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ICS for Schools

Why is ICS important for Schools? Each year, natural disasters such as tornadoes, floods, and severe storms affect schools. Health-

related incidents such as flu outbreaks, food-borne diseases, and even rabid animals can threaten

schoolchildren. Accidents — whether in chemistry labs, sporting venues, or on school buses —

may occur. Furthermore, schools continue to be subject to man-made threats, such as intruders,

crime, and violence.

In spite of our best efforts and preparation, school personnel may need to serve as first

responders for an array of emergency incidents.

School personnel are likely to be the first on the scene when an incident occurs on school

property or involves school staff or students. Eventually police, fire, emergency medical services

or another external agency will manage response to the incident. However, the first response will

likely be by school employees. They will act as a bridge, conducting initial response activities

until first-responders such as police, fire and emergency medical services can arrive. School

employees can manage these initial response activities for an incident more effectively by

establishing incident command.

ICS can also be utilized as an effective management structure for pre-planned, non-emergency

events such as a football game or a school graduation.

Additionally, the use of ICS is required for all schools and school districts receiving emergency

preparedness funding including the U.S. Department of Education Readiness and Emergency

Management for Schools (REMS) grants, CFDA #84.184 E (formerly known as the Emergency

Response and Crisis Management (ERCM) grant program).

How might the ICS Command Structure Look in a School?

The components of the ICS structure are standard no matter where it is established. These

components are activated as needed to manage the incident. If a section is not needed the

Incident Commander won’t establish it. However, the Incident Commander is responsible to

personally manage any function that he or she does not delegate to a subordinate.

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Remember the concept of Supervisory Span of Control discussed in this course. The

organizational structure is tailored to effectively manage the resources assigned to an incident or

event. The ICS structure for a missing student on the school grounds might be very simple,

possibly only requiring an Incident Commander, an Operations Section Chief and a number of

Search Parties. There may not be a need for Planning, Logistics and Finance/ Administration

Sections because the incident can be expected to be of short duration and geographically

restricted. The type of incident, nature of the task, hazards and safety factors, and distances

between personnel and resources all influence span of control and determine how large of an ICS

organization is required for the incident or event.

It is important to remember that when an ICS organization is established for an incident or event

in a school:

• There is no correlation with the school administrative structure.

• The ICS structure is different from the daily administrative structure in order to avoid

confusion over whom you should take direction from.

• The supervisors of the Incident Command should use the correct ICS titles; these will be

different from their daily school position titles.

To illustrate this, consider a hypothetical incident involving multiple cases of heat stroke in

which the school nurse is designated as the Incident Commander. The Incident Commander is

responsible for work assignments for all personnel assigned to the incident. Although the Vice

Principal may “out-rank” everyone in the ICS organization, it would be inappropriate for this

administrator to go around the established ICS chain of command and give members of the

incident management team direct orders. The Vice Principal should give any guidance or

direction to the Incident Commander, who will then in turn determine what actions are necessary

and who within the incident command will conduct the actions.

Incident Commander

The Incident Commander is the individual designated by the school leadership to manage the

incident or event. He or she has overall responsibility and will set the objectives, strategies and

priorities for incident response.

The Incident Commander is the only ICS position that is always staffed. For small incidents

involving only a few school personnel it is possible that the Incident Commander will not

establish any subordinate supervisors; in this case he or she is personally responsible for

performing all incident management functions. It is more common for the Incident Commander

to designate several subordinate supervisors to assist in managing various incident management

functions for an incident or event.

When an individual is assigned as the Incident Commander, he or she has been delegated the

authority to manage the incident. Regardless of this individual’s normal rank or position within

the school’s administration, when designated as the Incident Commander he or she is in charge

of incident management and can delegate this authority to others to manage aspects of the ICS

organization.

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In an actual bomb threat at the Gila River Indian Community in Bapchule, AZ, Sister Carol

Mathe, a teacher, was designated by the school leadership as the Incident Commander for

evacuation of children from the building. She established an ICS structure and began the

evacuation. To help her she designated a Safety Officer, a Public Information Officer, a

maintenance person, a planner and someone to document the actions taken. Note that due to the

size and complexity of the incident she established key Command Staff positions (Safety and

PIO) but did not establish any General Staff Sections. Once the police arrived she transferred

incident command to a police department designated Incident Commander. After relinquishing

incident command, she assumed another role within the ICS structure as a liaison from the

school to the Incident Commander.

Command Staff

Depending on the size and type of incident or event, the Incident Commander may designate

personnel to provide information, safety and liaison services.

• A Public Information Officer serves as the conduit of information for the incident or

event to include the media and parents.

• A Safety Officer monitors safety conditions and develops measures for assuring safety.

• A Liaison Officer is the primary contact for supporting agencies assisting at an incident.

General Staff

The General Staff consists of up to four sections: Operations, Planning, Logistics and Finance/

Administration. In an expanding incident the Incident Commander first establishes the

Operations Section. The remaining sections are established as needed to support the operation.

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Operations Section

The Operations Section manages the operations, directing resources to achieve incident

objectives. If an Incident Commander for a school incident or event establishes only one section

it will most likely be an Operations Section.

During an incident, the Operations team may include several individuals from the school. For

example the Operations Section Chief could manage an individual, such as the School Nurse, as

well as groups of individuals such as a School Facilities Response Crew (School Maintenance),

and a Site Security Crew (School Security). When managing a group of people such as the

Facilities Response Crew, one member of that crew would be designated as the supervisor.

When organizing Teams remember to consider span of control. Each Team Leader should only

manage from three to seven team members. The Operations Section Chief should also only be

managing from three to seven individuals (some of whom will be team leaders). When the span

of control exceeds seven, it is time to review the organizational structure and consider

designating additional supervisors.

Planning Section The Planning Section is established as needed to manage an incident or event. The Planning

Section collects, evaluates and displays incident information, prepares and documents incident

action plans, tracks resources assigned to the incident, maintains incident documentation and

develops plans for demobilization.

In a school incident, the Planning Section helps to ensure that responders have accurate

information, such as the number of students remaining in the building. The Planning section can

also provide resources such as maps and floor plans. In addition to developing plans, this section

can act as recorders to document incident activities. This could be invaluable after the event for

legal, analytical, fiscal and historical purposes.

Planning may be as simple as one individual designated to document the incident. If the school

incident or event involves multiple planning functions it may require multiple individuals

working under a Planning Section Chief.

Logistics Section The Logistics Section is responsible for ensuring that there are adequate resources including

personnel, supplies and equipment.

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During an incident or event at a school, Logistics is responsible for ensuring that there are

sufficient resources such as food, water and sanitation supplies. Logistics will also be responsible

for arranging busses for evacuations, providing communications equipment, and managing

facilities requirements. While medical services for injured students is provided by medical

personnel assigned to Operations, the Logistics section has responsibility for providing medical

services to response personnel within the ICS organization. When resources must be purchased

to support an incident or event, Logistics must coordinate with Finance.

The Logistics function could be performed by a single person working directly for the Incident

Commander. When a school incident or event requires multiple logistics functions, multiple

individuals will work under a Logistics Section Chief.

Finance/Administration Section

The Finance/ Administration function manages paying for the incident or event response. This

includes all aspects of financial and cost analysis: contract negotiation, tracking personnel and

equipment time, documenting and processing claims for accidents and injuries occurring at the

incident and keeping a running tally of costs associated with the incident. The Finance/

Administration Section works closely with Logistics to contract for and procure the resources

needed to manage the incident.

In a school incident or event the Finance/ Administration function could be performed by a

single person working directly for the Incident Commander. When a school incident or event

requires multiple Finance/ Administration functions, multiple individuals will work under a

Finance/ Administration Section Chief. On some school incidents the Finance/ Administration

function is not done at the incident scene but rather is handled by the school district.

Application of Incident Command in a School

Let’s take a look at some of the responsibilities and actions that might be taken by the different

roles in the ICS Organization using a scenario.

You and several other teachers are in the schoolyard during recess. A child falls on his back and

is breathing but not moving. You hear a clap of thunder in the distance.

Several things have to happen quickly. The child must be evaluated and given appropriate

medical care. To accomplish this someone must contact medical help. You will likely require

outside help such as emergency medical services, so someone will have to call 911. The injured

child and the other children must be moved to safety and you must maintain accountability of all

children and the other teachers and administration responding to this incident. Someone must

think about other safety risks to the students or the responders (teachers). Someone must notify

the administration, outside medical services, and the child’s parents. It may even become

necessary to make a statement to the local press. Someone will have to record the incident

actions and you may also encounter issues with pay or workman’s compensation.

To accomplish all of this in a coordinated fashion someone needs to be placed in charge establish

incident command. In ICS the senior first responder on scene establishes the initial incident

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command. In this scenario let’s say that you are the senior teacher and you have training and

experience in the Incident Command System. You establish initial Incident Command and will

maintain it until the incident is resolved, or the school administration designates another Incident

Commander.

As you direct the initial actions and organize the response you will also want to develop an

incident command structure to assist you in managing this incident. Remember that if you are the

Incident Commander that you are responsible for any function for which you have not delegated

authority to a designated supervisor for that function.

So what are some of the functions and responsibilities that you will need to consider?

ICS Management Function Responsibilities

Command Establish Incident Command

Determine what needs to be done (initial incident objectives)

Safety

Assess safety concerns and recommend additional actions to

ensure safety for students and responders

Public Information Prepare and disseminate information to parents and media

Operations Organize responders to effectively manage the incident

Ensure that the child does not move and monitor vital signs.

Provide comfort to the injured child.

Determine if you can get temporary shelter for you and the

child.

Determine appropriate actions to ensure the safety of other

students

Planning Monitor the approaching weather.

Prepare your strategy if lightning strikes occur.

Prepare your strategy if the child stops breathing.

Logistics

Arrange for temporary shelter to cover the injured child.

Finance/Administration Complete reports and work with appropriate school personnel

to submit appropriate insurance forms.

How can you organize the response for this incident? The following is one possible Incident

Command Structure for this incident:

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The Incident Command System utilizes a modular approach. As the Incident Commander you

only activate those portions that you need to manage the incident. In this case only one General

Staff section, Operations, is utilized. The Planning function is a single person, the Recorder. The

Logistics function is a single person, a facilities worker. The Finance/ Administration is a single

person, and this person is located at the school district, not at the incident site. Similarly,

Command Staff positions, Safety Officer and Public Information Officer, are each staffed with a

single person.

Note the span of control for this ICS structure. As the Incident Commander you would have six

individuals reporting directly to you: a Safety Officer, a Public Information Officer, an

Operations Section Chief, a Recorder, a Facilities Worker, and an Administration/ Finance

Worker. The school nurse and the Student Sheltering and Accountability Team would report to

the Operations Section Chief. Because the Student Sheltering and Accountability Team is

composed of several teachers, one teacher would be designated as the Team Leader to manage

the efforts of the Team.

Remember that once designated as the Incident Commander, you will remain the Incident

Commander until either the incident is concluded, or you are replaced by another Incident

Commander. Some smaller incidents may be resolved quickly and this “transfer of command”

will not happen. For larger incidents involving outside first-responders, you can anticipate that

fire, police, emergency medical services or another outside organization will likely assume

Incident Command. When this happens the school will normally move into a supporting role for

the incident and provide a school liaison to the new incident commander.

Conclusion

In some emergency incidents school personnel may need to serve as first responders. For these

incidents, as well as for some pre-planned events, the use of the Incident Command System can

help the school to effectively manage these incidents and events.

For additional Information:

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• US DOE, Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools, http://rems.ed.gov/

• FEMA ICS Resource Center, https://training.fema.gov/emiweb/is/icsresource/

• Additional ICS Training, https://training.fema.gov/