EDMG503Wk7
Rawono1
retrieve.pdf
Incident Commander
Safety Officer Public Information Officer
Liaison OfficerIntel/Info Officer
Operations Section
Planning Section
Logistics Section
Finance and Administration Section
Emergency Operations
Manager
Safety Officer Public Information Officer
Liaison OfficerIntel/Info Officer
Operations Leader
Planning Leader
Logistics Leader
Finance and Administration Leader
www.FireEngineering.com FIRE ENGINEERING May 2016 | 75
The Care and Feeding of the Emergency Operations Center B Y D AV E D O N O H U E
S CENARIO: AT 7:15 P.M., AN F3 TORNADO
strikes your community and travels
for approximately 15 miles on the
ground. It destroys homes across several
towns, cuts the power, and forces a train
off the tracks. Response resources have
set up several command posts in the
affected communities and are calling the
county dispatch center to request re-
sources. The county emergency manager
advises that the emergency operations
center (EOC) is now activated and that
incident commanders (ICs) should relay
requests to the EOC instead of to the
communications center. Furthermore, ICs
should begin coordinating their incident
action plans (IAPs) for later that evening
with the EOC to ensure sufficient resources
are available for overnight and morning
operations.
Because of federal mandates, any-
one who expects to fill a role during an
emergency must have completed basic
training in the National Incident Man-
agement System (NIMS). Although many
have a rudimentary understanding of
the National Response Framework, few
responders routinely have the opportuni-
ty to work within a fully staffed incident
command structure, and even fewer
have had the opportunity to integrate
the incident command structure with an
EOC. Below is an overview of EOCs and
how ICs can use the EOC to best support
emergency operations.
Organization
The EOC is a designated facility ca-
pable of supporting one or more incident
operations within a fixed geographic
area. Although many businesses, towns,
and cities may have EOCs, counties,
states, and the federal government will
have functioning EOCs during emergen-
cy incidents and many planned events.
The EOC is designed to provide logisti-
cal, planning, and financial support to
incident operations. This includes allo-
cating scarce resources and coordinating
activities between incident locations.
During an incident that requires activat-
ing command and general staff positions,
the EOC will likely be activated, and the
center can assume or assist with many of
the incident command support func-
tions, such as information and planning
(Figure 1).
To best use the EOC, ICs should
understand how the EOC is organized.
EOCs are usually organized under three
models: the incident command model,
the emergency support function model,
or a hybrid model that combines the two.
Smaller organizations and communi-
ties tend to use the incident command
model, which readily integrates with the
incident command team at the incident
site. An EOC manager replaces the IC,
but otherwise the command and general
staff remain the same. Many EOCs alter
the titles of command and general staff
slightly to avoid confusion with their
counterparts in the field (Figure 2).
The emergency operations manag-
er is responsible for overall activities
within the EOC, including liaison with
the policy group and with the EOCs in
neighboring jurisdictions and at the state
and federal levels. He activates the com-
ponents needed and initiates planning to
support the incident and recovery.
The public information officer is
responsible for communication off site,
including working with the media, relay-
ing information to community partners
(e.g., hospitals, utilities), and coordinat-
ing messaging with other agencies and
organizations.
The liaison officer is responsible
for the coordinating partner agencies
within the EOC. Frequently, multiple
organizations, including the National
Guard, public utilities, school districts,
and transportation agencies, will send
representatives to the EOC. The liaison
Figure 1. ICS Command and General Staff Positions
Figure 2. EOC Positions: The Incident Command Model
1605FE_75 75 4/21/16 4:45 PM
76 | May 2016 FIRE ENGINEERING www.FireEngineering.com
Emergency Operations Center
Table 1. The National Response Framework Emergency Support Functions
ESF NUMBER AND ROLE ACTIVITIES
ESF 1 Transportation
Control aviation and airspace
Transportation safety
Assess transportation infrastructure damage
Return, restore transportation infrastructure
ESF 2 Communications
Coordinate with technology, telecommunications industries
Restore telecommunications and cyber infrastructure
Oversee federal communication within the federal system
ESF 3 Public Works and Engineering
Repair and protect infrastructure
Engineering services
Construction management
Emergency contracting to restore life-sustaining services
ESF 4 Firefighting Support and coordinate firefighting operations
ESF 5 Emergency Management
Coordinate incident management
Assign mission tasks
Incident action planning
Financial management
Resource management
ESF 6 Mass Care, Emergency Assistance, Housing, and Human Services
Mass care
Emergency assistance
Temporary and long-term housing
Restore human services capabilities
ESF 7 Logistics Management and Resource Support
Logistics planning
Sustain incident operations
Resource support
Facility support
ESF 8 Public Health and Medical Services
Public health services
Emergency medical services
Restore health services
Mental health services
Mass-fatality services
ESF 9 Search and Rescue Search and rescue operations
ESF 10 Oil and Hazardous Materials Response Emergency response
Mitigate hazardous materials and restore resources affected
ESF 11 Agriculture and Natural Resources
Nutrition assistance
Animal and plant disease response
Food safety
Food security
Preservation and restoration of cultural and historic properties
Safety and well-being of pets
ESF 12 Energy
Repair and restoration of energy infrastructure
Coordination of energy restoration
Forecast of energy needs
ESF 13 Public Safety and Security
Facility and resource security
Security planning
Technical assistance
Public safety and security
Perimeter and access control
Traffic control
ESF 14 Long-Term Community Recovery
Commercial and economic damage and impact assessment
Long-term recovery planning
Mitigation plan review
Mitigation plan implementation
ESF 15 External Affairs
Public information
Media relations
Community relations
Elected officials relations
International relations
Tribal and insular affairs
1605FE_76 76 4/21/16 4:45 PM
Emergency Operations
Manager
Safety Officer Public Information Officer ESF 15
Liaison OfficerIntel/Info Officer
Operations Leader
ESF 3
ESF 14
ESF 13
ESF 12
ESF 10
ESF 5
ESF 14
ESF 1
ESF 2
ESF 7
ESF 11
ESF 5
ESF 14ESF 4
ESF 6
ESF 8
ESF 9
Planning Leader
Logistics Leader
Finance and Administration Leader
Emergency Operations Center
To request information go to fireeng.hotims.com
assists with coordinating their activi-
ties within the EOC and ensuring that
support is provided to the emergency
responders in the field.
The safety officer oversees safety
within the EOC, including assessing food
and sanitation, facility safety, work-rest
cycles of personnel assigned to the EOC,
and related activities.
The operations leader focuses on
supporting current and future operations
and can provide technical expertise and
planning assistance within the EOC and
to field personnel. Operations will not
only focus on the emergency incident but
may also include activities that continue
well after the emergency phase, includ-
ing long-term housing, recovery, and
restoration of lifeline services.
Similarly, the planning leader is split
among short-, mid-, and long-term
planning. As with all EOC positions, this
position supports the current emergency
operation. However, the planning leader
and his component are also develop-
ing plans on restoring the community,
including potential changes in legislation
and zoning; the timing of restoration of
services, businesses, and utilities; and
potential mitigation measures that may
be incorporated in the restoration pro-
cess to reduce or eliminate the impact of
future incidents.
The logistics leader supports emer-
gency incident operations as well as
Figure 3. The National Response Framework Emergency Support Functions
1605FE_77 77 4/21/16 4:45 PM
Direct: +01.443.808.0737
Toll-Free: +01.877.563.9980 x1
www.adashisystems.com
INCIDENT COMMAND LIKE NEVER BEFORE
� ������������� ������ �� provides situation awareness,
real time collaboration, tactical planning, tracking, management,
communication, logging, and reporting.
Real time collaboration
ESRI Maps compatible
Navteq street maps included
Real time weather integration
CAD integration
RMS integration
Intuitive touch screen interface
Real time logging of all activities
After incident reporting
Enterprise platform
Web independent - internet
not required
Emergency Operations Center
www.FireEngineering.comTo request information go to fireeng.hotims.com
operations that will take place following
the emergency. As with the incident
command post, the logistics component
will likely be the second largest function-
ing group within the structure.
The finance and administration
component not only documents costs for
cost recovery but is also instrumental in
developing cost alternatives for the inci-
dent through the recovery process. The
finance and administration component
will be critical in developing cost-benefit
analysis for mitigation projects and for
fully realizing cost recovery for emergen-
cy operations.
Emergency Support Functions
The National Response Framework
uses emergency support functions (ESF)
to delineate lead and support agencies
for federal response to disasters. National
and many state and county EOCs have
incorporated the ESF model. There are
15 ESFs under the federal system, which
lists lead and assisting agencies. Howev-
er, state and local EOCs may have more
or fewer ESFs based on their needs and
capabilities (Table 1).
Generally, during a large-scale EOC
activation, the lead and assisting agencies
assigned to each ESF will be in the EOC.
This allows each function to coordinate
and carry out assignments as they are
assigned. The EOC manager can also inte-
grate ESF personnel to support operations
that require information and coordination
from more than one function.
Hybrid Model
Finally, the hybrid model uses the
incident command system format for
organization and placing ESFs, which
allows easier integration of ESFs when
supporting an incident command team,
minimizes the confusion regarding roles
and responsibilities, and allows close
coordination when communicating with
states and the federal government. As
with the ICS used in the field, only the
ESFs needed to support the operation
are activated and may be placed where
they can best support the incident. For
example, during a flooding incident
in which many homes are damaged or
destroyed, you may place ESF 6 (mass
care) under the operations, planning,
or logistics component, depending on
the current or projected needs of the
incident (Figure 3).
Regardless of the EOC configuration,
ICs should become familiar with the
local emergency operations plan and the
design of their community’s EOC. The
IC will be able to shift many support
functions from the emergency scene, in-
cluding planning, logistics, and finance
support; improve emergency operations
by coordinating and effectively deploy-
ing resources; and ensure the safety of
personnel and the community.
DAVE DONOHUE has more than 35 years
of emergency services and hazardous
materials experience and is affiliated with the
Cumberland County (PA) Special Hazards and
Operations Team, the South Central Task Force
(PA) Incident Management Team, and the
Halfway (MD) Fire Company. He is an instructor
for the Maryland Fire and Rescue Institute, a
retired United States Coast Guard chief marine
sciences technician, and owner of Mid-Atlantic
Emergency and Safety Consultants.
1605FE_78 78 4/21/16 4:45 PM
Copyright of Fire Engineering is the property of PennWell Corporation and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.
