The Incident Commander is responsible for developing a tactical plan and overall strategy to resolve the incident as well as ensuring that operational crews are safe. The Incident Commander can change throughout an incident.

Incident Commanders manage critical incidents, such as cyberattacks or disasters. They lead the response efforts, make critical decisions under pressure and coordinate the response teams. Effective communication, assessment, action plan creation, delegation and coordination are the key duties of an IC.

Incident Commander If the incident needs more fire engines and firefighters, a more senior or experienced officer will take over the role. An Incident Commander leads the overall management but relies on a number of other people to give them up-to-date information about what is happening in all areas of the incident.

The Incident Commander (IC) is responsible for the overall management of the incident and determines which Command or General Staff positions to staff in order to maintain a manageable span of control and ensure appropriate attention to the necessary incident management functions.

Becoming an incident commander The core responsibilities of an incident commander are resource management, communication, and problem-solving. Anyone with these skills—from senior leadership all the way down to interns—can make a great incident commander.