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68 Incident Command System Incident Action Plan According to The National Incident Management System (NIMS): A Workbook for State Depart- ment of Transportation Frontline Workers, an incident action plan (IAP) is an oral or written plan that identifies general objectives that are part of the overall strategy for managing response activities.1 The purpose of the IAP is to provide all incident supervisory personnel with direction for actions to be put into action during the operational period identified in the plan. All IAPs must have four elements: 1. Objectives (FORM ICS 202): What do we want to do? What are the objectives to be accomplished? 2. Organizational Assignments (FORM ICS 203): Who is responsible for doing what? 3. Communications (FORM ICS 205): How do we communicate with each other? 4. Medical Plan (FORM ICS 206): What is the procedure if someone is injured? Other elements may include a ⢠Health and safety plan, which specifies safety procedures and messages, a health and safety analysis for hazardous on-scene tasks or tactical operations, personnel training require- ments, medical monitoring requirements, site control measures, and an air monitoring plan as appropriate; and a ⢠Traffic management plan, which describes procedures to direct and control the flow of traffic and determines the placement of barricades, warning lights, or signs for the duration of the highway incident impeding normal traffic flow. Table C-1 lists the key activities in developing an IAP. A P P E N D I X C Table C-1. Key activities in developing an incident action plan. Phase Activity Understand the situation. Gather, record, analyze, and display situation and resource information (i.e., conduct an incident briefing); determine what happened, the responding agencies and roles, and threats or risks to responders. Obtain a clear picture of the incident scale, complexity, and potential impact. Ensure the ability to accurately determine the resources required to develop and implement an effective IAP. Establish incident objectives and strategy. Formulate and prioritize incident objectives. Identify, analyze, and evaluate reasonable alternative strategies (i.e., what has to be done) that will accomplish overall incident objectives and conform to the legal obligations and practice of all affected agencies.
Incident Command System Incident Action Plan 69 Table C-1. (Continued). Phase Activity Develop the plan. Determine the tactical direction (i.e., how, where, and when) and the specific resources, reserves, and support requirements for implementing selected strategies for one operational period. Select the operational periodâshorter for escalating and complex incidents and longer for less-complex incidents. Identify resource needs and availability. Configure an Incident Command System (ICS) organizational structure to execute tactics and determine work assignments and resource requirements specific to ICS (Operations Section) organizational elements. Determine the need to develop IAP attachments (e.g., communications plan, medical plan, health and safety plan, traffic management plan). Identify transportation-specific activities that emphasize that transportation must be involved in the development of the plan. Prepare and disseminate the plan. Format the IAP in accordance with the level of complexity of the incident (e.g., a well-prepared outline for an oral briefing or a written plan). Obtain IAP attachments and review for completeness and approval. Ensure the IAP is up-to-date and complete in relation to the incident situation; reproduce and distribute the IAP before the start of the next operational period. Evaluate and revise the plan. Compare planned progress with actual progress on a regular basis and identify deviations such as changes in resource availability, mission failure or unexpected success, and new safety/cost/political/environmental considerations. Input new information and situation changes into the first step of the planning process as necessary to modify the IAP for the current or subsequent operational period. Source: Ang-Olson, J., and Latoski, L. (2006). Simplified Guide to the Incident Command System for Transportation Professionals. U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Washington, DC. https://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/ics_guide/. Endnote 1. Federal Highway Administration. (2009). The National Incident Management System (NIMS): A Workbook for State Department of Transportation Frontline Workers. U.S. Department of Transportation, Washington, DC. https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/security/emergencymgmt/profcapacitybldg/docs/nims/nims_wkbk.pdf.