OLCD-FIRE0036 - Incident Command: Thinking and Acting

Course Description

This course emphasizes recognition primed decision (RPD) making and classical decision making and how they apply to the incident commander. It also studies high-reliability organizations and how they reduce risk by getting it right. The research and course assignments help individuals understand how and why we do things in a high-stress environment. Students will also be introduced to the more social and political aspects of incident command research, relying heavily on incident command research developed for forest fire command practices. Key concepts include crew cohesion and leadership style.

Course Outline

• Unit 1: Naturalistic Decision-Making (NDM) and Recognition Primed Decisions (RPD)
  • Week 1 
• Unit 2: Converting Training into Experience
  • Week 2
• Unit 3: Natural Accident Theory (NAT) and High Reliability Organizations (HRO's)
  • Weeks 3 and 4
• Unit 4: The Consequences of Theory on the Profession
  • Week 5
• Unit 5: Incident Command System Inception and Evolution
  • Week 6
• Unit 6: Research Methods within the Incident Command System
  • Week 7
• Unit 7: Crew Cohesion
  • Weeks 8 and 9
• Unit 8: The Role of Doctrine, Organizational Culture, and Society
  • Weeks 10 to 12

What You Will Learn

Upon completion of this course. learners will be able to:

• understand the distinction between classical decision-making and naturalist decision-making (NDM);
• explore the Natural Accident Theory (NAT) and High Reliability Organizations (HROs), and grasp the consequences of theory on the profession;
• appreciate the concepts of ICS, how to create and focus on objectives, develop and implement effective strategies, increase accountability, and facilitate clear communications;
• describe the nuances and complexities of implementing ICS philosophies and the impacts to the humans within our organizations; and
• interpret the concepts associated with scalability, and how as leaders we can reinforce aspects of ICS to lead to successful outcomes through a proactive and strategic approach.

Notes

Recommended For

• senior firefighters that will be placed into Incident Commander roles on occasion;
• those in an acting capacity that will regularly be placed into Incident Commander roles; and
• fire professionals looking to expand their knowledge of concepts associated with Incident Command Systems and to better understand the evolution of ICS within the Fire Service and society in general.

Applies Towards the Following Certificates

• Certificate in Advanced Fire Service Administration : Required
• Diploma in General Fire Leadership : Elective - Certificate in Emergency Management, Elective - Certificate in Wildfire and Climate Change Adaptation Management, Elective - Certificate in Advanced Fire Service Administration, Elective - Certificate in Operational Planning, Elective - Certificate in Training Officer Education, Elective - Certificate in First Responder Health and Wellness, Elective - Certificate in Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Accessibility in the Fire Service, Elective - Certificate in Fire Service Human Resource Management
• Certificate in Emergency Management : Required
• Certificate in Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in the Fire Service : Required
• Fire Officer III Certification Track : Required
• Certificate in Fire Service Human Resource Management : Required
• Certificate in First Responder Health and Wellness : Required
• Certificate in Operational Planning : Required
• Certificate in Training Officer Education : Required
• Certificate in Wildfire and Climate Change Adaptation Management : Required