Page 12 - Volume 20

ICS or Blue Card:
Does it Really Matter?
Asst. Chief Allen Scott, OFE Prairie Township Fire Department
Author Bio
Assistant Chief Allen Scott has served the Prairie Township
Fire Department since 2016. He was employed by the City of Whitehall, Division of Fire from 1994 to 2016. Asst. Chief Scott began his fire service career in 1982 with the Brilliant Volunteer Fire Department, and worked part-time for both, Pleasant Township (Franklin County) and Jefferson Township (Madison County) Fire Departments. Scott holds an associate degree in Medical Laboratory Technology, and is a graduate of the Ohio Fire Executive Program , Class 14. He currently serves as the Assistant Region 4 Coordinator for the Ohio Fire Chiefs’ Emergency Response Plan.
Modern technology has both enhanced and hindered incident command prac- tices. Mobile computers and tablets allow us immediate access to pre-planned information and incident command software, while radio systems allow us to utilize endless numbers of radio channels to communicate. These same technological advances also hinder our ability to be mobile fire ground commanders. In certain situations in Central Ohio, a fire ground commander could be required to operate
on three different radio channels. This becomes nearly impossible without remaining inside a command vehicle. Therefore, as the incident grows so must the command system. Creating an incident management system cannot be accomplished on the fly. Fire departments must have a reliable system in place and all members inside that system must understand its functions.
Which incident management system is best? This is a common conversation among firefighters, fire officers, and fire chiefs alike. “Do you use Blue Card?” or “What Incident Management System do you use?” The responses are equally as predict-
able. Some would say “I like Blue Card because it helps eliminate freelancing” or “I struggle with ICS because I have trouble keeping track of which is a sector and which is a division.” Others would argue that Blue Card Command creates unnecessary or repetitive radio traffic, or that ICS makes it easier to maintain an acceptable span of control.
In 2004, the Department of Homeland Security created the National Incident Management System (NIMS). This system was intended “to provide a consistent national approach for federal, state, tribal, and local governments, the private sector, and nongovernmental organizations (NGO) to work together to prepare for, respond to, recover from, and mitigate domestic incidents, regardless of cause, size, or complexity.” (https://training.fema.gov/emiweb/is/icsresource/assets/nims_ training_program.pdf)
Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD) -5 made NIMS training and adaptation a mandatory condition in order to receive federal fire grant assistance. NIMS is an extremely in-depth incident management system that is designed to train anyone who could be involved in an emergency situation from the everyday single company response to the national level disaster. These incidents are broken down into five types, with Type 1 being the largest and most complex to Type 5 representing the most simple, one or two company incidents.
Blue Card incident command training, a for-profit company—not a government entity, was created by Alan, Nick, and John Brunacini, all who are retired members of the Phoenix, Arizona Fire Department. “The Blue Card training program provides fire departments with a training and certification system that defines the best Standard Command Practices for common, local, everyday strategic and tactical emergency operations conducted on NIMS Type 4 and Type 5 events.” (http://www.bshifter. com/bcmd_ProgramOverview.aspx).
12 InCommand OCTOBER/NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2017 • www.ohiofirechiefs.org