A Model Grassroots Approach for Incident Command System Implementation1

1999 ◽  
Vol 1999 (1) ◽  
pp. 427-431
Author(s):  
Peter Gautier ◽  
Carol McAllister ◽  
Kristy L. Plourde
Keyword(s):  
Training Program ◽  
San Francisco ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Coast Guard ◽  
Incident Management ◽  
Building Relationships ◽  
Incident Command System ◽  
Incident Command ◽  
Implementation Team ◽  
Marine Safety

ABSTRACT Two years ago, the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) formally adopted the National Interagency Incident Management System (NIIMS) Incident Command System (ICS) as doctrine for response management to oil and hazardous materials incidents. USCG Marine Safety Office (MSO) San Francisco Bay has aggressively implemented ICS as the way it conducts spill response in addition to how it carries out many of its routine operations. In a comprehensive effort to improve readiness through ICS, the MSO has established an ICS implementation team. This team constructed an ICS-based organization chart, referred to as a Watch Quarter and Station Bill (WQSB), crafted a training program, prepared ICS equipment and supply “go kits” for spill deployment, and developed administrative measures to maintain and track the program. The MSO's training program is two pronged, consisting of ICS classroom training to teach best practices alternating with process tabletop exercises to reinforce lessons learned from responses. Each session is open for attendance by state and federal trustees as well as local USCG operational units. In this way, the MSO reaches out to the local response community to establish ICS expertise and enhance response relationships. The MSO's implementation plan has proven to be extremely valuable in building the knowledge of personnel, building relationships and better preparing everyone for future spills.

ICS CONTRIBUTES TO THE NORTH CAPE OIL SPILL RESPONSE1

1997 ◽  
Vol 1997 (1) ◽  
pp. 737-742
Author(s):  
LT Tina M. Burke ◽  
LT John P. Flynn
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Management System ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Coast Guard ◽  
Management Tool ◽  
Incident Management ◽  
Incident Command System ◽  
Incident Command ◽  
The North ◽  
Oil Spill Response

ABSTRACT In recent years, the usefulness of the incident command system (ICS) has received much attention. Much of the oil industry and several government agencies involved in all types of emergency response have been using ICS for many years. In addition, the U.S. Coast Guard formally adopted the national interagency incident management system (NIIMS) ICS as the response management system of choice in February of 1996. The response to the tank barge North Cape grounding was a complex multiagency effort that brought with it many of the issues and problems responders face when dealing with crisis situations. This paper describes the ICS-based organization that was established to respond to the major North Cape oil spill, analyzes the organization compared to standard ICS, and discusses how the ICS framework and principles contributed to the success of the response. It also explains how closer conformity to standard ICS could have remedied many of the issues that later surfaced as lessons learned, resulting in improved response efficiency. The North Cape response provides a vivid example of how ICS is a helpful management tool that, if rigorously learned and applied in a widespread fashion, can greatly enhance the nation's oil spill response posture.

SAN JACINTO RIVER INCIDENT: ARMEGEDDON VISITS HOUSTON

1997 ◽  
Vol 1997 (1) ◽  
pp. 972-972 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph J. Leonard
Keyword(s):  
Management System ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Coast Guard ◽  
Ignition Source ◽  
Incident Management ◽  
Direct Response ◽  
Incident Command System ◽  
Incident Command ◽  
Southeast Texas ◽  
Unified Command

ABSTRACT In October 1994, southeast Texas experienced some of its worst flooding ever. Near Houston, the raging waters of the San Jacinto River caused a pipeline to rupture, spilling vast quantities of gasoline. When this gasoline found an ignition source, the river became a devastating conflagration. The Coast Guard immediately activated its incident command system (ICS) with a unified command to direct response activities. Lessons learned following the San Jacinto River incident will improve future response activities and serve as the foundation for the adoption of the National Interagency Incident Management System (which includes the ICS) by the Coast Guard and the state of Texas.

Incident Command System-Based Area Contingency Plans

1999 ◽  
Vol 1999 (1) ◽  
pp. 317-321
Author(s):  
Kristy L. Plourde ◽  
Mark Dix
Keyword(s):  
San Francisco ◽  
San Francisco Bay ◽  
Essential Elements ◽  
Coast Guard ◽  
Ease Of Use ◽  
Adobe Acrobat ◽  
Incident Command System ◽  
Incident Command ◽  
Contingency Plans ◽  
Marine Safety

ABSTRACT U.S. Coast Guard Marine Safety Office San Francisco Bay (MSO SFB) embarked on a major revision of its three Area Contingency Plans (ACPs) and published them in a new consolidated Incident Command System (ICS) based plan. Restructuring the plans to an ICS format involved consolidating over 1800 pages, adding information and reformatting the sections into recognizable divisions that are understandable to any spill responder who understands ICS. Due to the large number of sensitive sites within the San Francisco Bay and Delta (SFBD) region, this section of the ACP was reorganized and divided into Geographics Response Plans (GRPs) or geographic zones for ease of use. The SFBD GRPs have color maps that show the sensitive sites in that zone for easy identification. The new ACP can be easily accessed via any computer platform using Adobe Acrobat PDF files. The online version allows the user to zoom into any desired area with linked tables of contents and GRP map links to the sensitive sites. MSO SFB has successfully marketed this plan by publishing it on its Web site. Essential elements of an ICS based ACP and computer enhancements are presented along with problems encountered.

TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO STATE HAS GONE BEFORE1

1995 ◽  
Vol 1995 (1) ◽  
pp. 761-765
Author(s):  
William Boland ◽  
Pete Bontadelli
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Oil Pollution ◽  
Task Force ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
Coast Guard ◽  
Federal State ◽  
Incident Management ◽  
Incident Command ◽  
State And Local ◽  
Marine Safety

ABSTRACT The Marine Safety Division of the 11th Coast Guard District and the California Office of Oil Spill Prevention and Response are pursuing new avenues to assure that federal, state, and local efforts in California achieve the goals of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 and the Lempert-Keene-Seastrand Oil Spill Prevention and Response Act of 1990. Coordination of the seven California area committees, publishing detailed area contingency plans, and the implemention of a memorandum of agreement on oil spill prevention and response highlight recent cooperative successes. In 1994 a joint Coast Guard/state/industry incident command system task force drafted an ICS field operations guide and incident action plan forms that meet National Interagency Incident Management System and fire scope ICS requirements.

Unified Command Response To Simultaneous Oil Spills1

1999 ◽  
Vol 1999 (1) ◽  
pp. 937-932
Author(s):  
Meredith Austin
Keyword(s):  
Pressure Drop ◽  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Coast Guard ◽  
Pipeline System ◽  
Incident Command System ◽  
Incident Command ◽  
Level Of Activity ◽  
Unified Command ◽  
Marine Safety ◽  
Responsible Party

ABSTRACT At 10:30 p.m. on January 22, 1998, Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit (MSU) Galveston, Texas received notification of a sudden pressure drop within the High Island Pipeline System (HIPS), indicating a possible break in the pipeline, approximately 55 miles from Galveston in the Gulf of Mexico. The Coast Guard, Responsible Party, and State of Texas established a Unified Command to respond to the incident. At 3:15 p.m. on January 23, the M/V Red Seagull, located approximately 60 miles from Galveston, reported oil around her hull. The Federal Incident Commander established a second Unified Command, using Coast Guard members of the HIPS response, augmented by personnel from other Coast Guard units, the second Responsible Party and the state of Texas. As the level of activity for each of the responses changed, so did the Incident Command structure. The responses were a success due to the Unified Command's understanding of the Incident Command System, and the willingness to bring in additional personnel from other sources as necessary.

FOSS 248-P2 OIL SPILL – A CASE STUDY

2005 ◽  
Vol 2005 (1) ◽  
pp. 485-489
Author(s):  
Tedd Hutley ◽  
Myola Martinez ◽  
Mark Dix
Keyword(s):  
Puget Sound ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Coast Guard ◽  
Fuel Oil ◽  
Incident Command ◽  
Indian Tribe ◽  
Highly Sensitive ◽  
Unified Command ◽  
Marine Safety

ABSTRACT At 1205, on December 30, 2003, the Foss Maritime tank barge 248-P2 spilled nearly 6,000 gallons of bunker fuel oil during a loading operation at the Chevron-Point Wells facility in Shoreline, Washington. Approximately 4,637 gallons was discharged into Puget Sound. Upon notification, the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Marine Safety Office (MSO) Puget Sound, Washington Department of Ecology (DOE), and Foss Maritime launched an aggressive response, mobilizing numerous spill response personnel and nearly every major piece of spill response equipment in the Northwest. In less than 24 hours of the spill, nearly all the oil had moved ashore impacting only two miles of shoreline. The most heavily impacted area belonged to the Suquamish Indian Tribe, which included a highly sensitive and culturally significant saltwater marsh. A representative for the Suquamish Tribe quickly joined the Unified Command. Operational success can be linked to the frequent training and exercising of the responding agencies, preplanned geographic response plans, and use of incident command system. Despite the successes, weather and tides proved to be the leading contributor to the four-month shoreline clean up operation. Lessons learned identify response strong points in addition to areas needing improvement.

Naturalistic Decision Making and Training the Incident Commander

1999 ◽  
Vol 1999 (1) ◽  
pp. 437-442
Author(s):  
Thomas S. Kuhaneck ◽  
Arn M. Heggers ◽  
Mark P. O'Malley
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Training Program ◽  
Coast Guard ◽  
Naturalistic Decision Making ◽  
Incident Command System ◽  
Incident Command ◽  
Decision Making Models ◽  
And Training ◽  
The U.S

ABSTRACT For years, the U.S. Coast Guard and other pollution response organizations have relied on traditional (analytical) decision making models as a basis for training their On-Scene Coordinators. With the Coast Guard's adoption of the Incident Command System (ICS), a more appropriate basis for a training program may be found using naturalistic decision making (NDM) models. This paper will describe both the traditional and naturalistic decision making models, compare them, explain why naturalistic decision making is more appropriate for training Incident Commanders, and propose a program for such training for use by the Coast Guard or other response organizations.

Changes in the Use of Incident Command System in the U.S. Coast Guard1

2003 ◽  
Vol 2003 (1) ◽  
pp. 1175-1178
Author(s):  
Kristy Plourde ◽  
Tim Deal ◽  
Doug Lincoln
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Coast Guard ◽  
Incident Management ◽  
Incident Command System ◽  
Incident Command ◽  
Job Aids ◽  
Is Implementation ◽  
Implementation Program ◽  
Response Organization ◽  
The U.S

ABSTRACT Incident Command System (ICS) is a proven multi-contingency response management system that is flexible and provides improved interoperability with other organizations. The U.S. Coast Guard adopted the use of ICS in oil spill responses well before 2001, but the U.S. Coast Guard announced and published is implementation plan for use of ICS Coast Guard-wide in February 2001. This paper will discuss how the U.S. Coast Guard has been moving forward with a phased ICS implementation program and will discuss some of the new tools that have been established. In the Atlantic and Pacific regions, the U.S. Coast Guard has established Incident Management Assist Teams (IMATs), which are a group of trained and experienced personnel who exercise and deploy as a team. These IMATs have been developed to support local U.S. Coast Guard Incident Commanders in their response organization on large incidents. The U.S. Coast Guard has begun work on an ICS qualification system with Position Task Books (PTBs), qualification tracking, and instructor qualifications and continues to move forward with ICS training programs. The U.S. Coast Guard published the Incident Management Handbook (IMH) in April 2001. This handbook incorporated the oil spill Field Operations Guide (FOG) and included information for other types of incidents including Hazardous Materials, Terrorism, and Search and Rescue. The U.S. Coast Guard has also published job aids to help personnel in specific ICS positions. While the U.S. Coast Guard recognizes that implementation of ICS in its organization will take some time, it continues to move forward. This will only improve the way the U.S. Coast Guard responds to incidents.

Not your typical “historian”

2018 ◽  
Vol 27 (5) ◽  
pp. 523-533
Author(s):  
Adrienne Lefevre ◽  
Madison Walter-Garcia ◽  
Kimberly Hanson ◽  
Julia Smith-Easley
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Incident Management ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Incident Command ◽  
Health Community ◽  
Health Response ◽  
Decision Making Processes

Purpose In the incident command system (ICS) structure, response documentation is formally found within the planning section. However, longer term emergency responses have demonstrated the need for a flexible and innovative role that encompasses a variety of activities, including response documentation, communications science, real-time evaluation of major themes, and information management. The paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach This need can be universally met through the functional role of “Historian,” a term specific to ICS, or in the case of public health response, incident management system (IMS). It should be noted that the Historian role discussed is not related to the academic study of history, but to archiving key successes and challenges during a response. Ideally the Historian should be activated at the start of an emergency response and remain active to capture the overall picture of the response, including internal information, such as lessons learned, response activities, and decision-making processes. Findings The Historian compiles details of response activities that inform leadership, donors and external communications products while alleviating pressures on the planning section. The primary, minimum output of an IMS Historian is a response timeline, which notes major internal and external events during a response with emphasis on major themes, lessons learned, and creating a user-friendly interface to display this information (see the list “Abbreviated Example of Hurricane Matthew Response Timeline” in the text). Originality/value In a world with competing priorities and ongoing emergencies, the Historian’s role of archiving details of response efforts can help the international public health community to share lessons learned and contribute to lower morbidity and mortality among those affected by emergencies.

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