EOC’s vs ICS Functions

Functions of an EOC and an ICS

Competencies Addressed in This Discussion

• Competency 1: Apply emergency planning procedures to critical incidents.
• Competency 2: Explain the role of emergency planning within the emergency management field.
• Competency 4: Correlate appropriate emergency management response to hazards and threats.

Introduction

In your Emergency Planning text , Chapter 7, pages 367–396, you read about the emergency operations center, or EOC. Earlier in the course you discussed EOC.

According to the ICS Resource Center: Glossary of Related Terms (n.d.), an emergency operations center or EOC is:

The physical location at which the coordination of information and resources to support domestic incident management activities normally takes place. An EOC may be a temporary facility or may be located in a more central or permanently established facility, perhaps at a higher level of organization within a jurisdiction. EOCs may be organized by major functional disciplines (e.g., fire, law enforcement, and medical services), by jurisdiction (e.g., Federal, State, regional, county, city, tribal), or some combination thereof.

The same source describes an ICS or incident command system as:

A standardized on-scene emergency management construct specifically designed to provide for the adoption of an integrated organizational structure that reflects the complexity and demands of single or multiple incidents, without being hindered by jurisdictional boundaries. ICS is the combination of facilities, equipment, personnel, procedures, and communications operating within a common organizational structure, designed to aid in the management of resources during incidents. It is used for all kinds of emergencies and is applicable to small as well as large and complex incidents.

The glossary also provides the following on the National Incident Management System or NIMS:

A system mandated by HSPD-5 that provides a consistent nationwide approach for Federal, State, local, and tribal governments; the private sector; and nongovernmental organizations to work effectively and efficiently together to prepare for, respond to, and recover from domestic incidents, regardless of cause, size, or complexity. To provide for interoperability and compatibility among Federal, State, local, and tribal capabilities, the NIMS includes a core set of concepts, principles, and terminology. HSPD-5 identifies these as the ICS; multiagency coordination systems; training; identification and management of resources (including systems for classifying types of resources); qualification and certification; and the collection, tracking, and reporting of incident information and incident resources.

In this discussion, you will highlight some of the important functions of those organizations.

Reference

Federal Emergency Management Agency. (n.d.). ICS Resource Center: Glossary of related terms. Retrieved from https://training.fema.gov/emiweb/is/icsresource/gl…

Instructions

In your main post:

• Describe a scenario in which an EOC and an ICS is required.
• Compare the characteristics shared between an EOC and an ICC. Use your scenario to provide examples of similarities.
• Contrast the characteristics that differ between an EOC and ICC. Again, use your scenario to provide examples of differences.
• Analyze the role the NIMS could play in a similar scenario.
• Identify conditions that would make the NIMS part of the scenario.

Discussion Objectives

The competencies addressed in this discussion are supported by discussion objectives, as follows:

• Competency 1: Apply emergency planning procedures to critical incidents.
  • Describe a scenario in which an EOC and an ICS is required.
• Competency 2: Explain the role of emergency planning within the emergency management field.
  • Compare the characteristics shared between an EOC and an ICC.
  • Contrast the characteristics that differ between an EOC and ICC.
• Competency 4: Correlate appropriate emergency management response to hazards and threats.
  • Analyze the role the NIMS could play in a similar scenario.
  • Identify conditions that would make the NIMS part of the scenario.

Response Guidelines

You must respond to two other posts. Did your peers include similarities between an EOC and ICS? Did they include the same or different differences between the EOC and ICS? What was the same or different from those you included? Did you agree with the role your peers assigned to the NIMS? Why or why not?

Resources

• CJ Discussion Participation Scoring Guide.
• Criminal Justice Undergraduate Research Guide.
• Community of Excellence.
• G.R.E.A.T. Discussion Guidelines.