NORTHWEST FLORIDA STATE COLLEGE POLICE DEPARTMENT
GENERAL ORDERS MANUAL
SUBJECT
Incident Command System
GO 18
William F. Looper, Chief of Police
EFFECTIVE DATE
November 26, 2012
REVISION DATE
May 3, 2013
PAGES
1 of 6
AUTHORITY/RELATED REFERENCES
General Order 19, Unusual Occurrences and Special Event Planning
Standard Operating Procedure 4, Bomb Threats
Standard Operating Procedure 21, Hostage and Barricaded Subject
Standard Operating Procedure 22, Active Shooter Incident
Standard Operating Procedure 35, Special Operations
Northwest Florida StateCollege Emergency Management Plan
ACCREDITATION REFERENCES
CFA, Chapter 20
KEY WORD INDEX
Activation Criteria Procedure II
After Action Report
Procedure VI
General
Procedure I
Periodic Review Procedure V
Supervisory/Command Protocol
Procedure III
Training of Agency Personnel Procedure V
Written Plans and Procedures Utilized
Procedure IV
PROCEDURE STATEMENT
The purpose of this General Order is to outline the use of the Incident Command System
during natural and man-made disasters, civil disturbances, and other large unusual
occurrences.
NOTE: This procedure is for internal use only, and does not enlarge an officer’s civil or
criminal liability in any way. It should not be construed as the creation of a higher standard
of safety or care in an evidentiary sense, with respect to third party claims. Violations of
NORTHWEST FLORIDA STATE COLLEGE POLICE DEPARTMENT
this directive, if proven, can only form the basis of a complaint by this Department, and
then only in a non-judicial administrative setting.
DEFINITIONS
ICS: Incident Command System.
Incident Command System: (ICS) Is a standardized management tool for meeting the
demands of small or large emergency or non-emergency situations, and may be utilized
for planned events, natural disasters and acts of terrorism. ICS is a key feature of NIMS.
NIMS: National Incident Management System.
Unified Command: In incidents with multi-agency involvement, Unified Command allows
agencies with different legal, geographic, functional authorities and responsibilities to
work together effectively, without affecting individual agency authority, responsibility, or
accountability.
PROCEDURES
I.
GENERAL
A. An Incident Command System (ICS) defines the operating characteristics, interactive
management components, and the structure of incident management and emergency
response organizations engaged in emergency management throughout the life cycle of
an incident.
B. ICS provides a means to coordinate the efforts of individual persons and agencies as
they work together towards the common goals of life safety, incident stabilization, and
protection of property and the environment.
C. The Incident Command System structure is comprised of five major functional areas
or Sections:
1. Command Staff - is assigned to carry out functions needed to support the Incident
Commander. These functions include interagency liaison, incident safety, and public
information;
2. Operations Section - is responsible for managing all tactical operations at an incident;
3. Planning Section - is responsible for providing planning services for the incident by
collecting, evaluating, and processing information for use in developing action plans;
4. Logistics Section - provides all incident support needs (excluding air operations) such
as for supplies, equipment, food and medical services; and
GENERAL ORDER 18-2
NORTHWEST FLORIDA STATE COLLEGE POLICE DEPARTMENT
5. Finance/Administration Section - is responsible for managing all financial aspects of
an incident (not all incidents will require this function).
D. Incident Command System has several concepts and principles that work together to
provide the basis for effective incident management. They are:
1. Common terminology – helps to define organizational functions, incident facilities,
resource descriptions, and position titles;
2. Modular organization – The organizational structure for Incident Command develops
in a top-down modular fashion based on incident size and complexity, as well as specifics
of the hazard environment created;
3. Integrated communications – Incident communications are facilitated through the
development and use of a common communications plan and interoperable
communications processes and designs;
4. A unified command structure – allows agencies with different authorities and
responsibilities to work together effectively;
5. Transfer of command – must include a briefing that captures all essential information
for continuing safe and effective operations;
6. A manageable span of control – within ICS for anyone with incident management
supervisory responsibility should range from three to seven subordinates;
7. Identified incident facilities – Various types of locations and facilities are established
in the vicinity of an incident to accomplish a variety of purposes (typically such as staging
areas, mass casualty triage areas, incident command posts, bases, camps, and others);
and
8. Comprehensive resource management – includes ordering, dispatching, tracking and
recovering resources such as personnel, teams, equipment, supplies and facilities.
II.
SYSTEM ACTIVATION CRITERIA
A. ICS may not be needed for small-scale events, or those handled solely by the
Northwest Florida State College Police Department, unless the Chief of Police or his
designee feels activation of the ICS would be beneficial.
1. ICS is flexible enough to employ a scalable organizational structure.
B. The specific organizational structure established for any given incident will be based
upon the personnel and resource management needs of the incident.
GENERAL ORDER 18-3
NORTHWEST FLORIDA STATE COLLEGE POLICE DEPARTMENT
C. The NWFSCPD shall utilize ICS during the activation of Department resources while
responding to disaster or civil disturbances, for large event pre-planning and other large
unusual occurrences that meet one or more of the following criteria:
1. When more than one law enforcement agency is involved in responding to a specific
incident that requires the coordination of response resources;
2. When more than one first responder discipline is involved (i.e., Police, Fire, EMS);
3. When more than one political subdivision is involved;
4. When more than one City and/or County department is involved (i.e., City of Niceville
Public Works Department, Okaloosa County Health Department); and
5. When more than one level of government is involved (i.e., local, state, and/or federal
agencies).
III.
SUPERVISORY/COMMAND PROTOCOL
A. At each emergency response scene, the initial senior ranking police officer shall be
deemed the law enforcement “on-scene commander”. This officer shall remain as such
until formally relieved by a police supervisor or commander of a higher rank.
1. ICS does not assume an automatic transfer of command to a higher-ranking officer
upon his arrival. That decision must be made and communicated clearly by the senior
member; and
2. Consideration of expertise or knowledge regarding the incident may influence the
decision whether to transfer command.
B. Upon arriving at the scene of a disaster, civil disturbance, or large unusual occurrence
in which another discipline (i.e., fire services/EMS) has already established “incident
command” and the primary hazard/risk is best handled by that discipline, NWFSCPD’s
on-scene commander will not assume incident command, but will join the established
incident commander in order to facilitate a “unified command” structure from which joint
decisions will be made.
C. The expansion of ICS by predetermined functions is the prerogative of the “incident
commander” or the “unified command” structure from which joint decisions will be made.
D. A supervisor must respond when field personnel performing their patrol function
encounter an incident necessitating that a sworn supervisor assume command for the
purpose of providing the NWFSC community with professional enforcement services.
GENERAL ORDER 18-4
NORTHWEST FLORIDA STATE COLLEGE POLICE DEPARTMENT
1. Supervisory response is not limited to incidents where ICS is activated, but shall
be made for any applicable situation.
2. Examples of non-ICS incidents on campus when a supervisor should respond are,
but not limited to, the following:
a. Major emergencies such as fires and life-threatening events, felony acts such
as assault with a weapon in progress, to assist officers needing or calling for help, and
circumstances that field personnel may be unable to properly control or remedy.
IV.
WRITTEN PLANS AND PROCEDURES UTILIZED
A. All written plans and procedures utilized in response to a disaster, civil disturbance or
unusual occurrence shall be compatible with the Incident Command System protocol, and
include:
1. The Northwest Florida State College Emergency Management Plan; and
2. Applicable NWFSCPD General Orders and Standard Operating Procedures (refer to
“Authority/Related References” on page one).
V.
TRAINING OF AGENCY PERSONNEL
A. Pursuant to the NIMS (National Incident Management System), all Department
response personnel shall receive ICS training as required to meet national credentialing
standards.
1. All such training shall be documented by maintaining a certificate of completion/
achievement, or other acceptable written proof in training or member files.
B. Basic training for each response/management level shall consist of a training
curriculum approved by the Department of Homeland Security.
C. An annual tabletop or functional exercise shall be conducted in order to provide ICS
trained supervisors an opportunity to practice skill learned in the classroom setting and
through practical field exercise.
1. Should ICS be established during a response, it shall be considered sufficient to meet
the requirement of the annual exercise.
D. A periodic review (conducted or occurring at least every three years) shall be held
concerning agency emergency plans for unusual occurrences and special operations.
GENERAL ORDER 18-5
NORTHWEST FLORIDA STATE COLLEGE POLICE DEPARTMENT
VI.
AFTER ACTION REPORT
A. Upon completion or de-escalation of the incident, the incident commander shall be
responsible for preparing the after action report, unless otherwise specified by the Chief
of Police.
1. The report shall be a documented official report.
B. The after action report shall contain a summary of the response and the effectiveness
of command and control techniques.
C. The after action report may be used to assess the effectiveness of training techniques.
GENERAL ORDER 18-6