Question

Discuss FEMA’s Incident Command System (ICS), its effectiveness, weakness, limitations and operation with federal and/or state and/or local government responses. Discuss the command and control powers. Also address its impact on the private sector.

Answer 1

FEMA's incident command System (ICS) came into existence after a series of wildland fires which causes huge losses in South California in 1970. When it was realized aftermath of the wildfire of California that a number of problems emerged due to lack of cooridnation of federal,state and local fire services, they decided to collaborate and joined together in the FIRESCOPE program which resulted the formation of ICS.

ICS is an organizational configuration and is generally used a term to describe modernizing or updating the existing and traditional procedures as a cosmetic approach. It could be understood as set of personnel, policies, procedures, facilities and equipment integrated into a common organizational structure design to improve emergencey response operations of all types and complexities.

IT has some distinct characteristics which make it as an effetive system. SOme of them are as follows-

1) Effetive span of control: Modern management practice are in use. the ratio of supervisor-subordinate works effective. The rule or organizational position is five subordinates per supervisor. SUch control system foster effective communication and provide most efficient leadership in crisi management.

2) Its modular organization allows the organization to increase asan incident escalates in complexity and decreases when incident comes under control.

3) integrated communication system: Radio requirement worksheet and radio frequencey assignemnt sheet provide means to identify all avaliable radio resources on the incident fostering efffective communication.

4) It has comprehensive resource managemnet system that helps in overcoming the typical problems of too many, too few,lost or mismanaged response forces.

The followings are some of its weaknesses or limitations -

1) It attempts to mitigate simultaneously against natural distaster and terrorism although these two hazards are varied and belong to different categories. It uses same principle of disaster resilience for both ahazards.

2) The general plan can not be always use and be effective to various events that would require specific plans tailored to the events.

3) It has unified command system that requires heavy reliance on one boss known as incident commander.

The operation involving federal/state/local -

The fire services which are federal forest service, california state forest service and different other services provide representatives having many years of experiences. Each agency retain control over its own legal, fiscal responsibilities, agency roles and organizatonal procesures.Unified command system has been developed to encourage close working relationship among agencies while simulatnously holding autonomy.