INCIDENT BRIEFING
Overview: The Incident Briefing provides incident management personnel, including Unified Command (UC) officials, with basic information regarding the incident situation and resources allocated to the response. It serves as an opportunity for members of the Command & General Staff to receive additional details regarding their assignment.
Schedule: The Incident Briefing originates during the transfer-of-command process, but may also be scheduled periodically to assess the status of current response activities or serve as an orientation for newly assigned individuals in the ICS organization.
Facilitator: Planning Section Chief (PSC).
Duration: Approximately 30 minutes.
Room Layout: The preferred room layout and seating arrangement for the Incident Briefing is illustrated below:
AGENDA
(1) Planning Section Chief (PSC): Bring the meeting to order, by stating “Good morning/afternoon. My name is [indicate your name] and I serve as Planning Section Chief for this incident. It’s [time and date] and I’d like to call the Incident Briefing (or Situation Briefing) to order”.
(2) Planning Section Chief (PSC): Conduct roll call for the respective ICS positions/functions:
Federal OSC.
State OSC.
Local OSC.
Responsible Party IC.
Safety Officer (SOFR).
Public Information Officer (PIO).
Liaison Officer (LOFR).
Operations Section Chief (OSC).
Branch Directors (OPBD).
Planning Section Chief (PSC).
Situation Unit Leader (SITL).
Resources Unit Leader (RESL).
Environmental Unit Leader (ENVL).
Documentation Unit Leader (DOCL).
Logistics Section Chief (LSC).
Finance Section Chief (FSC).
Agency Representatives (AREP).
OSRO Representatives.
Technical Specialists (THSP).
(3) Planning Section Chief (PSC): Announce ground rules, as follows.
• Silence all electronic devices.
• Respect the meeting agenda.
• Be mindful of time constraints.
• Presenters front and center.
• Limit interruptions and side conversations.
• Table discussions unrelated to the meeting.
(4) Planning Section Chief (PSC): Briefly review the agenda, noting the purpose of the meeting is to provide incident management personnel with basic information regarding the incident situation and resources allocated to the response.
(5) Planning Section Chief (PSC): Confirm the Documentation Unit is taking meeting minutes and tracking action items that could potentially arise during the briefing, using Meeting Summary (ICS-231) and Open Action Tracker (ICS-233), respectively.
(6) Incident Commander (IC): Issue opening remarks. Review incident objectives.
(7) Situation Unit Leader (SITL): Provide a brief (less than 3-minute) synopsis of the current and projected incident situation. Highlight recent progress and accomplishments. Illustrate the incident perimeter and location of the spill plume. Provide an update on resources assigned to the incident. Present the weather forecast.
(8) Operations Section Chief (OSC): Provide an overview of current activities, along with planned actions. Communicate strategic/tactical priorities. Use a map to identify assignment locations and Division boundaries. Review the Operations Section organization chart and expansion of the organizational structure into Branches, geographic Divisions, and functional Groups, as applicable. Address nighttime operations, as appropriate.
(9) Safety Officer (SOFR): Convey a brief safety message for the current operational period. Discuss air monitoring results, personal protective equipment (PPE) demands, potential site hazards, medical emergency procedures, decontamination protocols, etc. Highlight any injuries or near-misses.
(10) Logistics Section Chief (LSC): Communicate supply, communications, transportation, security and medical updates. Address feeding arrangements, lodging, sanitation, equipment refueling, etc. Detail procedural instructions for requesting and ordering resources (ICS-213-RR). Note the locations of established incident facilities, e.g., Incident Command Post (ICP), Forward Command Post, Staging Area, etc.
(11) Finance Section Chief (FSC): Address fiscal issues relating to personnel and equipment time recording, contractor performance, contracting, liability/damage claims, etc. Provide a cost summary and burn rate.
(12) Public Information Officer (PIO): Cover public affairs and public information issues. Announce the schedule for any media briefings or press conferences. Discuss potential interactions with the news media. Provide contact information for the Joint Information Center (JIC), if established.
(13) Liaison Officer (LOFR): Provide an update on government affairs and stakeholder relations. Address any interagency issues.
(14) Environmental Unit Leader (ENVL): Address issues relating to resources at risk, wildlife impacts, waste management, cleanup techniques/timelines, spill trajectory forecasts, etc.
(15) Incident Commander (IC): Summarize the briefing with an overall assessment of the incident’s potential. Establish new/updated incident objectives and action items.
(16) Planning Section Chief (PSC): Facilitate an open, “round-robin”-style discussion to clarify objectives, priorities, assignments, specific job responsibilities, issues, concerns, and open actions/tasks.
(17) Incident Commander (IC): Present closing remarks. Offer words of encouragement. Recognize sacrifices and contributions. Emphasize safety and teamwork.
(18) Planning Section Chief (PSC): Solicit final comments. Announce the next meeting time. Adjourn briefing.
