Who sets the incident objectives and has overall responsibility for the incident?

The Incident Commander is the individual with overall responsibility for managing and directing the response to an incident. This role includes establishing the incident objectives, priorities, and the overall strategy for the incident response. The Incident Commander serves as the primary point of contact for all stakeholders and ensures that the goals of the incident response are met.

Setting the incident objectives is a crucial aspect of the Incident Command System (ICS), as it guides all operational and tactical decisions and actions taken throughout the incident. The Incident Commander evaluates the situation, assesses resource needs, and collaborates with various sections to implement an effective response strategy. This centralized leadership is essential for maintaining a coordinated approach to incident management.

While the Operations Section Chief, Logistics Officer, and Planning Section Chief each have specific responsibilities within the ICS structure, they operate under the authority of the Incident Commander. The Operations Section Chief focuses on executing the tactics to achieve the objectives, the Logistics Officer manages resources and support services, and the Planning Section Chief is responsible for collecting and analyzing information to aid in decision-making. However, none of these roles have the overarching responsibility for defining the objectives of the incident, which clearly resides with the Incident Commander.