The Mission of Command

The mission of command is to coordinate the activities of emergency crews and to make every effort to use accepted strategic practices to protect life and property from the effects of fire and other emergencies. In this mission statement, I have italicized coordinate to emphasize that the incident commander (IC) should not be a hands-on participant at a fire. The IC’s focus should be on the entire incident, its needs, and the safety of firefighters. He cannot maintain this focus if his hands are on the nozzle, he is venting a roof, or he is involved in other tactical evolutions (photo 1). There may be times when an IC might become a hands-on person for a short time. Such occurrences usually arise from low staffing and should be the exception, not the rule. If an IC must participate in on-scene tactical operations, it should be only for a short time, and he should return to the command post as soon as possible and focus again on the whole incident.

Even at single-unit responses where informal command is used, the officer should avoid becoming a hands-on participant in emergency scene operations. At an emergency medical services (EMS) incident, even if only two members are on the scene, the informal IC must focus on the whole incident. This allows the second member to take vitals, administer oxygen, and perform other initial patient care operations. There are times when the officer must participate. One example would be when working on a victim in full cardiac arrest, with staffing at only two or three members. However, before the officer lays hands on the victim, he should request an additional unit to respond. As soon as that additional unit arrives on-scene, someone should establish a formal command.

There is no secret to running a fire. A chief or company officer’s ability to manage any incident successfully depends on factors such as experience and knowledge. But there is no secret or magic wand needed to successfully run a fire.