Incident Management System Organization

1.1 Incident Management System Organization

Purpose

The organizational structure outline in this plan has been derived from the National Interagency Incident Management System (NIMS). NIMS is utilized by the Federal Government and is recognized and recommended by the Florida Fire Chiefs’ Association as the standard Incident Command System. In addition, certain portions of this manual have been adapted from Firescope, Phoenix Fireground Command System, Florida Incident Field Operations Guide, and the National Fire Service Incident Management System Consortium.

General

Under the Incident Management System, (IMS), the ultimate control and direction of all emergency response falls under a single individual, the Incident Commander, except where a Unified Command or Area Command is established. Incident Command is responsible for the overall incident response effort and the implementation of the appropriate portions of this plan. This command system is quite flexible in that the incident commander can activate, consolidate, or delete various positions depending on the needs of the incident. Although this structure is designed for full or partial implementation, it is important that all position roles are reviewed to ensure vital functions are not overlooked.

NIMS

• It is recommended that the person ultimately taking command at an incident be a chief officer or other qualified individual, highly trained and skilled in the Incident Management System. The Incident Management System is not rank structured but can be filled from whatever positions are best suited for the needs of the individual department.
• The degree of plan implementation will again depend upon the nature and magnitude of the incident. The following pages outline the roles and responsibilities of the various areas of the command structure.
• The IMS organizational structure develops in a modular fashion based on the kind and size of an incident. The organization’s staff builds from the top down with the responsibility and performance placed initially with the Incident Commander. As the need exists, four separate sections can be deployed, each with several units that may be established. The General Staff positions are:
  • Operations
  • Planning
  • Logistics
  • Administration (Finance)
• In addition to these four sections, Command Staff may include the following:
  • Safety Officer
  • Public Information Officer (PIO)
  • Liaison Officer
  • Incident Command Aide

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