ICS II-For Safety Core Volunteers

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ICS for Safety Core Volunteers focuses on the key information every volunteer needs to know about responding during ICS.

Volunteer Responsibilities

  • All volunteers are expected to use good judgment and be responsible for their actions.
  • All volunteers report in and stay until released.

For the safety of everyone involved in the incident, the IC (aka Command) must know where volunteers are at all times.

Initiating ICS

  • Incident occurs
  • First volunteer
  • Assess the scene
    • Is the scene safe?
    • What’s going on?
    • What do I have?
    • What do I need?
    • Who do I tell?
  • Lead and Manage (IC) role is assumed

Once a Lead and Manage (IC) role is assumed ICS is in place. As IC you are responsible for everything until you appoint that task to someone else.

Communicating ICS status

  • Contact your supervisor via radio or in person and tell them what is happening.
  • Make an announcement (if you are comfortable and have enough experience to do so)
    • Announcement will include:
        1. Break all non-emergency traffic:  “Break, break, emergency traffic. Allcom, allcom, ICS has been activated…”
        2. State what you need everyone to know whether it is a call for volunteers or important information:“...We need (number of volunteers needed, “all” if a large scale event)available volunteers (or “medical/FAST/etc. volunteers,” if a specific skillset needed) on comm to report to (location)....”
        3. Identify yourself as IC to keep chain of command clear: “...IC is (name), IC is (name).”

Passing or Keeping IC

  • If help is requested and arrives
    • Help is assigned a task or
    • IC duties are transferred

4 Things to Remember When Responding

  • Be sober.
  • Report to the IC.
  • Know your role.
  • Dont freelance.

Be Sober

  • When you’re on the scene responding to an emergency, you’re representing Firefly.
  • Even more importantly, you could affect the safety of you & those around you, making the situation worse!

Report to the IC

  • Emergencies can get really chaotic, really fast. The goal of ICS is to prevent this.
  • Having everyone check in to one person helps keep track of how many people are helping and who else we need.
  • You will either be assigned a task by the IC directly, or the IC will direct you to report to the appropriate Lead, depending on the incident scale.

Know Your Role

  • Once you’ve been given a task, do it.
  • Keep doing it until either it’s done or you’re released by the IC/your Lead.
  • If you finish your task, inform the IC/your Lead so you can be re-assigned, if needed.
  • If you’re unclear on you instructions, get clarification from the person giving them!

Don’t Freelance

  • Prevents IC from having the “Big Picture” of what’s happening and what.needs to happen.
    • They may very well have more details about the incident than you, and have a better idea of how you can be most useful.
  • You may be getting in the way instead of helping if you don’t report to them or drift from your assigned task!
    • Prevents your peers and co-volunteers from being able to count on you.
    • You may be putting yourself in danger.
    • You may be endangering others.
    • You may be doing a task already assigned.
    • Creates a potential safety hazard. You are not accounted for.
  • Ultimately prevents ICS from functioning at highest potential

Who Reports to Whom?

  • How do you know who the IC is?
    • Look for someone communicating with others
    • Ask someone
    • Listen on the radio
  • IC or designee will tell you who to report to from there.
  • If more than 4 in your group appoint a lead and break into smaller groups.
    • Group together by core, function or location
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