The Incident Command System (ICS) is widely regarded as an effective management framework to organize rapid response to and stabilization of emergencies and disasters of any kind and size. However, ICS has serious limitations when applied to lengthy responses to complex emergencies, and there is little established best practice in the use of ICS to support transition from response to long term recovery after incident stability targets are achieved. This presentation will overview Washington State’s lessons learned on the limitations of ICS followed by a discussion of our experience applying ICS organization and principles to support effective transition from response to long term management of complex emergencies including the COVID-19 pandemic, devastating wildfires, and other all-hazards emergencies.
Following the presentation a panel will reflect on the application of the Icelandic SABF Incident Management system in recent large scale/long term operations. The SABF system is modelled on the ICS system.