Incident Command System

The Forest Service instituted the Incident Command System (ICS) to manage the large numbers of personnel needed to fight forest fires. When the Hazardous Materials Laws were passed in 1985, one of the mandates was to establish an Incident Command System capable of lending itself easily to the management of large hazardous materials incidents. The fire service began using ICS for all incidents.

Other agencies soon saw the positive impact of using ICS and subscribed to it also. During disasters it is extremely effective in managing resources, assigning tasks and bringing order to chaos.

Disaster Preparedness and Response Program emergency response coordinators sit on the Statewide Incident Command Steering Committee. This committee is made up of people from every section and level of government. The committee has adopted an Incident Command System for Ohio. A video introducing ICS to government officials is available from ODH.

There are eight levels of training for ICS. This training ranges from independent learning modules to executive level training. The ICS 100 module is available on the Slides Presentation page. The system can be used for a continuum of issues everyday problems as well as emergencies. For further information on ICS, contact us.

Last Updated: 2/2/01

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