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There are four steps to Blue Card training: online training, simulation evaluation, three years of continuing education, and an instructor training and support program.
While NIMS training elaborates in great detail how incident command systems should be constructed in terms of very specific roles and responsibilities, Blue Card provides incident commanders with what they describe as “Standard Command Practices” (http://www.bshifter.com/bcmd_ProgramOverview.aspx).
As with all training programs, there are pros and cons to each. However, there is one common thread, incident command and control is an absolute necessity on each and every incident. One can read virtually any NIOSH LODD report and find mention of an incident command flaw. Not utilizing some sort of incident manage- ment system is a gamble that no fire department can afford. The days of the Lone Ranger with the white hat and a portable radio roaming around the burning building are long gone. I am certainly not suggesting that we all sit in a car a block from the fire and stare at a computer screen (although there are times when that could certainly be necessary). I am suggesting that every fire department must have a well-established command and control system that is understood by each department member, trained on, and utilized regularly.
Regardless of whether you prefer a Rapid Intervention Company or an On Deck Company, have level 1 or level 2 staging, repeat every radio message verbatim, or recertify every three years, every fire ground commander must utilize sound command and control practices. Additionally, acceptable span of control guidelines must be maintained at all times. Delegation of command functions only enhances an incident commander’s ability to handle incidents as they grow.
ICS or Blue Card, does it really matter? The answer to the question is no. It really doesn’t matter which incident management system a fire department uses, as long as it uses one. u
References:
1. https://training.fema.gov/emiweb/is/icsresource/assets/
nims_training_program.pdf
Retrieved Aug. 13th, 2017.
2. http://www.bshifter.com/bcmd_ProgramOverview.aspx Retrieved Aug. 13th, 2017.
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OCTOBER/NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2017 • www.ohiofirechiefs.org InCommand 13