During a school emergency, the Incident Commander is the cornerstone to the Incident Command System, enabling a more effective response. But as a school emergency progresses, the Incident commander position does as well. So who is the Incident Commander?

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WHO IS THE
INCIDENT
COMMANDER?

2. Copyright 2015© Prepared Response, Inc.® All rights reserved.
What is the
Incident
Command
System?
The Incident Command System is based off of a hierarchy of
individuals who work together with separate responsibilities to
accomplish a common goal of safety.
Incident
Commander
Operations
Section
Chief
Planning
Section
Chief
Liaison
Officer
Safety
Officer

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Who is the
Incident
Commander?
The incident commander can be a
number of different people at your
school at any given time during an
emergency:
• Principal
• Assistant Principal
• Receptionist
• Facilities Manager
• Nurse
• Counselor
• Security Officer

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Themost
importantrolein
the Incident
Command
System isthe
Incident
Commander,as
they are
responsiblefor
allaspectsofthe
emergency
response.

5. So Who is the Incident Commander?

6. So Who is the Incident Commander?
Whoever is the most able & qualified during the time of the emergency.

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Emergency
Scene
Scenario A Teacher collapses on the playground and the only other
adult present is another teacher. By default the conscious
teacher becomes the Incident Commander because they are
the most qualified.

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Emergency
Scene
Scenario
The teacher radios for help and the Assistant Principal comes
out. Now, the Assistant Principal becomes the Incident
Commander.

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Emergency
Scene
Scenario The nurse then arrives and the Assistant Principal leaves to
initiate a soft lockdown to keep the hallways clear for
emergency medical services. The Nurse now becomes the
Incident Commander for the scene.

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Emergency
Scene
Scenario Paramedics arrive and establish a unified command over the
scene and assess the situation. The Principal becomes the
Incident Commander and obtains records to contact the
victim’s family, media control and begin documentation of
the incident.

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Thisisjustoneexampleoutofthousandsandanyonecanbethe
IncidentCommanderiftheyarethemostqualifiedandableatthe
time.

12. So What are the Responsibilities?

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Incident
Commander
Duties
Assess the situation and/or obtain a briefing from the prior IC.
Check-in at the designated check-in location ( Incident Command Post,
Base or Camps, Staging Areas, Helibases)
Establish immediate priorities focusing on safety of responders & other
people involved in the incident
Determine incident objectives & strategy to achieve the objectives
Determine incident objectives & strategy to achieve the objectives
Complete forms & reports required of the assigned position and send
through the supervisor to the Documentation Unit.
Organize & brief subordinates
https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/ics/card_common.html
https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/ics/inci.html#specific

14. Copyright 2015© Prepared Response, Inc.® All rights reserved.
Itisimportanttorememberthatmoreoftenthannot,the
IncidentCommanderpositionisfluidandevolves
frequentlywhilerespondingtoemergencies.
Asanincidentprogresses,theIncidentCommander
positiondoesalso,providingtheopportunityforqualified
individualstooffertheirassetstothesituation.

15. Copyright 2015© Prepared Response, Inc.® All rights reserved.
Want to
increase your
school’s
emergency
preparedness
with ICS?
Request more information today and learn how the Rapid
Responder ICS empowers you to send real-time alerts and
messages, assign roles for incident team members, complete
after action reports and more.
info@preparedresponse.com
206.223.5544