Unified Command
Unified Command Definition:
Is an authority structure inwhich the role of incidentcommander is shared by twoor more individuals, eachalready having authority in adifferent responding agency.
Unified Command Attributes
oEnables all responsible agencies worktogether to establish a common set of:
oIncident OBJECTIVES (WHAT)
oStrategies/Tactics (HOW)
oMaintains unity of command. Eachemployee only reports to one supervisor.
oNo one is expected to violate their owndepartment/district’s training, policies, orpractices.
Unified Command
“But who has thefinal say?”
Unified Command
RELATIONSHIPS
ORelationships must be built BEFORE theincident.
O“2 AM is NOT the time to be exchangingbusiness cards”
Unified Command
With an org chart anda comm plan, you canrun any incident.
Key Roles
OUnified Commander
OOperations Section Chief
ODivision or Group Supervisor
OPublic Information Officer
Key Roles
OUnified Commander:
OOverall responsible for the incident
OSets objectives
OHandles the politics
OMakes final/key policy decisions
OShould be looking a mile down the road
ODOES NOT DIRECTLY CONTROLASSETS/RESOURCES IN THEFIELD.
Key Roles
OOperations Section Chief:
ODIRECTLY CONTROLS ASSETS/RESOURCESIN THE FIELD
ODetermines HOW to accomplish theCommander’s objectives with the resourcesavailable
ODetermines what additional resources toorder
Key Roles
ODivision or Group Supervisor
ODivision is a geographic section of theincident
OGroup is a functional section of the incident
OSupervises and coordinates the work of thepersonnel assigned to his/her Division orGroup.
OReports to the Operations Section Chief
Key Roles
OPublic Information Officer
OHandles all media
OMUST COORDINATE WITH ALL AGENCIES
ONews travels fast, try to keep up
OCOORDINATE WITH ALL AGENCIES
OGive the media information or they will find itthemselves
OMake sure you coordinate with all agencies
Priorities:
Life Safety-
Comes before everything else.
Should be the automatic response of first responders initially.
Stop the killing; Stop the dying;
Incident Stabilization-
Don’t let it get worse.
Contain the incident
Remove potential additional victims
Property-
Prevent property damage
Everything else:
Investigation, interview victims/witnesses, forensics, peer support
Student Re-unification
Media
HINT: make a quick list of tasks or issues to be handled, alsoknown as “Incident Size-up,” rank them in priority, and work fromthere.
Unified Command
(LE, Fire, School)
Law Enforcement
1. Stop shooter
2. Locate victims
3. Establish perimeter
4. ID crime scenes
5. Begin Crim Inv (OIS)
Fire
1. Locate, TTT Victims (Triage,Treat, Transport)
2. Provide patient tracking
3. Provide on-scene support
School
1. Provide intel to LE
2. Account for students and staff
3. Transport students and staff toreunification location
JIS
(LE, Fire, School,Hospitals)
Overall Tips
1)Organize by FUNCTION or LOCATION, with amanageable span of control.
Overall Tips
oUnified Commanders should be a littledistance from the chaos of the scene.
oAllows you to get the big picture
oReduces information overload
oAllows you to think ahead/proactively toaddress future problems
oGuide overall operation
oShould be able to stand and hold a cup ofcoffee
Overall Tips
oEven for Supervisors, Ops Chief, UnifiedCommanders, don’t forget calmingtechniques:
oBreathing- slow, deep, rhythmic
oSlow down- deliberate actions end up takingless time than frantic actions
oFocus on one task at a time
oThese allow you to think more clearly andmake better decisions.
Overall Tips
oThese large incidents require a lot of staff.Even having extra staff to answer phones,scribe, run errands, etc can be HUGELYhelpful.
oExtra staff can:
oSet up a better ICP for you
oSet up/run reunification
oHelp the PIOs/JIS handle the media
oProvide Logistics support