Federal Emergency Management Agency
ICS Training

Incident Command System or ICS is the model tool for command, control, and coordination of a response and provides a means to coordinate the efforts of individual agencies as they work toward the common goal of stabilizing the incident and protecting life, property, and the environment. ICS uses principles that have been proven to improve efficiency and effectiveness in a business setting and applies the principles to emergency response.

Why do you need to know about ICS? We live in a complex world in which responding to emergencies, from single-car accidents to large-scale disasters, often requires cooperation among several agencies. In an emergency, you and other personnel from your agency may be called upon to help with the response. Given the current movement toward using an ICS structure for emergency response, it is likely, therefore, that you will function in an ICS environment.

In an emergency, you may not be working for your day-to-day supervisor, or you may be working in a different location. Thus, emergency response operations are not "business as usual." The FEMA training units listed here will provide you with information that you will need to work in an ICS environment. It also will describe the basic ICS organization, how ICS can form the basis for an effective emergency management system, and how ICS can enhance EOC operations.

ICS training

ICS Overview (recommended reading)
IS-100 Introduction to the Incident Command System
IS-195 Overview and basic ICS.
IS-700 NIMS (National Incident Management System) Overview.