Reasons for Effective Incident Command System for Large Scale Incidents Such as Buncefield Needs - Essay Example

Name: College: Course Title: Tutor: Date: Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 i)Reasons for Effective Incident Command System For Large Scale Incidents Such As Buncefield Needs To Be Established 3 ii)Reasons for effective incident command system for large scale incidents 4 iii)Levels of command needed to deal effectively with large scale incidents 4 a)The Command Section 5 b)The Planning Section 8 d)Logistics Section 8 e)Administration Section 9 iv)Dynamic risk assessment that would have been implemented 9 a)Hazard Identification 9 b)Identify the location of people at significant risk in case of fire 10 c)Evaluation of the risks 10 d)Action Plan 10 v)Roles and responsibilities of various public agencies that would have been involved at Buncefield 10 vi)Need for effective liaison with media and other agencies during major incidents 11 Works Cited 12 i) Reasons for Effective Incident Command System For Large Scale Incidents Such As Buncefield Needs To Be Established An effective Incident command system has in it the standard management hierarchy and also the procedures for assisting in the management of incidents regardless of the size. The need to have an effective incident command system prepositioned and also sanctioned by authorities with legitimacy is paramount not forgetting the need to have proper training on various incidents that may occur. An effective incident command system need to have a management team which stands to control the personnel, funds, facilities, communications as well as equipments. To be able to handle a large scale incident effectively, there is need to select the personnel in accordance to the rules that are set by the legitimate authorities this is to be able to have the incident command system applied from the time an incident occurs until the whole group is no longer required at the site. The need for an effective incident command system in a large incident is to be able to manage the challenges. The incident command system is known to: Allow the integration of equipments, facilities, procedures, personnel and communication for the operations of a common organizational structure. It enables a coordinated response among functional agencies of various jurisdictions both public and private. It also enables there to be a common process of managing and planning the available resources. Incident command system plays a vital role in the allowing the users to adapt to an integrated organizational structure which is able to withstand the demands and complexities of a large incident. The ICS is not only useful in the providing an organization with the various structures for incident management but also giving the guidance in the process of planning, adapting and building the very structures. ii) Reasons for effective incident command system for large scale incidents set overall incident-related priorities; allocate critical resources according to priorities; ensure that incidents are properly managed; ensure that incident management objectives are met and do not conflict with each other or with agency policy; identify critical resource needs and report them to EOC’s and/or multiagency coordination entities; and Ensure that short-term emergency recovery is coordinated to assist in the transition to full recovery operations. iii) Levels of command needed to deal effectively with large scale incidents The level of command of an incident command system to be able to deal effectively with incidents of large scale dimensions requires to be divided into five groups that are manageable. The group functions are essential for the emergency response and the operations that include the following components: Command operations planning logistics finance and administration The basics of the existence of the incident command system is to have one person doing the command functions. The level of command for a large scale incident to be effective should be structured as follows: a) The Command Section i) Incident commander The Incident Commander who is also referred as the Unified Command takes the responsibility for all aspects of the response which includes the development of the incident objectives he is as well charged with managing all the incident operations. In a large scale incident, each of the five components or the section of command is managed separately and can be divided into smaller section where need be for easy control. The incident commander is the on scene manager well until the command authority responsibility is passed to another person who turns to be the incident commander. The five major components take on the following functions as described below in the large scale. ii) The command function This is a function that is always taken or directed by the incident commander who is the person in charge of the incident and the incident commander should be fully qualified to manage any size of an incident more so the large scale incidents. The major responsibilities that an incident commander is charged with are; the command activities which include establishing the command as well as establishing the ICP he is charged with the responsibility of protecting life and property he also takes on the responsibility of controlling the personnel and also the equipment resources he maintains the account for the responder and public safety as well as ensuring that there is task accomplishment the establishing and maintaining liaison with other involved outside organizations and agencies is his function to which extends to the EOC when it is activated Management in Incident command encompasses the following; Establishing command Ensuring responder safety Assessing incident priorities Determining operational objectives Developing and implementing the Incident Action Plan (IAP) Developing an appropriate organizational structure Maintaining a manageable span of control Managing incident resources Coordinating overall emergency activities Coordinating the activities of outside agencies Authorizing the release of information to the media Keeping track of costs With the large scale incident, the Incident Commander may delegate authority for the performance of the various activities that arise with the complexity of the incident to others. When this kind of expansion is required, the incident commander goes ahead and establishes other command staff positions. The following are some of the command staff positions that an Incident commander establishes in a large scale incident, Information Officer, a Safety Officer, and/or a Liaison Officer iii) Information Officer All the media enquiries and the coordination of the release of information to the media is taken by the information officer with the help of the public Affairs officer at the EOC iv) Safety Officer He is charged with the duties of monitoring the safety conditions as well as developing measures that aimed at ensuring that there is great safety for all the personnel assigned at the scene of the incident. v) Liaison Officer The liaison officer at the scene of the incident is the on scene contact to other agencies assigned at the scene of the incident to assist. The ICS organization may see itself through expansion or contraction as delegated by the Incident Commander based on three incident priorities;- Life safety is always the first priority to the Incident Commander for the emergency responders as well as the public Incident stability, the Incident Commander is held responsible for determining the strategy in which minimizes the effect the incident has on the surrounding area as well as maximize the efforts on the response while efficiently using the available resources b) The Planning Section In the large scale incident, the Incident Commander establishes the section of planning which undertakes the functions of collecting, disseminating, evaluating, and using the information about the development of the incident resource status. Its responsibilities can include the creation of the Incident Action Plan. This action plan defines the activities and the resources which are being utilized for a given period of time. c) Operations Section This is the section that is responsible for the response activities which are described in the Incident Action Plan. The chief in this section reports to the Incident commander, determines the required resources as well as the organization structure of the section of operations. His duties include the following; Coordinating and directing all the operations Offers assistance to the Incident commander in developing the goals for response and also the objectives for the incident Implement the IAP He releases and request resources via the Incident Commander And he also keeps the Incident Commander informed on various situations within the operations d) Logistics Section This section’s responsibility is providing facilities, materials, and the services which include the personnel who operate the equipment at the scene of the incident. The section is of significance in the extended operations for they are geared to support the incident responders. e) Administration Section This a critical section that is involved with the tracking of the incident cost as well as the reimbursement accounting. With the components of the Incident command system, the handling of a large incident as the Buncefield is mad effective. The components ensure there is quick and effective commitment of resources and this minimizes the disruption on the operational procedures and policies of the respondent. iv) Dynamic risk assessment that would have been implemented a) Hazard Identification There was need to identify the various hazards that were present at the scene of the incident to be able to control the magnitude of the blast to its environs as it happened. There was the need to get to know the neighbors of the Buncefield who would have provide a greater level of information sharing which would have particularly among the category one and two responders. There was that great need to know the risks that the neighbors might have identified. This should have been done to ensure that the plans that were put in place accounted for all the hazards both the internal and external. For instance there was the need to check well the storage tanks which cause more trouble for the fire fighters since the tanks had gone unchecked. Considering the impact that the incident had to the environment, it was evident that the scale of the incident’s effects had not been planned for in sufficient detail. There was the need for there to have been a risk assessment to be able to understand the area in detail for instance there were denial to accessing to buildings which happened for a protracted period. This would have been dealt with by the adaption of an existing plan on the scene. This would have helped the responders react dynamically. b) Identify the location of people at significant risk in case of fire There was the need to know the people who were in danger at this site and where their locations were. c) Evaluation of the risks There was the need to get to know the fire safety measures that were present at the site if they were functional. The fuel taps as well as their storage areas, know the escape for the people who were in the area of the incident. d) Action Plan After having conducting the risk assessment, the next thing would have been to focus on the major hazards sites as well as assigning the competent staff on the various levels to be able to effectively contain the magnitude of the fire as well as implement the plan not forgetting them reacting to the unplanned circumstances. v) Roles and responsibilities of various public agencies that would have been involved at Buncefield With the occurrence of the Buncefield tragedy, the need to formulate and build emergency plans which outlines the roles and the responsibilities which would be able to ensure that there is a joined up and also a response that is more comprehensive. Various public agencies together with the business community would have been involved in the tragedy for they would have played a vital role in the facilitation of good communication and open dialogue with the parties involved. The public agencies would have played a vital role in contributing to the recover process at the right time since the impact to the environs was greater meaning that assistance for the recovery process was required more. The involvement of the public agencies would have also meant that the spirit of working together would have been boasted for the emergency. They would have brought in their experience and training of dealing with incidents there raising the confidence on all the parties involved and flexibility in the recovery process. vi) Need for effective liaison with media and other agencies during major incidents The need for an effective liaison with the media is paramount for they help in keeping the people informed on the status of a major incident as the Buncefield. For public methods of communication, the BBC would have been one of the media to be liaised with to keep the locals informed and to communicate about the crises. As the response to a major incident as the Buncefield ends up in exhausting the local resources, the need to have contingencies come in for assistance was also paramount. This would have been done in advance this in particular for the critical resources. For the dynamic recovery plans from the large scale incidents, since the length of the recovery the media is an important tool for calling in for assistance while agencies on the other hand come in to help in the recovery process. They would be very helpful in relax planning regulations as well as facilitating regeneration. If all the groups and agencies come together inn such a situation, it is possible to have an easily extended disaster recovery plans to be able to accommodate the extensions for the recovery phase. Works Cited Buncefield. The Buncefield Investigation;The Government and Competent Authority’s Response. November 2008. http://www.hse.gov.uk/comah/buncefield/bstg1.htm (accessed February 16th, 2010). Irwin, Robert L. THE INCIDENT COMMAND SYSTEM . 2007. http://orgmail2.coe-dmha.org/dr/DisasterResponse.nsf/section/07?opendocument&home=html (accessed February 17, 2010). Read More