The Incident Command System

In the Fire service following instructions is of utmost importance. Not only is your life at risk if you fail to follow instructions, but you are also putting your fellow firefighters lives at risk.  However, not all instructions given are life threatening but,  are there to keep order and uniformity. The fire service is a paramilitary career meaning that it has a very strict standard on how things are done.  When you are given a specific instructions, it is important to truly understand what your task is. This includes everything from your job at a structure fire to knowing what your morning chore will be. This is in order to properly due your job and, to ensure that no repeats of that same task are done. Going back to the point of you fellow

Formal communication is the channel that usually follows the chain of command. This chain is often ran by formal orders, detectives, and written memorandums. In the police organization these forms provide a sense of order and security. Using excessive or exclusive communications however have certain disadvantages. One disadvantage in strict adherence to formal channels can be both time and personnel consuming. Memorandums must be drafter carefully ad must go through the chain of command for endorsements and then must be forwarded to the correct personnel according to departmental policy. Another disadvantage of formal channels is what effect this can have on free flow of information. Using formal channels will require a written record and many people hesitate to put their thoughts in writing because they are intimidated, afraid of losing their job, etc., which restricts the flow of information. However, using formal communications makes it possible for the officers to receive new directives and information concerning crimes rather quickly. Formal communication is less confusing and establishes a paper trail for legal purposes, if the need arrives (Wallace & Roberson, 2009).

There are many communication channels which include emails, voicemails, and face to face meetings, when deciding which channel should be implemented all depends on the three factors mentioned above. If you can to bring awareness to work place safety an email can be sent out to an entire organization rather than face to face which each individual.

Recommendations were made following the shooting to implement a command center with personnel able to take command at the beginning of a crisis, control assembled personnel, and to communicate objectives clearly (Erickson, 2001). This came after the failure of law enforcement to set up a successful command center whereas Fire and EMS successfully instituted an incident command center based on

Having adequate resources, including personnel, equipment, and water is essential to a successful operation. Improper implementation of the ICS system, as well as not having accountability for the firefighters involved in a fire as large as the Pawtucket event, are serious safety issues that could have proved disastrous for the firefighters in this incident. Safety is the first rule in firefighting with the end goal that everyone goes

Ineffective communication can be devastating to a department within an organization. This usually occurs when managers do not meet with staff regularly to check in or update staff of new occurrences. Even if the manager does follow through with regular meetings the manager must abide by the three “C’s” rule of communicating with clarity, completion, and conciseness (Juneja, 2011).

Xcom285 has taught me many valuable assets that I can use in my future, but I believe that the most valuable thing that I have learned is that communications is not just talking. Communications is about listening and writing as well. It is important in business communications to understand that to effectively communicate one need’s to tune into everything that is going on around him or her. This means that he or she needs to understand the audience, the purpose of, and the most effective way to deliver or receive the message. When discussing resources businesses use to effectively communicate, I learned other methods of

They maintain clear and precise communication to stay informed at all times. “You might be surprised to learn that according to government statistics, fire fighting is NOT one of the top ten most dangerous jobs. Obviously, it has risks. That's no secret. But many occupations are more dangerous, including loggers, police officers, and even pizza delivery drivers!”

Emergency services face vast difficulties in the operations field when handling emergency situations, whether it comes from handling a minor accident to a catastrophic catastrophy. Many of the difficulties do not come from the actual incident, but instead they arise from forming a rescue team containing different agencies and people. For the benefit off all individuals participating, it is imperative that there be a unified command structure in place to effectively coordinate and oversee the tasks that need to be accomplished. The need of a unified command was seen from the hardships faced in incidents, bringing forth the development of the Incident Command System that was designed to be used in an array of conditions, to bring all

The National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS), is the system that police use to report crime data. The data includes; the nature or type of the specific offense, the characteristics of victims and offender, the type and value of property stolen and/ or recovered, and characteristics of persons arrested with crime incidents. Incident-based data provides a large amount of criminal information. This is organized in complex, it reflects the different aspects of a crime incident.

Communication helps police officers get their jobs done behind the scenes. One way police officers communicate is through effective writing; it is communication that the public does not see, but it is still very important. The public does not see police officers filling out the stacks of paperwork inherent in their job, but nevertheless, this

Motivating- empowers others to perform at their best, promotes a sense of responsibility, encourages and assists other to excel in their profession

National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS) was originally designed as a summary system to collect only the most serious offense within an incident; the FBI UCR Program began using the NIBRS in 1989 to capture up to ten crime occurrences within an incident (https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/nibrs/nibrs-user-manual, 6). Through the NIBRS, LEAs report data on each offense and arrest within 23 offense categories made up of 49 specific crimes called Group A offenses the law enforcement collects administrative, offense, property, victim, offender, and arrestee information and an additional 10 Group B offense categories (https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/nibrs/nibrs-user-manual, 6). By design, LEAs generate NIBRS data as a by-product of their respective records management systems (RMS) (https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/nibrs/nibrs-user-manual, 6). Therefore, an LEA builds its system to suit its own individual needs, including all of the information required for administration and operation; then forwards only the data required by the NIBRS to participate in the FBI UCR Program (https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/nibrs/nibrs-user-manual, 6). As more agencies report via the NIBRS, the data collected will provide a clearer assessment of the nation’s crime experience (https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/nibrs/nibrs-user-manual, 6).

Today, the Incident Command System (ICS) is a major component of NIMS and is widely used in emergency management response. However, this was not always the case. According to David A. McEntire and Gregg Dawson, authors of the article, “The intergovernmental Context,” ICS was originally developed by the fire service in 1970. Its purpose was to assist in the command of wildfire events. It was unique because it standardized operations, yet offered flexibility so that it could be used on any number of events, regardless of size or type (McEntire & Dawson, 2007, p. 63).

It is definitely easy to see how important the role of the Public Information Officer is in today’s work force. Especially, considering now that we live in the age of media. Everything a person does or says is instantly broadcasted over the Internet and television for hundreds of thousands of people to see. One false statement by a PIO (Public Information Officer) can severely hurt your organizations credibility. Overall, I think that the PIO is one of those positions in the Incident Command System that gets forgot about to often, but with a quality PIO your organization can effectively communicate its messages to the