Incident Command System (United States)

Required in the U.S. for disaster response.

Because one of the principles of ICS is that it can be used for all sorts of "incidents," including training, exercises, etc., this model treats everything it possibly can as an incident, using incident types to distinguish. Part of the intent is to encourage teams to use ICS regularly.

ICS / NIMS

FEMA (US Emergency Response) free online training (exam available only for US citizens, or International members of IAEM)

• ​ICS 100 - Introduction to ICS (Incident Command System)
• ​ICS 700 - Introduction to NIMS (National Incident Management System)
• ​ICS 800 - Introduction to NRF (National Response Framework)
• ​ICS 101 - Deployment Basics (individual preparation)
• ​ICS 701 - NIMS Multiagency Coordination System
• ​ICS 702 - NIMS Public Information Systems
• ​ICS 703 - NIMS Resource Management
• ​ICS 704 - NIMS Communications and Information Management
• ​ICS 200 - Single Resources and Initial Action Incidents (for supervisors)

Forms:

• ​http://www.fema.gov/emergency/nims/JobAids.shtm

NB What is called an 'Incident' in ICS is what Eden currently calls an 'Event'.

An article on ICS:

• ​http://herbertcole.wordpress.com/2011/06/27/ics-simplified/

Preparedness

Effective emergency management and incident response activities begin with a host of preparedness activities conducted on an ongoing basis, in advance of any potential incident. Preparedness involves an integrated combination of assessment; planning; procedures and protocols; training and exercises; personnel qualifications; equipment certification; and evaluation and revision.

• Protocols are rules for knowing what level of delegated authority a trained person has to operate before referring to a superior.
• Credentialing involves an objective evaluation and documentation of an individual's:
  • Current certification, license, or degree
  • Training and experience
  • Competence or proficiency
  • Medical Fitness
• Procedural Documents
  • Standard Operating Procedure or Operations Manual: Complete reference document that provides the purpose, authorities, duration, and details for the preferred method of performing a single function or a number of interrelated functions in a uniform manner.
  • Field Operations Guide or Incident Management Handbook: Durable pocket or desk guide that contains essential information required to perform specific assignments or functions.
  • Mobilization Guide: Reference document used by agencies/organizations outlining agreements, processes, and procedures used by all participating organizations for activating, assembling, and transporting resources.
  • Job Aid: Checklist or other visual aid intended to ensure that specific steps for completing a task or assignment are accomplished. Job aids serve as training aids to teach individuals how to complete specific job tasks.

We should support Exercises easily (prefix on messages, watermark on records). Event data (whether real or Exercise) should be visible only within that Event (filtered out like deletion_status)

Communications and Information Management

Emergency management and incident response activities rely on communications and information systems that provide a common operating picture to all command and coordination sites. NIMS describes the requirements necessary for a standardized framework for communications and emphasizes the need for a common operating picture. This component is based on the concepts of interoperability, reliability, scalability, and portability, as well as the resiliency and redundancy of communications and information systems.

Common operating picture including the availability and location of resources and the status of assistance requests.

Resource Management

Resources (such as personnel, equipment, supplies and facilities) are needed to support critical incident objectives. The flow of resources must be fluid and adaptable to the requirements of the incident. NIMS defines standardized mechanisms and establishes the resource management process to identify requirements, order and acquire, mobilize, track and report, recover and demobilize, reimburse, and inventory resources.

Credentialing:

• entails the objective evaluation and documentation of an individual’s current certification, license, or degree; training and experience; and competence or proficiency to meet nationally accepted standards, provide particular services and/or functions, or perform specific tasks under specific conditions during an incident.

Resources are identified by standard:

• Type - specifically defines the level of capability a resource has. Type may vary by power, size, or capacity. Therefore, assigning a Type 1 label to a resource implies that it has a greater level of capability than a Type 2 of the same resource. The National Resource Typing definitions are broken into four distinct types. In some cases, a resource may have less than or more than four types. The type assigned to a resource or a component is based on a minimum level of capability described by the identified metric(s) for that resource.

• Category - describes the function for which a resource would be most useful (list as of June 2007):
  • Transportation
  • Communications
  • Public works and engineering
  • Firefighting
  • Information and planning
  • Law enforcement and security
  • Mass care
  • Resource management
  • Health and medical
  • Search and rescue
  • Hazardous materials response
  • Food and water
  • Energy
  • Public information
  • Animals and agricultural issues
  • Volunteers and donations

• Kind (broad classes that characterize like resources):
  • teams
  • equipment
  • supplies
  • vehicles
  • aircraft

• Tier:
  • Tier-I (Capable of being requested for National responses)
  • Tier-II (Capable only for Intra-State responses)

Although different formats may exist, every Resource Order should contain the essential elements of information (a good mnemonic is SALTT: Size, Amount, Location, Type, Time):

• Incident name
• Order and/or request number (if known or assigned)
• Date and time of order
• Quantity, kind, and type or detailed mission description (Resources should be ordered by Task Forces or Strike Teams when appropriate.) Include any special support needs.
• Reporting location (specific)
• Requested time of delivery (specific, immediate vs. planned, not ASAP)
• Radio frequency to be used
• Person/title placing request
• Callback phone number or radio designation for clarifications or additional information

Mobilization notifications should include:

• The date, time, and place of departure.
• Mode of transportation to the incident.
• Estimated date and time of arrival.
• Reporting location (address, contact name, and phone number).
• Anticipated incident assignment.
• Anticipated duration of deployment.
• Resource order number.
• Incident number.
• Applicable cost and funding codes.

Resource Tracking:

• The Planning Section is responsible for tracking all resources assigned to the incident and their status:
  • Assigned – Currently working on an assignment under the direction of a supervisor
  • Available – Ready for immediate assignment and has been issued all required equipment
  • Out of Service – Not available or ready to be assigned (e.g., maintenance issues, rest periods)
• The Operations Section is responsible for tracking the movement of resources within the Operations Section itself.

Command and Management

The Command and Management component of NIMS is designed to enable effective and efficient incident management and coordination by providing a flexible, standardized incident management structure. The structure is based on three key organizational constructs: the Incident Command System, Multiagency Coordination Systems, and Public Information.

• Common Language (plain English)
  • Facility types (Office Types? Different Icons):
    • Incident Command Posts, Bases, Camps, Staging Areas, mass casualty triage areas, point-of-distribution sites
• Manage by Objectives
  • Incident Action Plan (Document Library + Wiki?)
• Flexible Org charts (predefined optional roles to delegate areas to)
  • each person has only a single superior
  • manageable span of control (3-7 subordinates)
• Staff need to check-in & check-out (like we do for Shelters)
• Provide a 'Public Bulletin' area of the site (frontpage?)

Incident Action Plan:

• Development of incident objectives and strategy.
• Development of tactics and resource assignments.
• Detailed incident and resource assessment, including safety concerns.
• Required logistical support.
• Consideration of public information and interagency issues.
• Documentation of assignments and required support on the written IAP.
• Monitored implementation.

Check-In:

• Date and time of check-in.
• Name of resource.
• Home base.
• Departure point.
• Order number and resource filled.
• Resource Leader name and personnel manifest (if applicable).
• Other qualifications.
• Travel method.

Demobilization:

• Performance Rating by Senior (& signed by Individual)

Requests for assistance (outside jurisdiction) should include the following information:

• The type of incident
• The time that the incident occurred or is expected to occur
• The actions already taken
• The areas and number of people involved
• Estimates of loss of life, injuries, and extent of damage
• The type and amount of assistance required
• A contact for followup questions

Public Information:

• Gathering information
• Verifying information
• Coordinating information (inc key messages, sign-off)
• Disseminating information

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User Stories

• BluePrintScenario

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Design

Components

This is a bit of brainstorming on what is needed to fit into ICS for use by Citizen Corps programs (CERT, Neighborhood Watch, etc.)

Initial version not quite done... still thinking about best way to organize people, roles, incidents, schedules... NDA

• Location: address, coordinate, postal info
• Person: individual
• Role: hierarchy of structure and command
• Organization: companies, teams, agencies, etc., with inter-relationships
• Membership: relationship of people to organizations
• Incident: deployment, training, exercise, debriefing, etc.
• Credential: training, skill, certification, vaccinations, etc.
• Prerequisite: what credentials needed before a person can participate in an incident
• Event: what happened at a particular time and place; logging
• Equipment: personal and organizational gear
• Resource: supplier of equipment, skills, etc.
• Project: workflow for planning and management
• Email: contact info
• Phone: contact info
• Web page: associated with people, organizations, resources

Functions

• Add, modify, remove each kind of component
• Generate lists of each kind of component
• Print identification cards/badges
• Keep track of who is active, by neighborhood and city; ping inactive people
• Select individuals by various criteria, then send notifications
• Interface to calendar, recurring automatic emails for meeting notifications
• Issue training certificate
• Alerting - instant messaging, SMS, printed phone tree generation
• Export KML data for mapping, with symbols
• Dashboards for incidents, teams, resources, projects
• Training reports - who needs which courses, what expires soon?
• ICS/NIMS forms
• Access control
• Automatic data dump to forms suitable for laptops, mobile - cache critical data for when network is down.
• Data import
• Per-volunteer web pages (wiki) with controls on what to make public, links to social network sites
• MORE TBD

Table structures

A brainstorm on possible DB schema:

person

person_id	INTEGER(8)	UNSIGNED	NOT NULL
person_title	VARCHAR(40)
first_name	VARCHAR(40)	NOT NULL
last_name	VARCHAR(40)	NOT NULL
nickname	VARCHAR(40)
photo	BLOB
physical_limitations	TEXT
comments	TEXT
gender	ENUM(m,f)
birthdate	DATE
status	ENUM('interested_volunteer,pending_volunteer,active_volunteer,inactive_volunteer,liason,contact')	NOT NULL
emergency_contact	INTEGER(8)	UNSIGNED
credential_id	INTEGER(8)	UNSIGNED
phone_id	INTEGER(8)	UNSIGNED
PRIMARY KEY	(person_id)
UNIQUE KEY	IDX_person1(person_id)
KEY	IDX_person2(person_id,credential_id)
KEY	IDX_person3(person_id,phone_id)

role

role_id	INTEGER(8)	UNSIGNED	NOT NULL
ics_level	ENUM('Command,Section,Division,Individual')
ics_role	ENUM('PIO,Safety,Operations,Planning,Logistics,Intelligence,Finance/Admin')
PRIMARY KEY	(role_id)
UNIQUE KEY	IDX_role1(role_id)

equipment

equipment_id	INTEGER(8)	UNSIGNED
equipment_name	VARCHAR(40)	NOT NULL
person_id	INTEGER(8)	UNSIGNED
PRIMARY KEY	(equipment_id)
KEY	IDX_equipment1(person_id,equipment_id)

equipment_type

equipment_type_id	INTEGER(8)	UNSIGNED	NOT NULL
equipment_type	VARCHAR(40)	NOT NULL
equipment_category	VARCHAR(40)	NOT NULL
PRIMARY KEY	(equipment_type_id)

COMMENT='Types include things like handie-talkie,first aid kit,boots,gloves. Categories include things like communications,PPE,medical,SAR.';

location

location_id	INTEGER(8)	UNSIGNED	NOT NULL
location_type	ENUM('home,work,incident,organization,company,division,shelter,camp,command post,resource')	NOT NULL
street_address	VARCHAR(100)
street_address2	VARCHAR(100)
city	VARCHAR(50)
county	VARCHAR(50)
postal_code	VARCHAR(40)
longitude	VARCHAR(40)
latitude	VARCHAR(40)
last_update	DATE
organization_id	INTEGER(8)	UNSIGNED
PRIMARY KEY	(location_id,location_type)
UNIQUE KEY	IDX_location1(location_id,location_type)
KEY	IDX_location2(organization_id,location_id)

person_location

person_id	INTEGER(8)	UNSIGNED	NOT NULL
location_id	INTEGER(8)	UNSIGNED	NOT NULL
location_type	ENUM('home,work,other')	NOT NULL
comments	TEXT
PRIMARY KEY	(person_id,location_id,location_type)
KEY	IDX_person_location1(location_id,location_type)
KEY	IDX_person_location2(person_id)

incident

incident_id	INTEGER(8)	UNSIGNED	NOT NULL
planned	BOOL
descriptiion	TEXT
comments	TEXT
activation_code	VARCHAR(10)
incident_primary_contact	INTEGER(8)	UNSIGNED
PRIMARY KEY	(incident_id)
UNIQUE KEY	IDX_incident1(incident_id)

COMMENT='planned events,training,emergencies,shelters,etc.';

tag

tag_id	INTEGER(8)	UNSIGNED	NOT NULL
description	TEXT
PRIMARY KEY	(tag_id)
UNIQUE KEY	IDX_tag1(tag_id)

COMMENT='Tags used in Twitter,etc.';

incident_tag

incident_id	INTEGER(8)	UNSIGNED	NOT NULL
tag_id	INTEGER(8)	UNSIGNED	NOT NULL
PRIMARY KEY	(incident_id,tag_id)
KEY	IDX_incident_tag1(incident_id)
KEY	IDX_incident_tag2(tag_id)

event

event_id	INTEGER(8)	UNSIGNED	NOT NULL
category_id	INTEGER(8)	UNSIGNED	NOT NULL
event_type_id	INTEGER(8)	UNSIGNED	NOT NULL
description	TEXT
PRIMARY KEY	(event_id,category_id,event_type_id)
KEY	IDX_event1(category_id)
KEY	IDX_event2(event_type_id)
UNIQUE KEY	IDX_event3(event_id,category_id,event_type_id)

COMMENT='Things that happen before,during,after incidents. Command change,assessment,assignment,relief,demobilize,rehab';

event_category

category_id	INTEGER(8)	UNSIGNED	NOT NULL
category_name	VARCHAR(40)
description	TEXT
PRIMARY KEY	(category_id)
UNIQUE KEY	IDX_Entity_11(category_name)
UNIQUE KEY	IDX_event_category2(category_id)

COMMENT='Categories refer to incident resources - people,communications,equipment,supplies.';

event_type

event_type_id	INTEGER(8)	UNSIGNED	NOT NULL
event_type_name	VARCHAR(40)
description	TEXT
PRIMARY KEY	(event_type_id)
UNIQUE KEY	IDX_event_type1(event_type_id)

COMMENT='Specific things that happen - assign people, make assessment, identify hazard,etc.';

incident_event

incident_event_id	INTEGER(8)	UNSIGNED	NOT NULL
incident_id	INTEGER(8)	UNSIGNED
event_id	INTEGER(8)	UNSIGNED
person_id	INTEGER(8)	UNSIGNED
role_id	INTEGER(8)	UNSIGNED
location_id	INTEGER(8)	UNSIGNED
resource_id	INTEGER(8)	UNSIGNED
location_type	ENUM('home,work,incident,organization,company,division,shelter,camp,command	post,resource')
category_id	INTEGER(8)	UNSIGNED
event_type_id	INTEGER(8)	UNSIGNED
starting_time	DATETIME	NOT NULL
authority	INTEGER(8)	UNSIGNED
communications_channel	INTEGER(8)	UNSIGNED
comm_channel_id	INTEGER(8)	UNSIGNED
tactical_name	VARCHAR(40)
ending_time	DATE
PRIMARY KEY	(incident_event_id)
UNIQUE KEY	IDX_incident_event1(incident_id,event_id)
KEY	IDX_incident_event2(person_id)
KEY	IDX_incident_event3(location_id,location_type)
KEY	IDX_incident_event4(event_id,category_id,event_type_id)
KEY	IDX_incident_event5(incident_id)
KEY	IDX_incident_event6(authority)
KEY	IDX_incident_event7(comm_channel_id)
KEY	IDX_incident_event8(role_id)

COMMENT='Logging';

communication_channel

comm_channel_id	INTEGER(8)	UNSIGNED	NOT NULL
channel_type	ENUM('HF,VHF,UHF,FRS')	NOT NULL
tone	ENUM('#1 67.0,#2 71.9,#3 74.4,#4 77.0,#5 79.7,#6 82.5,#7 85.4,#8 88.5,#9 91.5,#10 94.8,#11 97.4,#12 100.0,#13 103.5,#14 107.2,#15 110.9,#16 114.8,#17 118.8,#18 123.0,#19 127.3,#20 131.8,#21 136.5,#22 141.3,#23 146.2,#24 151.4,#25 156.7,#26 162.2,#27 167.9,#28 173.8,#29 179.9,#30 186.2,#31 192.8,#32 203.5,#33 210.7,#34 218.1,#35 225.7,#36 233.6,#37 241.8,#38 250.3)
repeater_id	VARCHAR(10)
repeater_offset	SMALLINT
PRIMARY KEY	(comm_channel_id)
UNIQUE KEY	IDX_communication_channel1(comm_channel_id))

COMMENT='Ham and FRS frequencies,PLs,etc.';

liaison

liaison_id	INTEGER(8)	UNSIGNED	NOT NULL
person_id	INTEGER(8)	UNSIGNED	NOT NULL
organization_id1	INTEGER(8)	UNSIGNED	NOT NULL
organization_id2	INTEGER(8)	UNSIGNED	NOT NULL
when_assigned	DATETIME	NOT NULL
when_relieved	DATETIME
PRIMARY KEY	(liaison_id)
UNIQUE KEY	IDX_Entity_11(person_id,organization_id1,organization_id2,when_assigned)
KEY	IDX_liaison2(person_id)
UNIQUE KEY	IDX_liaison3(organization_id1)
UNIQUE KEY	IDX_liaison4(organization_id2)

organization

organization_id	INTEGER(8)	UNSIGNED	NOT NULL
organization_name	VARCHAR(100)	NOT NULL
organization_phone	INTEGER(8)	UNSIGNED
organization_type	ENUM('business,foundation,elected government,government agency,utility,public works,school,medical care,NGO,law enforcement,fire,EMS,religious,search and rescue,hazmat,agricultural,food,building supplies,demolition,long-term recovery,child care,senior care,human services,logistics,communications,disabled care')
vulnerable	ENUM('no,elderly,child,infant,disabled')
donor	BOOL
parent_organization	INTEGER(8)	UNSIGNED
geographic_scope	ENUM('neighborhood,city,county,region,state,national,global')
geographic_scope_name	VARCHAR(40)
liaison_id	INTEGER(8)	UNSIGNED
page_id	VARCHAR(40)	NOT NULL
location_id	INTEGER(8)	UNSIGNED
phone_id	INTEGER(8)	UNSIGNED
PRIMARY KEY	(organization_id)
UNIQUE KEY	IDX_Entity_11(organization_name)
KEY	IDX_organization2(organization_id,page_id)
KEY	IDX_organization3(organization_id)
KEY	IDX_organization4(organization_id,location_id)
KEY	IDX_organization5(organization_id,phone_id)

person_language

person_id	INTEGER(8)	UNSIGNED	NOT NULL
language_id	INTEGER(8)	UNSIGNED	NOT NULL
fluency	ENUM('mininal,conversational,advanced,native/fluent')	NOT NULL
english_translator	BOOL
PRIMARY KEY	(person_id)
UNIQUE KEY	IDX_person_language1(person_id)

language

language_id	INTEGER(8)	UNSIGNED	NOT NULL
language_name	VARCHAR(50)	NOT NULL
person_id	INTEGER(8)	UNSIGNED
PRIMARY KEY	(language_id)
KEY	IDX_language1(person_id)

organization_page

organization_id	INTEGER(8)	UNSIGNED	NOT NULL
page_id	VARCHAR(40)	NOT NULL
PRIMARY KEY	(organization_id,page_id)
UNIQUE KEY	IDX_organization_page1(organization_id,page_id)

page

page_id	INTEGER(8)	UNSIGNED	NOT NULL
url	VARCHAR(255)
description	VARCHAR(100)
page_type	ENUM('Twitter,Facebook,YouTube,Wiki,Personal,Home')	NOT NULL
organization_id	INTEGER(8)	UNSIGNED
person_id	INTEGER(8)	UNSIGNED
PRIMARY KEY	(page_id)
KEY	IDX_page1(organization_id,page_id)
KEY	IDX_page2(person_id,page_id)

person_organization

person_id	INTEGER(8)	UNSIGNED	NOT NULL
organization_id	ENUM('PIO,Safety,Operations,Planning,Logistics,Intelligence,Finance/Admin')	NOT NULL
role_id	INTEGER(8)	UNSIGNED
active	BOOL
leader	BOOL
membership_started	DATE
membership_ends	DATE
PRIMARY KEY	(person_id,organization_id)
UNIQUE KEY	IDX_person_organization1(person_id)
UNIQUE KEY	IDX_person_organization2(organization_id)

person_page

person_id	INTEGER(8)	UNSIGNED	NOT NULL
page_id	INTEGER(8)	UNSIGNED	NOT NULL
PRIMARY KEY	(person_id,page_id)
UNIQUE KEY	IDX_person_page1(person_id)
UNIQUE KEY	IDX_person_page2(person_id,page_id)

person_equipment

person_id	INTEGER(8)	UNSIGNED	NOT NULL
equipment_id	INTEGER(8)	UNSIGNED	NOT NULL
needs	INTEGER	UNSIGNED	NOT NULL	DEFAULT	1
has	INTEGER	UNSIGNED	NOT NULL	DEFAULT	0
PRIMARY KEY	(person_id,equipment_id)
UNIQUE KEY	IDX_person_equipment1(person_id)
UNIQUE KEY	IDX_person_equipment2(person_id,equipment_id)

organization_location

organization_id	INTEGER(8)	UNSIGNED	NOT NULL
location_id	INTEGER(8)	UNSIGNED	NOT NULL
PRIMARY KEY	(organization_id,location_id)
UNIQUE KEY	IDX_organization_location1(organization_id,location_id)

phone

phone_id	INTEGER(8)	UNSIGNED	NOT NULL
area_code	INTEGER(4)	UNSIGNED	NOT NULL
country_code	INTEGER	UNSIGNED	NOT NULL
phone_number	INTEGER(8)	UNSIGNED	NOT NULL
extension	INTEGER(6)	UNSIGNED
service_provider	VARCHAR(40)
confidential	BOOL	NOT NULL	DEFAULT	False
primary	BOOL
24_7	BOOL
last_updated	DATE
person_id	INTEGER(8)	UNSIGNED
organization_id	INTEGER(8)	UNSIGNED
PRIMARY KEY	(phone_id)
KEY	IDX_phone1(person_id,phone_id)
KEY	IDX_phone2(organization_id,phone_id)

credential

credential_id	INTEGER(8)	UNSIGNED	NOT NULL
credential_name	VARCHAR(50)	NOT NULL
credential_description	TEXT	NOT NULL
credential_type	ENUM('communications,ICS,EMS,SAR,CERT,vaccination')	NOT NULL
person_id	INTEGER(8)	UNSIGNED
PRIMARY KEY	(credential_id)
KEY	IDX_credential1(person_id,credential_id)

person_credential

person_id	INTEGER(8)	UNSIGNED	NOT NULL
credential_id	INTEGER(8)	UNSIGNED	NOT NULL
issue_date	DATE	NOT NULL
expires	DATE
image	BLOB
verified_by	INTEGER(8)	UNSIGNED	NOT NULL
PRIMARY KEY	(person_id,credential_id)
UNIQUE KEY	IDX_person_credential1(person_id,credential_id)

person_phone

person_id	INTEGER(8)	UNSIGNED	NOT NULL
phone_id	INTEGER(8)	UNSIGNED	NOT NULL
phone_type	ENUM('home,work,organization,other')	NOT NULL
PRIMARY KEY	(person_id,phone_id)
UNIQUE KEY	IDX_person_phone1(person_id,phone_id)

organization_phone

organization_id	INTEGER(8)	UNSIGNED	NOT NULL
phone_id	INTEGER(8)	UNSIGNED	NOT NULL
phone_purpose	VARCHAR(75)
PRIMARY KEY	(organization_id,phone_id)
UNIQUE KEY	IDX_organization_phone1(organization_id,phone_id)
UNIQUE KEY	IDX_organization_phone1(organization_id,phone_id)