An Effective Incident Command System at Buncefield - Case Study Example

Name : xxxxxx Tutor : xxxxxxx Title : xxxxxxx Institution : xxxxxxx @2010 . Incident Command Modern times have witnessed an escalation in the number of incidents which have serious ramifications on individuals, property as well the general environment within which they occur. Such incidents are often spontaneous, occurring when they are least expected. If people had the slightest clue that a major catastrophe involving fire was in the offing, they would definitely take measures that would work towards preventing their occurrence. An example of an incident of such monumental implications was that witnessed at Buncefield in which large oil storage and transfer facilities were destroyed. Damage to neighbouring property was also witnessed. There were a number of injuries of various proportions, though no fatalities were recorded. Several people were helped out of the Buncefield vicinity, and a section of the M1 subway closed. The large smoke that was emitted from the burning fuel and other combustible material led to environmental pollution. The gravity of the situation at Buncefield definitely calls for the establishment of an effective Incident Command System. Incident Command System (ICS) is defined as 'a set of personnel, policies, and equipment integrated into a common organizational structure designed to improve response to all types of emergencies and complexities (ICS, 2009). Various reasons could be advanced in support of this position. An Effective ICS for large scale incidents An effective Incident Command System is necessary for purposes of achieving unity of command in operations so that participants report to only one supervisor. This is aimed at eliminating situations where one person would receive instructions from more than one commander, a situation that is likely to cause confusion. With a properly identifiable chain of command, there is likely to be increased accountability in operations, prevention of freelancing, improved information flow necessary for proper coordination of operations. All these are meant to achieve increased operational safety necessary in such a situation. An effective Incident Command System also ensures use of common terminology in rescue operations, hence eliminating confusion arising from use of words and symbols which different organizations interpret differently. This is especially the case in situations where different organizations have to work together in a large scale operation of the Buncefield magnitude. Common terminology also ensures good team cohesion and enhances communication within and across organizations. Management by Objective is also necessary in Incident Command Systems that are effective. Different incidents and events call for the establishment of different objectives aimed at giving direction to their operations. Usually, objectives are stated in as specific terms as possible, given a prioritized ranking, their attainability level established and, if possible, allocated specific time frames within which they are to be attained. Different incidents and events call for different types of objectives, which demand that strategies get outlined and execution tactics be formulated in order to achieve the objectives (SEMS Guidelines, 2009). The incident at Buncefield affected a number of individuals and organizations and called for a number of approaches, all of which demanded for the formulation of various objectives. An effective Incident Command System is necessary as it allows for flexibility and modular organization. It allows for the establishment of the most important and authoritative positions, followed by the least important downwards. In an area of operation, the unit that arrives first takes charge and gives direction to those that arrive later. Organizations that are wide and incidents that are widespread will call for more roles than those that are narrowly spread out. The thinning out of the operational activities would call for the reduction of staff, equipment and activities. The incident involving Buncefield affected a wide area and ran for a number of days, calling for a number of units to be established to deal with various places at different times. An effective Incident Command System for a large scale operation like that involving Buncefield is necessary as it helps define the span of control. It is advisable that an individual controls a maximum of seven personnel for effective resource utilization and control. When necessary, some responsibilities could be delegated in order to avoid duplication or crowding certain offices or units while others lie idle. Those not needed at a particular time could as well be done away with. Comprehensive resource management is also achieved where an Incident Command System is effective. The resources, both human and material should be tracked and accounted for during and after an event or incident. Resource management entails categorization, ordering, dispatching, tracking and recovery of resources. An incident of the magnitude of Buncefield involves lots of human and material resources, which must be adequately managed. Levels of Command to effectively help deal with Large Scale Incident s There is an appropriate level or chain of command necessary to deal with large scale incidents to the level of the one at Buncefield. These include the incident commander, the command staff, the general staff, the 200-level Incident Command System and the 400 Incident Command System (O’Neil 2008). For every incident, its magnitude notwithstanding, there is a single Incident Commander. He commands and coordinates the response to the incident, and he is the sole decision maker and final authority. The Incident Commander is certified or qualified in his area, may have deputies and is responsible for assigning resources. He may also delegate authority to other officers and assigns Command and General Staff duties. In situations which call for involvement of multiple agencies, there is the Unified Command in which each of the major agencies and organizations involved nominates a representative who acts as the agency's spokesman. The Unified Command operates as a single entity and makes collective decisions which are binding to all. A representative to the Unified Command does not become an Incident Commander. In situations where there are multiple incidents, there is the Area Command who operates in separate locations. This is usually a single person who provides logistical and administrative services in the locations where they work. They are however not permitted to make operational decisions. The Command Staff involves a number of officers who oversea the provision of services in a given location. The Safety Officer monitors and evaluates the safety standards of the location to be sure that the personnel assigned to him are safe. There is also the Public Information Officer who deals with the dissemination of information to stakeholders, both internal and external. The stakeholders include the media and other organizations which seek direct information from an event or incident. The Liaison Officer is the basic contact for agencies that assist in operations at an incident or event. The General Staff involves a number of officers. The Operations Section Chief directs actions in order to meet incident objectives. The Planning Section Chief collects and displays incident information that pertains to resource and incident status. The Chief in charge of Finance and Administration is responsible for keeping information relating to incident costs, requisitions, personnel records as well as administration of procurement contracts for consumption by the Logistics Section. The Logistics Section Chief provides services, resources and all support that the incident requires. The 200-Level ICS has an added function of gathering information and intelligence. The uniqueness of this role rests in the fact that it can be structured in multiple ways at the discretion of Incident Commander, and the demands of the incident. The three likely arrangements are the Information and Intelligence Officer which ranks at the Command Staff level, the Information and Intelligence Section; a General Staff position which Information and Intelligence Section Chief heads. There is then the Information and Intelligence Branch, a Planning Section position which an Information and Intelligence Branch director heads. The lowest level is the 400-Level ICS which is an advanced arrangement whose personnel are trained to deal with incidents that are externally large or complex. The Dual Operations Section Chiefs and the Dual Logistics Section Chiefs are among the options included in the 400-Level ICS. Dynamic Risk Management Assessment Dynamic Risk Assessment is a process of assessing risks in an environment that is changing or evolving and by so doing, changing the risk that is being assessed. This process poses major challenges to the Incident Commander in an environment where a number of incident priorities conflict. The Incident Commander must of necessity carry out a risk assessment because a number of personnel, material and equipment are likely to get affected (Incident Command – Risk Assessment, 2008). In the first place, there is need to consider the people who are at risk at the venue of the incident. These would include the operational personnel, the fire and rescue personnel and the trainees or young persons at the venue. He might also wish to establish if there were any authorized contractors on site, visitors or members of the public. If there were any disabled, the Incident Commander would have to find out. There would also be need to establish how serious the injuries were, if any. He would for example try band find out the number of insignificant injuries where no injury or damage is caused, minor injuries that require first aid treatment or moderate injuries which require hospital treatment or off-duty retirement of up to three days. Major injuries could call for more than three days off-duty, while significant injuries could lead to permanent disablement or fatalities. t is the responsibility of the Incident Commander to carry out this process. The types of hazards that people were exposed to could also be established. This could include collision of people with each other, with vehicles or with flying or rolling debris. There could also be injuries arising from cuts from wires on fences, contamination or infection from body fluid, slips, trips and falls, burns and scalds. Other injuries could have been sustained from inhaling poisonous gasses and fumes. The Incident Commander could also carry out an assessment on the likelihood of the incident recurring. This could be rated as highly unlikely; suggesting that it could recur in exceptional circumstances. The incident might also probably not recur, it could occur , will probably occur or will highly likely occur. This class of information is important in helping the company to prepare well for any eventualities. The adequacy of existing control measures could also be assessed. If the measures are not robust enough, the firm could be advised to establish more robust ones. Incident Action Plan An Incident Action Plan provides direction to the supervisory personnel working on an incident to ensure they work in concert so as to achieve the desired goals and objectives within the operational period. These objectives must be communicated to all those involved in a coherent manner. Further, these objectives and strategies must be measurable and achievable within the operational period. Both verbal and written communication is used, depending on the nature of the incident or event. Generally, an Incident Action Plan must have incident objectives, operational period, response strategies and response tactics. It also defines personnel roles, relationships and assignment and provides incident updates and assessment that is critical to the situation. It should also have status updates on composite resources, a plan for health and safety; a communication and logistics plan. There should also be a medical plan for the responders, an incident map and any other additional component plans relevant to the incident. Agencies Involved in the Buncefield Incident An incident of the magnitude of the Buncefield incident requires response from a variety of public agencies. The local fire department could be the first to get involved. This would be tasked with the responsibilities of putting out the fire. This would be necessary in order to prevent it from spreading further and further, destroying other properties. This department would also provide the Command Officer because of the nature of the incident, which is related to fire. Next would be the Center for Excellence in Disaster and Humanitarian Assistance. This would be necessary in carrying out rescue and evacuation operations. It could also provide support services and ensure provision of proper care to those affected by the incident. It could for example ensure that they have food, shelter and access to medical facilities and attention. The Department of Homeland and Security could also be involved to a large extent. This is because though the incident is local in nature, it hinges a lot on the security of the state. The department must of necessity provide adequate security to the people and their property to make sure that there are no loses occasioned by theft, vandalism and so on. The agency that deals with health and safety, possibly from the ministry of Medical Services could also be involved. This would deal with issues related to injuries of personnel and those who work at the facilities. Provision of medical supplies would be facilitated by this agency. The local law enforcement agency could also get involved, especially after the neutralization of the threat. While the fire department was in control, the local law enforcement agency might have been busy preparing to assume control mat the expiry of the mandate of the local fire department. Since the source of the explosion and fire outbreak is not known, it could as well have come from terrorist sources. For this reason, the FBI could come if to carry out investigations to establish the cause. Their investigations could take a long while, and they would work in consonance with the local law enforcers (Cole 2000). There is need for effective liaison with the media and other agencies during major incidents and operations. This is done by the Liaison Officer and the Information Officer. The Information Officer develops and releases incident information to the news media for purposes of dissemination to the general public. He organizes media inquiries and determines the type of information to be released to the media. The same information is send to the incident personnel as well as other relevant agencies and organizations. To this point, the information availed to the media should be accurate and to the point. The media on the other hand is supposed to be truthful and objective in their reporting. Information released to other agencies would be crucial in soliciting for their support at various points of the incident (Goldfarb, 1997). Information and Communication Management In incidents similar to the one at Buncefield, there is need for prudent and effective communication and management of information. For this to take place there must be appropriate formulation and dissemination of indications and warnings. This is for purposes of avoiding ambiguity. Operational decisions at the site of the incident must be formulated, executed and communicated to various players and stakeholders. This should also be the case between different incident management entities, across jurisdictional boundaries as well as functional agencies. This is meant to achieve operational harmony. Requirements and requests supportive of the incident management activities should be prepared and disseminated. Similarly, there should be the development and maintenance of overall awareness, understanding and appreciation of the incidents within its jurisdiction and across it (Irwin, 1990). This is because the Buncefield incident affected quite a number of establishments and jurisdictions. Conclusion From the foregoing, it could be posited that disasters and emergencies continue to be a main feature in the lives of people either at individual or organizational level. Each of these levels calls for different levels of response. An effective Incident Command System provides individuals and organizations with a more manageable and efficient ways of mitigating the effects of these disasters, incidents and events. References Cole, Dana 2000, The Incident Command System: a 25-Year Evaluation by California Practitioners Goldfrb, T 1997, Putting the Incident Command System into Perspective, Fire Engineering The Incident Command System (ICS) Center of Excellence in Disaster Humanitarian Assistance. http://orgmail2.coe-dmha.org/dr/DisasterResponse.nsf/section/07?opendocument&home=html. Retrieved 19-02. 2010  Irwin, R. L. Challenging the Critics of ICS, Hazard Monthly, June, 1990 Standardized Emergency Management System (SEMS) Guidelines". State of California, Office of Emergency Services. http://www.oes.ca.gov/Operational/OESHome.nsf/Content/B49435352108954488256C2A0071E038. Retrieved 2010-02-19.  O'Neill, Brian, "A Model Assessment Tool for the Incident Command System: A Case Study of the San Antonio Fire Department" 2008, Applied Research Projects Texas State University. Paper 270. http://ecommons.txstate.edu/arp/270 Incident Command - Risk Assessment 3rd Edition 2008, - Fire and Rescue Manual - Volume 2: Fire Service Read More