GOG 10-31 Empowering Incident Commanders.docx

**PURPOSE:** The purpose of this guideline is to outline the practice for all KCFD Incident Commanders to manage responding resources, according to the needs of the incident. **SCOPE:** This guideline applies to all uniformed KCFD personnel and all KCFD resources including, but not limited to amb...

**PURPOSE:** The purpose of this guideline is to outline the practice for all KCFD Incident Commanders to manage responding resources, according to the needs of the incident. **SCOPE:** This guideline applies to all uniformed KCFD personnel and all KCFD resources including, but not limited to ambulances. **DEFINITIONS:** Incident Commander (IC) -- Any officer of a responding KCFD apparatus who establishes Command and functions as the person in charge of the incident for KCFD. The responsibility of Command is set forth in the KCFD IMS GOG. Patient -- Any person who is ill, injured, or in need of treatment by medical personnel. This includes any person that has activated the EMS system or for whom the EMS system has been activated, including emergency and non-emergency calls for service, or any person that presents himself to EMS personnel with a medically related complaint such that it could be reasonably inferred that the person is seeking or in need of medical attention. Not a Patient -- A person that is identified as not ill or injured or in need of treatment by medical personnel. This includes individuals who may have been involved in a situation that either did result or could have resulted in the creation of a patient requiring medical treatment as defined above.. **GUIDELINES:** I. Following the establishment of Command and a scene assessment; A. The IC should determine what KCFD resources are necessary to manage the incident. B. If it is determined that responding resources are not required, the IC should inform Communications to cancel their response and/or downgrade the response to non-emergency. C. The incident report should reflect that a scene assessment was conducted and that no patients were presented. 1. Example narrative for no patient found: "A scene assessment was conducted; no patients requiring medical care were presented." II\. If in doubt whether there is a patient, or if there is a patient who refuses care, the IC should allow the ambulance to continue. This GOG does not include procedures for patient refusal by non-ambulance personnel.