The Incident Command System: Applying Emergency Response Best Practice to Your Disaster
The Incident Command System: Applying Emergency Response Best Practice To Your Disaster
Abstract
The Incident Command System (ICS) was created in 1970 to provide a standardized protocol for managing incidents that threaten life and/or property. Although the ICS grew out of a disaster that involved 20,000 responders, and was envisioned as a way to coordinate response for major disasters, it was designed to be scalable. As a result, the ICS can scale down, and it is a valuable tool for responding to incidents even within the confines of a single repository. During a disaster, librarians and archivists who understand ICS are better prepared to initiate their internal response, interact with emergency responders, and manage any extended recovery phase that may follow the disaster.
INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this chapter is to
● Introduce the Incident Command System (ICS) to librarians and archivists;
● Explain how the ICS scales to address even small-scale disasters;
● Highlight some key ICS principles that archivists and librarians can adopt to more effectively handle incidents in their own repositories;
● Demonstrate how the ICS management structure can be used to make disaster response more efficient and cost-effective; and,
● Describe ways in which librarians and archivists can learn and practice ICS.
BACKGROUND: CREATING THE INCIDENT COMMAND SYSTEM
In 1970, California wildfires destroyed more than one half million acres and overwhelmed the 20,000 men and women who eventually arrived to battle the flames. In the face of hurricane force winds and scorching heat, the attempt to coordinate the work of responders from 500 separate departments and agencies became almost as large a battle: each responding agency arrived with its own leadership, each had its own plan for attacking the crisis, each created its own base of operations and transmitted commands using its own radio frequencies and jargon. Priorities shifted wildly and confusion reigned. In the aftermath, Congress ordered the California Forestry Department to create a system to prevent such chaos in future (Rowley, 2010). The result was the Incident Command System (ICS).
The Incident Command System, as explained in FEMA’s official training materials, “is a standardized, on-scene, all-hazards approach to incident management. ICS allows all responders to adopt an integrated organizational structure that matches the complexities and demands of the incident while respecting agency and jurisdictional authorities. Although ICS promotes standardization, it is not without needed flexibility” (IS-100.b, p. 2.3).[1] In short, the ICS provides a consistent way to manage incidents, especially in crises that require response from multiple jurisdictions and disciplines. It creates an organization chart and management protocol that supersedes those of all the responding agencies. Under the ICS, responders fill positions beginning with the Incident Commander (the person in charge) and expanding to include other positions as required. These pre-defined positions, such as Liaison Officer, Operations Section Chief, and a host of others, are understood by all responders, who may not use the same titles in their everyday management. For the duration of the crisis, the ICS imposes a quasi-military structure on the responders, who suspend their normal methods of management in order to cooperate, prioritize, and focus resources on critical problems.
The Incident Command System applies in all kinds of natural and human-caused disasters, including fires, floods, earthquakes, terrorist attacks, hazardous waste and chemical spill incidents, search and rescue operations, and similar emergencies. The ICS eases coordination between responders, such as firefighters, police officers, ambulance crews, and emergency managers from local, state, and federal governments. The system creates a common organizational structure that allows responders to organize themselves rapidly and avoid battles over jurisdictional and operational responsibilities; it provides a common language through well-defined terminology that supersedes the acronyms and jargon each responding agency may use in ordinary circumstance; it stipulates the communications standards to be used by all responders; requires a common focus for planning; and holds responders to a common standard of accountability. Very importantly, it minimizes the disruption that can be caused by people—often well-meaning—who descend on the incident scene, eager to volunteer their services, anxious to be given a task, or convinced that they know how best to go about the business (as demonstrated in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina).
The first responders to arrive on the scene can implement the Incident Command System with the people on hand. If the incident grows the ICS expands, and incoming responders fit more seamlessly into an ongoing response because they arrive knowing the ICS, which orients them to the response and sets their expectations before they arrive. Then, as the crisis diminishes, the ICS contracts and responders are demobilized in an orderly and logical manner.
Librarians and archivists who are familiar with the ICS will find it easier to coordinate and cooperate with emergency responders during large scale disasters that affect the library. When smaller scale disasters occur--even those that occur within a single building--librarians and archivists can use the ICS to respond efficiently and effectively even before emergency responders arrive. And, what is more, librarians and archivists can use the Incident Command System to manage major events. The ICS has been used to manage Presidential visits and the Super Bowl. It can be an effective tool for managing exhibit openings, collection relocations, ceremonies, and public events of every kind.
APPLYING THE ICS IN MODERN LIBRARIES AND ARCHIVES
The ICS Scales Down to Address Small-Scale Disasters
Although it was originally designed to address problems that arose from a major disaster, the Incident Command System was intended to be scalable, both upward (to handle a disaster as large as Katrina or Sandy Hook) and downward (to address, for example, a building fire or a local flood). It is this scalability that makes the ICS applicable even within the confines of a single repository. Whenever a disaster strikes, the ICS can be invoked to temporarily suspend normal operations and put response into the hands of the people who are best qualified to make critical decisions, minimize duplication of effort, and concentrate resources in a timely manner at the point of greatest need. In fact, the ICS can be applied in advance of a disaster (to prepare for an impending storm, for example) and even to plan major events (such as major exhibit openings or collection moves) that, if not properly organized, might threaten life, property, or both.
The FEMA Glossary of Related Terms (n.d.) defines an incident as “an occurrence or event, natural or human-caused, that requires an emergency response to protect life or property.” In a library or archives these generally involve protecting lives in the form of staff and/or visitors, and protecting property in the form of the library and archives facilities themselves as well as the collections they house.
The incident that threatens life or property may be natural in origin: hurricanes, tornadoes, wind storms, floods, earthquakes, mudslides, wildfires, and lightning strikes are just some of the naturally-occurring incidents that have threatened lives and property in libraries and archives. Other incidents may be caused by humans, either deliberately or inadvertently. A fire may be caused intentionally by an arsonist or accidentally by an employee who forgets to unplug the coffeepot. In either case the result is the same: an incident that requires a response to protect life and/or property.
Incidents, such as hurricanes or massive floods, that threaten large regions are almost certain to involve the Incident Command System during response. But even within a single library or archives the ICS can be an effective way to organize a response. The ICS requires specific roles (someone must be the Incident Commander, for instance), but it does not require a specific number of people (the Incident Commander might also act as the Liaison Officer, for example). In a small incident one person can assume many roles and then, if the incident grows, these roles can be assumed by separate individuals. As the incident expands, so too does the ICS organization chart. Then, when the threats to life and property begin to diminish, the ICS structure contracts to keep pace. Roles are discontinued, or individuals assume multiple roles, as fewer resources are required to address the incident. Eventually, use of the ICS is discontinued entirely (with the decommissioning of the Incident Commander) and the library or archives resumes its normal management structure. Whether the incident is widespread or highly localized, the Incident Command System is invoked temporarily to displace the normal management structure until the response is complete. The ICS is implemented at the first sign of threat and discontinued once that threat has passed.
In most cases the ICS is invoked, and the response occurs, after the incident. An earthquake scatters books or a flood damages audiovisual media or rare manuscripts; the response comes after the danger has passed and resources are available to rescue or repair the facility and (hopefully) its collections. In some cases, though, the ‘response’ might occur before the incident. Librarians alerted to an approaching hurricane might evacuate visitors and collections, cover windows, and inspect emergency generators; in effect, conducting the response (to protect lives and property) in anticipation of the incident.
Whatever the source of the incident—human-caused or natural—and regardless of its size, the Incident Command System can be used to respond to events that threaten lives and property. Whenever disaster threatens, librarians and archivists can adopt critical ICS principles to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of their response.
Some Key ICS Principles for Librarians and Archivists
The ICS includes key principles that can help librarians and archivists respond to events that threaten their patrons, staff, collections, and facilities. It is helpful to think about response in three phases: Initial, Continuing, and Recovery.[2] The Incident Command System has principles that will improve response in each phase.
Initial Response
Initial Response is the reaction that takes place in the first few minutes of an incident, even before professional help (if needed) has been summoned. A staff person happens upon a leaking water pipe in the storage areas; a fire breaks out in the maintenance room; the area tornado sirens suddenly blare; a storm-tossed limb shatters a window. An incident—an occurrence that requires a response to protect life and/or property—has suddenly erupted, and someone or everyone in the vicinity will need to respond. The initial response has begun.
Initial response to an incident often takes place in an atmosphere of confusion or panic; few of us respond calmly to something that unexpectedly threatens our personal safety or the safety of our customers and collections. In those moments, training and pre-planning pay off. Staff in public buildings, and even children in elementary schools, have long been drilled to respond calmly and methodically during a fire alarm, and in the same way, the staff in libraries and archives can be trained to assess any developing incident and respond predictably. As noted above, the person in charge of any incident is the Incident Commander, and in a real sense, any staff person who happens to be present when an incident erupts becomes the de facto Incident Commander—the person in charge. And like the Incident Commander, any staff person can be trained to assess the situation quickly and effectively
One of the greatest dangers during Initial Response it is that people on the scene may disagree about how to prioritize the response, and that can easily lead to conflict and confusion. Two staff people who happen upon a leaking pipe in the collections area, for example, might argue about whether to cut the water off first or immediately attempt to remove the collections that are being endangered. Such an argument would not only waste precious time, it might also result in a decision based on factors that have little to do with crisis management: one staff person might outrank the other, for example, in which case the decision might be made based on the authority structure of the repository rather than on emergency management best practices, which have been tested and refined across thousands of incidents.
The Incident Command System addresses this possibility of conflict by prioritizing actions in advance of any incident. According to ICS (IS-100.b, 2013, p. 3.21; IS-200.b, 2013, p. 3.16) there are three priorities in any incident, and they are always addressed in this order:
1. Life/safety issues, then
2. Incident stabilization, then
3. Property preservation.
So, if a fire breaks out, the first priority is life/safety: evacuate the people from the building. Next comes incident stabilization: try to contain the fire (a task that is best left to professionals). Only when everyone is safe and the incident is under control should any attempt be made to preserve property, such as the library or archives collections. The three priorities are always addressed in this order, so incident stabilization is always addressed before property preservation, even if there are no life or safety issues. So, if a leaking pipe is discovered in the library or archives stacks, the first priority (given no life/safety issues) is to stabilize the incident—get the water turned off. Only then should an attempt be made to preserve the collection.
Staff who are trained to assess and prioritize based on this common standard are more likely to act in concert and respond effectively. The two staff people encountering a leaking pipe will not waste time arguing over whether to shut off the water first or try to rescue the endangered collections; they will know that the incident must first be stabilized. And if there happen to be electrical cords running through the flooded stacks area, they will know that life and safety take precedence even over getting the water shut off. If the shutoff valve is located inside the stacks area they will wait for the power to be disconnected before attempting to reach the shutoff valve.
The ICS assessment priorities are counterintuitive to some archivists and librarians, who might place collections preservation above almost any other priority, so training all staff to this assessment tool—and drilling it until it becomes second nature—is the best way to reduce confusion and conflict. Any staff person trained in the ICS assessment priorities can effectively assume the role of Incident Commander during the first confusing moments of Initial Response.