Incident Command System for Schools Larry Borland Director of School Safety and Security, Douglas County Schools Douglas County, Colorado September 26, 2006 Santa Monica, California U.S. Department of Education Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools
2 Incident Command System Definition Incident Command System (ICS) is a management system designed to enable effective and efficient incident management by integrating a combination of facilities, equipment standards and an incident management organization with five functional areas (command, operations, planning, logistics and finance & administration) for management of all major incidents.
3 Incident Command System School and School District First Responders (Fire, Police, EMT) ICS Partners (Mental & Public Health, Parents, Media, etc.)
4 Table Discussion At your table, think of a school event - graduation, field day, etc. - that requires many tasks to be done on time and in the right order How did you organize for that event?
5 Incident Command System Background: Developed over 30 years ago in the aftermath of catastrophic wildfires in California Numerous agencies responded to the fires with little coordination or communication As a result, Congress directed the U.S. Forest Service to improve the effectiveness of interagency coordination By mid-1970s, the U.S. Forest Service and several California agencies developed and field tested the Incident Command System (ICS) By 1981, ICS was used widely in Southern California in response to fire and non-fire incidents In March 2004, ICS was included as a mandate in the National Incident Management System (NIMS)
6 NIMS Compliance-School Districts* *NIMS Compliance Center Guidance Since school districts are an integral part of local government, their use of NIMS should be achieved in close coordination with other components of the local government. School districts are not traditional response organizations and more typically are recipients of first responder services provided by fire and rescue, emergency medical and law enforcement agencies. This traditional relationship should be acknowledged in achieving NIMS compliance within an integrated local government plan for NIMS compliance. School district participation in local government's NIMS preparedness program is essential to ensure that first responder services are delivered to schools in a timely and effective manner.
7 Incident Command System Multiple Levels of Activation National Response Plan State Emergency Plan City/County Emergency Plan School District Emergency Plan School Site Plan
8 Incident Command System ICS Principles: Emergencies require certain tasks or functions to be performed Nature of the incident determines level of activation and response Expandable and collapsible One incident commander: May vary for different types of incidents May change during incident response Incident command responsibility should be determined in advance No one reports to more than one person Span of supervisory control does not exceed 3-7 subordinates Uses common terminology
9 Incident Command System Common terminology: Ability to communicate in a crisis is essential ICS requires use of common terminology including standard titles for facilities and positions ICS uses plain English, not codes Example: Uncommon Terminology: Response Branch, this is HazMat1. We are 10-24 Common Terminology: Response Branch, this is HazMat1. We have completed our assignment Uncommon Terminology: Teachers and students, this is a Code Yellow Common Terminology: Teachers and students, this is a lock-down
10 Incident Command System ICS Roles: Incident Commander Incident Command Staff: Public Information Officer (PIO) Safety Officer Liaison Officer School Liaison General Staff: Operations Section Planning Section Logistics Section Finance/Administration Section
Basic Incident Command System at a School Incident Commander (Principal or Designee) In charge of overall managment of an emergency. Public Information Officer Coordinates all media releases, support usually provided by the district. Safety Officer (School Security Staff, School Resource Officer or designated staff) Ensures that all actions are done safely. Liaison Officer Assists responding agencies from outside the school with information. Operations Cares for students and carries out universal and specific procedures and protocols. Planning Collects and evaluates information as related to the development of an incident and status of resources. Logistics Secures and provides needed materials, resources, services and personnel. Finance & Administration Tracks incident costs for reimbursement accounting. (Important in tracking costs where a state or federal "disaster area" is declared.) 11
12 Incident Command System Scenario Scenario: A student reports to a teacher that he witnessed another student carrying a weapon.
13 Incident Command System Scenario At the moment the student reports the weapon issue, the teacher is the Incident Commander. Teacher = Incident Commander The teacher reports the incident to the principal. Incident Command transfers from the teacher to the principal. Principal = Incident Commander
14 Incident Command System Scenario The principal places the school in lockdown and notifies the local police department and the district office. The police arrive on the scene and take over as the Incident Commander. The principal assists the police response. Police = Incident Commander Principal = Incident Command Staff
15 Incident Command System Scenario The school is placed in lock-down. The Incident Commander and team ask the district PIO to prepare a statement and bring in a recorder and the building custodian. Incident Commander (Police) Incident Command Staff (Principal and other key school staff) Public Information Officer Planning Recorder (School Secretary) Facilities Manager (Building Custodian)
16 Incident Command System Scenario While the school is in lockdown, a student suffers an asthma attack. The school nurse is called for assistance. Incident Commander (Police) and Incident Command Staff (Principal and other key staff) Public Information Officer Operations Planning Health Services (School Nurse) Recorder (School Secretary) Facilities Manager (Building Custodian)
17 Incident Command System Scenario The police investigate the incident and arrest the student. The school is closed for the day to complete the investigation. Parents are notified that students will be evacuated to a local elementary school to be picked up. Incident Commander (Police) and Incident Command Team (Principal and other key school staff) Public Information Officer Operations Planning Logistics Health Services (School Nurse) Recorder (School Secretary) Transportation (District transportation and bus drivers) Parent - Student Reunification (School Crisis Response Team) Facilities Manager (Building Custodian)
Sample School or School District Incident Command System Organization Incident Commander and Incident Command Team Public Information Officer Operations Planning Logistics Finance & Administration Student Supervision Next Steps Planning Food Services Insurance Claims Health Services/First Aid Facility Manager Transportation Personnel Search and Rescue Recorder Legal Student/Parent Reunification 18
19 Unified Command for a School Crisis or Emergency School Incident Commander (Principal) School District Incident Commander (Security Director) County/City Incident Commander (Police/Fire) Public Information Officer Public Information Officer School Site Crisis/Emergency Response Team (CERT) District Emergency Operations Committee (EOC) City/County Incident Management Team (IMT)
20 Incident Command System Establishing an Incident Command System: Assess staff skills Create lines of succession/backups for all key positions Identify key roles to be carried out Identify staff for ICS team to address each key function Coordinate with community partners to identify roles and lines of responsibility in the event of an emergency.
21 Emergency Response Table Exercise Pedestrian Fatality Scenario It is the end of a school day, the week before winter break. You are notified that two 8th grade girls have been struck by a vehicle at the crosswalk in front of the school. The driver fled the scene. One girl is down with severe leg injuries. The other girl is down and unresponsive, bleeding severely from the mouth and nose. Several students, perhaps as many as 50, witnessed the accident. Both girls are transported and the unresponsive girl dies of her injuries.
22 Emergency Response Table Exercise Pedestrian Fatality Scenario Describe how the Incident Command System should be activated for this response. Who will initially be in charge? How will the IC Staff be activated? How will command of the situation change over time? Describe the activities of each Incident Command s general staff during this incident.
23 Emergency Response Table Exercise Student Gunshot Death It is 7:00 in the morning at a large high school. A student reported to an assistant principal that in the school parking lot there is a male student in a car who appears to be hurt. The assistant principal and a dean go to investigate. They find a male student slumped over the wheel, bleeding from a severe wound to the head. A black powder pistol can be seen near the student s right hand. The dean checks for a pulse and finds none.
24 Emergency Response Table Exercise Student Gunshot Death Describe how the Incident Command System should be activated for this response. Who will initially be in charge? How will the IC Staff be activated? How will command of the situation change over time? Describe the activities of each Incident Command s general staff during this incident.
Questions?
For more information, contact: Larry Borland (303) 387-0025 larry.borland@dcsdk12.org