Incident Commander & Deputy

Responsibilities

Organization

Checklist 0/47

• Review common and leadership responsibilities.
• Assess the situation and/or obtain a briefing from the prior Incident Commander or initial response team (Form 201 Briefing).
• Mobilize Incident Management Team (IMT) as needed to support response.
• Determine the need to assign a Deputy IC to help manage the incident.
• Direct the completion of the Form 201 Incident Briefing forms, if necessary.
• Review General Incident Report and 201 Forms to understand type and complexity of incident.
• Ensure that adequate safety measures are in place. Ensure safety of public & responders during the Response Phase of the incident as safety personnel arrive & communicate with on scene personnel to establish plans & procedures.
• Assume command of incident from On Scene Commander, On Scene Supervisor, Qualified Individual or off going Incident Commander.
• Announce assignment as Incident Commander to IMT personnel/those present.
• Establish immediate priorities and determine/consider incident potential.
• Determine initial incident objectives and general direction for managing the incident.
• Determine if all required internal & external notifications have been completed.
• Determine if existing emergency response plans and procedures have been initiated by on scene personnel.
• Establish an appropriate organization structure including day and night shift.
• Assign qualified IMT members to key positions including Command & General Staff and set initial shift change schedule.
• Coordinate overall incident response activities.
• Establish an Incident Command Post (ICP). Determine if current ICP will support the size and tier of the incident. Consider incident potential.
• Determine potential make-up of Unified Command if applicable. Coordinate with Liaison Officer to ensure appropriate officials have been notified.
• Establish incident priorities, decisions, directives, limitations & constraints, Critical Information Requirements (CIR's), and incident objectives.
• Authorize release of information to the news media. Coordinate with Public Information Officer to ensure appropriate media strategy. 64
• Coordinate activity for all Command & General Staff, and assign action items from the Form 233 Open Action Tracker, as appropriate.
• Develop objectives (Form 202) for the next operational period.
• Obtain periodic briefings & brief Command & General Staff.
• Ensure planning meetings are scheduled as required. Coordinate with Planning Section Chief (PSC) to develop briefing schedule until a formal Form 230 Meeting Schedule is developed.
• Determine need for contract personnel to assist in managing the incident.
• Ensure the Incident Event Log is being maintained.
• Review & approve the Form 208 Site Safety Plan & Form 206 Medical Plan.
• Coordinate initial response actions with the IMT using the tools available in the Response Phase portion of the IMH.
• Identify trigger points to move response from the Response Phase to the Incident Management. Keep in mind most incidents can be handled by developing and maintaining an Initial Incident Action Plan for up to 72 hours. If the incident complexity indicates a longer response, make a joint decision with UC, if established, to move into the Incident Management.
• Once the decision is made to move into the Incident Management, coordinate with the UC, if established, and the PSC to develop an Form 230 Meeting Schedule to move the response into the planning cycle.
• Coordinate proactive response actions with the IMT using the tools available in the Incident Management portion of the IMH.
• Consult the guidance documents in the IMH for tools to develop the Form 202 Incident Objectives, Form 202A Command Direction, and Form 202B Critical Information Reporting.
• Monitor overall progress of operations. Coordinate the development of milestones and end points with the IMT.
• Monitor leadership and management capabilities of Command and General Staff personnel ensuring effectiveness to lead within assigned functional areas. Relieve personnel of responsibilities if needed. Overall goal is a successful response through capable leaders.
• Identify and coordinate with key stakeholders and officials.
• Ensure Form 209 Incident Status Summary is completed and forwarded to appropriate organizational management representatives.
• Keep appropriate agencies/organizations informed of incident status.
• Provide periodic internal updates to company management. Develop ongoing briefing schedule to sync with IMT briefing schedule to ensure most up to date information is communicated.
• Determine the need to create an information management plan to establish a process of maintaining situational awareness through formal information flow.
• Identify internal and external reporting requirements of agencies /organizations within the Unified Command. Assign Deputy IC the task of managing information from the field and within the IMT using the PSC, and SITL. Refer to Section 9 for guidance.
• Review, approve and sign the Incident Action Plan (IAP).
• Ensure incident funding is available.
• Seek appropriate legal counsel.
• Approve the use of trainees, volunteers, and auxiliary personnel.
• Approve requests for additional resources or for the release of resources.
• Order the demobilization of the incident when appropriate.
• Maintain Form 214 Unit Log and forward to Documentation Unit Leader (DOCL) for disposition.

Forms to Complete

Meetings to Attend