Incident Command System (ICS) wording in Requirements document?

["Allen Wyke" <awyke@blue292.com>]

Title: Message

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Ham, Gary A [mailto:hamg@BATTELLE.ORG]
Sent: Tuesday, March 18, 2003 12:16 PM
To: Allen Wyke
Subject:

The list refused my post as not being a "contributing member"

Here is the text:

I have some very good reason to believe that the NIMS efforts will largely follow the structure of the Incident Command System (ICS) as taught at FEMA's Executive Analysis of Fire Service Operations in Emergency Management course taught at the National Fire Academy in Emmittsburg, Maryland.  For many of you who have served in, or with, the military, this will not be a stretch.  It is based on the old Napoleonic military staff structure that divides activities of the organization into Command and four staff

functions: operations, planning, logistics, and finance/administration. All other activities are defined within that structure.  I suggest that it would be wise to organize our information "products" around such a structure. For multi-function products, there will need to be specific interfaces defined for each support function.  I have a more detailed breakdown that I can bring to the face-to-face that will illustrate the structure in better detail.  Luckily, the basic structure is commonly used, so they will not be reinventing the wheel.

For those of you who are more familiar with the 13 Essential Support Functions (ESF's) (also defined by FEMA),  I have a mapping of those functions into the ICS structure.  If your products are designed around these functions, they can still play effectively within the ICS. 

Gary Ham

"You would be surprised what you can accomplish when you do not care who gets the credit."  - Harry S. Truman