INCIDENT COMMANDER (IC) – The IC is responsible for
overall incident management. In many incidents, the com- mand activity is carried out by a single IC. For the U.S. En- vironmental Protection Agency (EPA), the IC is normally the lead On-Scene Coordinator (OSC) assigned to the response. Although there are numerous OSCs filling critical positions within the Incident Management Team (IMT), the lead OSC, by regulation, is responsible for the overall management of the incident. The IC determines the incident objectives and coordinates with the Regional Incident Coordinator (RIC) to implement management objectives. However, senior leader- ship will play a role during a large-scale response.
The IC may have one or more deputies, who may be from the same agency or from an assisting agency. Deputies may also be used at Section and Branch levels of the Incident Command System (ICS) organization. Deputies must have the same qualifications as the person for whom they work, as they must be ready to take over that position at any time. The major responsibilities of the IC are:
a. Review Common Responsibilities (page 3-1);
b. Assess the situation and/or obtain a briefing from the prior IC and RIC;
c. Set incident objectives, which are established to ef- fectively meet the mission and priorities established
JANUARY 2016
Chapter 7. COMMAND STAFF 85
by the Agency (as communicated through the RIC). This is done in concert with response partners at the Initial Unified Command (UC) Meeting and may be revised at subsequent IC/UC Objectives Meetings as time moves forward;
d. Ensure adequate resources are devoted to Liaison staff to assure that Environmental Justice and tribal issues receive appropriate attention;
e. Establish the immediate priorities;
f. Establish an Incident Command Post (ICP);
g. Establish an appropriate organizational structure to achieve management and incident objectives;
h. Ensure Planning Meetings are scheduled as re- quired;
i. Approve and authorize the implementation of the In- cident Action Plan (IAP);
j. Ensure that adequate safety measures are in place, including a Health and Safety Plan (HASP);
k. Coordinate activity for all Command and General Staff;
l. Coordinate with key people and officials;
m. Approve requests for additional resources or for the release of resources;
JANUARY 2016
Chapter 7. COMMAND STAFF 86
formation sharing with the RIC;
o. In coordination with the Public Information Officer (PIO), the Headquarters (HQ) PIO Unit (if estab- lished) and the Office of Public Affairs (OPA), autho- rize release of information to the news media;
p. Ensure Incident Status Summary (ICS 209 form and/ or Situation Report) is completed and forwarded to appropriate authority;
q. Order the demobilization of the incident when appro- priate;
r. Monitor the operation and effectiveness of the ICS organization; and
s. Maintain Unit/Activity Log (ICS 214 form).
PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER (PIO) – The PIO is re-
sponsible for developing and releasing (upon approval by the IC and in coordination with the HQ OPA) information about the incident to the news media and the public. Only one PIO will be assigned for each incident command, including inci- dents operating under UC. The PIO may designate Assis- tant PIOs to carry out the various information needs of the response. The assistants may also originate from assisting agencies or jurisdictions.
For Nationally Significant Incidents, the role of the HQ Emer- gency Operations Center (EOC) PIO comes into play. The
JANUARY 2016
Chapter 7. COMMAND STAFF 87
HQ EOC PIO becomes responsible for coordinating closely with the PIOs in the region(s) and field IMT(s), developing and releasing information about the incident to the news me- dia, ensuring that information gets posted on the EPA public internet site, and ensuring compliance with the National Ap- proach to Response (NAR) Crisis Communications Plan.
The PIO has the following specific responsibilities: a. Review Common Responsibilities (page 3-1);
b. Coordinate with OPA when required under the Crisis Communications Plan;
c. Gather incident data;
d. Determine, in consultation with the IC/UC and OPA, if there are any limits on information release;
e. Develop material for use in media briefings; f. Obtain IC/UC’s approval of media releases; g. Conduct media briefings;
h. Arrange for tours and other interviews or briefings that may be required;
i. Obtain media information that may be useful to inci- dent planning;
j. Maintain current information summaries on the inci- dent and provide information on status of incident to
JANUARY 2016
Chapter 7. COMMAND STAFF 88
assigned personnel;
k. Analyze public perceptions of the response;
l. Establish Emergency Support Function (ESF) #10 Joint Information Center (JIC) or coordinate with an established JIC to consolidate public information offi- cials from multiple jurisdictions;
m. Provide for security of information when necessary; n. Develop and implement community relations pro-
grams;
o. Ensure that community relations activities are effec- tively coordinated with other Command and General Staff functions. This includes outreach, in coordina- tion with the Command Staff Liaison Officer (LNO), to vulnerable populations during the course of the re- sponse in collaboration with regional Environmental Justice and tribal offices;
p. Ensure the community input feedback and issues are effectively coordinated with the LNO; and
q. Maintain Unit/Activity Log (ICS 214 form).
The PIO may designate assistants to perform subsets of these responsibilities, as shown in Figure 7-2: Public Infor- mation Personnel Organizational Structure.
JANUARY 2016
Chapter 7. COMMAND STAFF 89
FIGURE 7-2: PUBLIC INFORMATION PERSONNEL ORGANI-