TO: ALL WOOD COUNTY EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS AMATEURS
ALL NON-WOOD COUNTY EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS AMATERUS
FROM: KEN HARRIS WA8LLM
WOOD COUNTY EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS INCORPORATED
WOOD COUNTY BULLETIN NR 12.49 DATE: December 2, 2012
SUBJECT: DEFINITIONS: WHAT IS ICS ?
ICS stands for Incident Command System. ICS is a structure where one Incident Commander is in charge of from 5 to 7 departments or agency heads under him or her. Each of those agency heads can have from 5 to 7 departments or agencies under them, and so on. The bigger the incident, the more departments or agencies can get involved and the bigger the Incident Command structure. It's been proven that one department or agency head can only supervise from 5 to 7 persons under them, then the system needs to split again. Each agency has a job to do and not try to do other jobs. The Incident Command System can be used in any type of activity, even in communications. The key to remember is to report back to your supervisor and don't jump the ICS structure or something important could get lost in the shuffle. All Fire and Rescue agencies across the nation practice the Incident Command System.
Ken Harris WA8LLM
WCEC
Wood County WV