What is ICS?

When wildfires burn on public lands, firefighters have to follow a system to ensure organization and that the fire is extinguished safely and effectively. That's why federal agencies use the Incident Command System (ICS).

ICS is an emergency management system designed to provide standardized structure for responding to emergency incidents. It's like a book that everyone must follow so there is no confusion amongst firefighters; everyone speaks the same language regarding wildland fire terms and actions.  Click here to see what the ICS structure looks like.

The ICS consists of five working units:

Command:

• Established by the first officer on the scene of the incident, who assumes the role of Incident Commander.
• The Incident Commander immediately establishes priorities for the incident, incident objectives, and develops strategies to accomplish these objectives.
• The Incident Commander is also responsible for monitoring safety and controlling organization by delegating authority to units that need it.

So, the Command unit of ICS is much like the President of the United States; he or she is in charge of the wildland fire incident, but needs help from other branches of the ICS (like the President needs help from Congress or the Judiciary branch) to put the fire out and accomplish all agency goals in a safe, effective manner.

Operations:

• Responsible for the suppression and rescue elements of the incident.
• Usually made up of firefighters and their equipment who take direct action on the fire.

Basically, the Operations section of ICS carries out the plans established by the Incident Commander and his staff. Operations' staff are made up of firefighters; both commanders and firefighters working on the ground to extinguish the fire.

Planning:

• Responsible for collecting, evaluating, and distributing data about the incident.
• This unit also publishes the Incident Action Plan, which is a document containing all plans of action about the fire; which fire fighters and resources are assigned to the fire, where they are assigned, contact information for the ICS staff, and safety information for all firefighters. The Incident Action Plan also contains maps of the fire and surrounding area.

The Planning unit of ICS is always very busy collecting information about the fire; how large it is, where it is burning, how fast it is burning, and what needs to be done to extinguish the fire in the most efficient, safest way possible. The Incident Action Plan is used by everyone working on the fire like an instruction booklet, so all firefighters are aware of all plans and operations on the fire line.

Logistics:

• Responsible for providing services and support needs by providing firefighters with communication equipment, medical supplies, food, restrooms, and support for vehicle maintenance.

The Logistics unit functions as a cache would for the army; they make sure that all supplies used for firefighting are ordered, ready, and safe for firefighters' use. They also provide radios, computers, and everything else needed to maintain communication both on the fire line, and in fire camp.

Finance:

• Used on large wildland fire incidents requiring on-site financial management.
• Responsible for all incident related cost, personnel time, contracts, and workers compensation and claims.

Basically, the Finance section is responsible for tracking all money associated with the fire incident. They make sure that everything is properly paid for and that all firefighters' work time is accurately recorded.

History of ICS

Click here to learn more about when, why and how the Incident Command System was formed.