety Analysis
• ICS Form 216, Radio Requirements Worksheet
• ICS Form 217, Radio Frequency Assignment Worksheet
• ICS Form 218, Support Vehicle Inventory
• ICS Form 220, Air Operations Summary
• ICS Form 221, Demobilization Plan
• ICS Form 308, Resource Order Form

Are you now able to:

• Describe the functions of organizational positions within the Incident Command System (ICS)?
• Identify the ICS tools needed to manage an incident?
• Demonstrate the use of an ICS Form 201, Incident Briefing?

The next unit will cover briefings—the types, components, and presentation of incident briefings.