See the cover feature on TVF&R's IMTs in the March 2005 Fire Chief.

TVF&R maintains five incident management teams (IMTs), rotating on-call status on a weekly basis. The teams provide strategic incident management and support for incidents involving a large area, long duration, technical or political complexity, extraordinary impact on population, or any other aspect extending beyond routine response capabilities.

Team members are responsible for arranging coverage for their position to account for regular duty schedules and vacation; members are compensated for their on-call time as determined by their bargaining-unit and exempt status. On-call team positions include most standard Incident Command System (ICS) Command and General Staff positions.

Teams are notified on all second alarms and automatically dispatched on third alarms, but may be requested on any incident in entirety or by function. Some positions have their own response protocol: on-call Safety Officers respond on all incidents of two alarms or greater (or by on-scene request). On-call PIOs respond on all working fires and other noteworthy incidents, all IMT activations, and by request. Aside from Safety and Public Information, the most common position-specific request is for Logistics, to provide support beyond standard rehab response on incidents of long duration (e.g., portable toilets, fencing, meals). In addition, an on-scene Incident Commander may request a partial activation of the Incident Management Team to an incident (e.g., Logistics only). As situations require, teams may be dispatched to staff TVF&R's Fire Operations Center (FOC) and/or assist in staffing city and county emergency operations centers (EOCs).

All Incident Management Team members must fulfill educational requirements and participate in regular training and exercises. In addition to standard training and drills for their regular assignments, IMT members receive a variety of training opportunities related to their team role. Position-specific classes are offered in-house, with applications geared to local protocols, district operations, and regional capabilities. Team members also may enroll in external classes depending on availability, and several members also serve on incident management teams through the Oregon State Fire Marshal's Office or Oregon Department of Forestry. The teams meet annually for combined training and updates, but most team-level training is accomplished through individual team drills and participation in  District-wide full-scale or functional exercises.

• Incident Commander (IC)
• Deputy Incident Commander (DIC)
• Liaison Officer (LNO
• Public Information Officer (PIO)
• Safety Officer (ISO)
• Operations Section Chief  (OSC)
• Planning Section Chief (PSC)
• Logistics Section Chief (LSC)

When an IMT responds to an incident scene, the IMT IC commonly performs a face-to-face transfer of command, and the relieved "original" IC becomes the Operations Section Chief within the command structure. This maintains operational continuity while transferring other responsibilities and concerns to the IMT, which includes maintaining the capability to provide emergency services throughout TVF&R's district, i.e., maintaining crew and duty-chief coverage according to predetermined minimum standards.

TVF&R staffs most of the Liaison positions and one DIC position with non-TVF&R employees; most are senior staff members of some of the cities within district boundaries, but we also have private-sector and county representatives. Bringing senior public works and police department staff into the IMTs helps promulgate ICS and emergency preparedness in the cities and counties that compose TVF&R's district, as well as serving the more political purposes already discussed. City representatives functioning as LNOs or DICs can serve as champions for adopting ICS and taking basic preparedness steps within their own organization. During incidents, the LNOs provide general representation for municipal responders and, if the incident is within their municipality, may become part of a Unified Command. As many major incidents require local law and public works response, TVF&R's external IMT members provide ready contacts with their peers elsewhere in the district, and help provide the Incident Commander with a more global perspective. As non-fire personnel, they can look outside the fire service "box" to ensure that relevant input from other sources is included and that other agencies are kept in the loop.

TVF&R enhances its IMTs by emphasizing the functions of the Planning and Logistics Sections. For most incidents (and in most agencies) ICS staffing is centered around Command and Operations functions, because most incidents are short enough that the support functions in ICS, Planning, Logistics, and Finance/Administration are not needed or can easily be handled by standard protocols (e.g., rehab). Incidents that require IMT activation are more likely to require longer-term support functions. Most of TVF&R's Logistics and Planning Chiefs are non-line personnel, many with no background in response: only five out of 15 (including shared positions that allow for shift schedules) are line officers or duty chiefs.

Planning Section functions include monitoring Situation Status (SitStat) and Resource Status (ReStat), as well as conducting the planning process for an incident: all of this is applied information management.

The Logistics Section is tasked with providing any material, service, and personnel support for incident response, e.g., food, drinking water, sanitation, temporary facilities, communications support, vehicle and equipment support; Logs Chiefs also perform Finance functions on scenes (as needed).  In addition, TVF&R's Logistics Chiefs fill a victim-assistance role in incident response. Although there are many effective agencies dedicated with providing temporary shelter, food, supplies, and social services, TVF&R is likely to be the first agency victims encounter in an emergency and does not want to see anyone fall through the cracks. In addition to carrying resource directories for response needs, Logistics Chiefs also carry directories for a variety of social services, and have become accustomed to contacting social-service providers (public and private), translators, insurance companies, pharmacies, family members, and any other services that might be necessary until dedicated providers can take over.

For more information contact Jeff Rubin, Emergency Manager: (503) 259-1199