BEATING THE SYSTEM TO DEATH: A CASE STUDY IN INCIDENT COMMAND AND MUTUAL AID

摘要

The incident command system—now commonly referred to as the incident management system (IMS)—and written mutual-aid agreements are designed to work closely together to promote safety for responding firefighters and the public and to ensure the efficient use of resources. The written mutual-aid agreement is generally found in the form of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) or Memorandum of Agreement (MOA). One key purpose of a mutual-aid MOU is to ensure that departmental standard operating procedures (SOPs) are observed in mutual-aid responses. Failure to correctly use these powerful management tools may result in tragedy.