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Copyright 1998 by Walter G. Green III.
So far we have been concentrating on how to manage organizations as they function on a day-to-day basis. However, the mission of the emergency services is to operate when the situation is an emergency, not the routine. Emergency operations require decision making under stress in constrained time periods with sometimes inadequate resources. They require strict accountability of resources to ensure their safety and most efficient use. And they require that all of the agencies that come to the party play off the same sheet of music in order to have the best possible outcome. This means there must be a standard way to approach emergency problems, to integrate resources, and to communicate among all of the participating organizations.
At the end of this session each student will be able to:
(1) Describe an organizational model for incident management.
(2) Assess the applicability of the model to operations in their organization.
(3) Develop a scheme for prioritizing resource allocations in emergencies.
(4) Identify the types of actions that have to be taken at emergency scenes.
(5) Differentiate between strategy, tactics, and tasks.
During this session read the following material:
(1) Chapter 10: Fireground Command Management Functions (second edition) or Chapter 3: Commanding the Response to an Emergency Incident (third edition) in Carter and Rausch MANAGEMENT IN THE FIRE SERVICE.
Everyone answer three of the following five questions (one e-mail to the listserve per question, and make sure you include a subject line that identifies which question you are answering). You may answer them in any order you wish. Remember also to read and comment on at least two answers to questions by your fellow students.
(1) What do you feel is the most important component of the Incident Command System? Why do you feel that way? Can you provide an example of an emergency response that illustrates your assessment?
(2) Does your organization currently use an incident management system? If so, which one, and how well does it work for you? If not, should you adopt a standard incident management system? Why, or why not?
(3) You are responding to a major emergency of the type your organization would respond to (whether governmental agency or business). What would be your first four priority actions if you were the first resources there?
(4) What major functions does your organization perform in an emergency? In one to-the-point sentence each describe the key purpose of each function as it relates to resolving the problem.
(5) What is your definition of strategy, tactics, and tasks? Are they interrelated? If so, how?