Toronto Fire Services Training Note (PDF)

Fire Services Training Division Training Note FROM: Fire Chief EFFECTIVE DATE: March 26, 2021 FILE IN TFS TRAINING MANUAL UNDER: GROUP: 100 Firefighting...

Fire Services Training Division Training Note FROM: Fire Chief EFFECTIVE DATE: March 26, 2021 FILE IN TFS TRAINING MANUAL UNDER: GROUP: 100 Firefighting Knowledge and Skills SECTION: 104 Incident Management System SUBSECTION: 104.1 Using the Incident Management System UNIT: 104.1.3 Organizational Chart/Command Structure TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION..................................................................................................... 2 2. INCIDENT MANAGEMENT TEAMS....................................................................... 2 3. COMMAND STRUCTURE...................................................................................... 4 4. UNIFIED COMMAND.............................................................................................. 7 Toronto Fire Services Training Note: 104.1.3 Organizational Chart/Command Structure Training Division Date Prepared: March 2021 Page 1 of 7 1. INTRODUCTION The Incident Management System (IMS) is designed to be expandable in response to the size of the emergency incident. This means that it can expand and contract dependent upon the number of apparatus and level of organization required to manage the incident. Each change in organizational level will necessitate some changes in the organizational hierarchy and responsibility. 2. INCIDENT MANAGEMENT TEAMS An Incident Management Team is a group of two or three Command Officers depending on the alarm level, an Incident Commander, a Support Officer and possibly a Senior Advisor. The team will be located in a strategic position, usually a Command Vehicle. Each Command Officer has roles described below. These three positions are filled by Command Officers on scene. An Incident Management Team is not incident management by committee; each of the three team members has specific roles to fill in the team process. The Support Officer (SO) Typically, this is an Officer who is one rank higher than the IC. There are seven functions an effective SO should perform.  Refine, evaluate, or change the IAP. An effective SO arrives at the scene, proceeds to the Command Post and confirms that the IC has an IAP. If the IC cannot give the SO a valid IAP, then the SO must immediately assume there is a problem. An IC cannot effectively assign tasks and objectives without having a sound plan. Provided that the IC has a plan and can communicate it, the SO has the responsibility to agree with, modify or change the IAP.  Provide guidance relating to tactical priorities, fireground factors, and firefighter safety. One of the primary advantages of using an IMT is that it allows a second person to observe the actions of the IC. A primary role of the SO is to take a fresh look at the critical factors on the fireground. SOs look at the incident from a different perspective and may see tactical priorities that need to be addressed or critical fireground factors that may not have been considered.  Assign logistics and safety tasks. At a major incident an SO may assign a Logistics Officer if the IC has not done so already. If Fireground Incident Technicians (FITs) are assigned with the Command Officers, they can get the tasks for the Logistics Section underway before formally setting up the section. Toronto Fire Services Training Note: 104.1.3 Organizational Chart/Command Structure Training Division Date Prepared: March 2021 Page 2 of 7   Control the tactical worksheet. At a major incident it becomes difficult to manage the tactical worksheet accurately. The ability of the IC to account for all units while allocating resources is of major importance. The IC should work off their own tactical worksheet, but the SO may be in a better position to maintain the "master" tactical worksheet.  Evaluate the fireground tactical and task level organization. The SO must consider the following: Are there enough Sectors assigned? Do we need to assign Chief Officers into some of the critical sectors? Is the span of control too great for the IC or within the Sectors? The SO must evaluate the IAP the IC has established and make sure that it is constructed as effectively as possible.  Second set of eyes and ears. The knowledge, training and experience of the SO should be utilized.  Protect the IC. The IC needs to be focused on the tactics and strategy of the incident and must be protected from interruptions. The SO is the filter for the IC. Notwithstanding, essential information and communications must still be provided to the IC. The SO role is extremely critical to the IMT. The SO must be involved in tactical and strategic decisions and must provide the support activities that allow the IC to remain focused on tactics and strategy. The Senior Advisor (SA) The SA, the third position of the IMT, is usually filled by the Senior Chief Officer. Some of the SA's roles are to:  Ensure Unified Command and business cycle meetings are established.  Deal with the impact on the community of any; o hazardous materials involved o long-term effects of the fire on the community o consequences that smoke is having on the neighborhood o occupancies affected by power loss  Deal with issues that the IC and SO are not working on  Is the City EOC required? Are senior City Officials informed?  Fill the other sections in IMS. The SA should fill the roles of Logistics, Planning, Safety, and Finance/Administration as needed. The Senior Advisor does not get involved with fireground tactics. This is where the system must prevent Incident Command by committee. Once the SA is comfortable with the IAP, the SA must step away from the IC's and SO's tactical decision making. Toronto Fire Services Training Note: 104.1.3 Organizational Chart/Command Structure Training Division Date Prepared: March 2021 Page 3 of 7 For First alarms or Working Fire Responses - The District Chief is normally the IC but could be the SO to a Captain if they have developed and implemented an effective Incident Action Plan (IAP). For Second Alarms - The District Chief would normally be the IC with the Platoon Chief the SO. For Third Alarms – That are stable and have reached this alarm level due to weather conditions or geographical size and the alarm level is not expected to increase, the District Chief, with an effective Incident Action Plan, may remain the IC, with the Platoon Chief remaining the SO and the Division Commander the SA. Where a revised IAP is required, the Platoon Chief would be the IC and the Division Commander the SO. For Fourth Alarms or Greater - The Platoon Chief would normally be the IC, the Division Commander the SO, and the On-Call Deputy the SA. Where a revised IAP is required, the Division Commander would be the IC, the On-Call Deputy the SO and the Fire Chief the SA. 3. COMMAND STRUCTURE Single Apparatus Response The most basic structure combines all three facets of Command. The Company Officer, on a single apparatus response (e.g. Dumpster fire, Check call, etc.) determines the Strategic, Tactical and Task aspects of the call and then supervises the task level activities of their crew. Strategic PUMP Tactical 123 Task(s) Multiple Apparatus Response This level of organization is where we begin to separate the functions of Command (Strategic and Tactical), from the function of task level activities. The Incident Commander is responsible for assessing the situation and devising a plan of how to deal with the particular emergency. The IC will then delegate various tactical functions to Officers or crews, which will lead to the successful mitigation and closure of the emergency. Toronto Fire Services Training Note: 104.1.3 Organizational Chart/Command Structure Training Division Date Prepared: March 2021 Page 4 of 7 The above example of Command structure would normally be employed for a first alarm response and could be utilized for a second alarm response. As the span of control begins to widen or may be expected to exceed the ICs span of control, the command structure must be expanded. Sectored Incident Depending on the complexity and size of the incident and as more Chief Officers arrive on scene, the IC is afforded the opportunity to further compartmentalize the responsibility for the various functions at the incident. This can result in the sectoring of the key tactical objectives: Fire Attack, Search and Rescue, Ventilation, Roof, Rehab, etc. INCIDENT SUPPORT Strategic COMMANDER OFFICER COMMAND POST OFFICER ISO RIT VENT FIRE SEARCH/RESCUE SECTOR SECTOR SECTOR Tactical AERIAL PUMPER RESCUE PUMPER PUMPER 133 443 133 442 441 Task(s) Toronto Fire Services Training Note: 104.1.3 Organizational Chart/Command Structure Training Division Date Prepared: March 2021 Page 5 of 7 The schematic is only a guideline/representation of how the Command structure can work and in no way, represents an actual incident. The number of Sectors that can be effectively managed by the IC varies. In fast-moving, complex operations, a span of control of not more than 5 Sectors is advisable. In slower moving, less complex operations, the IC may effectively manage more Sectors. Branched Incident As the incident grows in complexity, and the span of control within Sectors is maximized, the next step is to divide into Branches. The Branches are Tactical Level functions and are designed to provide coordination between the Sectors and Command. SUPPORT INCIDENT SENIOR OFFICER COMMANDER ADVISOR Strategic LOGISTICS/PLANNING/ ADMIN COMMAND POST ISO RIT OFFICER HAZMAT FIRE EVACUATION BRANCH BRANCH BRANCH Tactical VENT FIRE SEARCH/RESCUE Tactical SECTOR SECTOR SECTOR AERIAL PUMPER RESCUE PUMPER PUMPER Task(s) 133 443 133 442 441 Toronto Fire Services Training Note: 104.1.3 Organizational Chart/Command Structure Training Division Date Prepared: March 2021 Page 6 of 7 4. UNIFIED COMMAND This level of Command is utilized at large, multi-jurisdictional incidents and whereas under our IMS there is only one Incident Commander, the unified command has several Incident Commanders. This creates a ‘think-tank’ of individuals that share both the decision making and responsibility of mitigating the emergency incident. An example of where unified command would be utilized is at an airplane crash on Highway 401, south of Pearson International Airport. The unified command may include representatives from Toronto Fire Services, the Greater Toronto Airport Authority (GTAA) Fire Services, Mississauga Fire and Toronto Police Services. Exceptions to the Norm One of the basic concepts in Unified Command is the cooperation of agencies at the decision-making level. This concept is in play at smaller scale events such as highways, subways etc. When only one to three vehicle or apparatus respond from the three emergency services, Unified Command must also be exercised. This is because Command of the Incident may change from agency to agency as the incident progresses to termination. Each agency will have its own goals and objectives. This needs to be communicated to the group and the IC must make an informed decision. Provincial IMS Unified Command (Significant Incidents) Unified Command (UC) may be used on rare occasions when incident decision making is complex, interdependent and a Single Command cannot be established. Organizations work together through their designated members of the UC to establish a common set of objectives and strategies and a single IAP. The Unified Command team will agree upon one spokesperson to represent them, when necessary. There may be different spokespersons on different occasions, but typically, there will only be one spokesperson at a time. Toronto Fire Services Training Note: 104.1.3 Organizational Chart/Command Structure Training Division Date Prepared: March 2021 Page 7 of 7