On the Incident Command System (ICS) as a Model of Response to Emergencies and Disasters

In their search for ways to improve the effectiveness of their work through cutting-edge models or templates, disaster managers will quickly come across the idea of the Incident Command System (ICS).

ICS is obviously a much-touted integrated solution, but a solution for what? ICS was never intended to prevent or reduce the occurrence of incidents -- emergencies or disasters of various kinds -- but to respond optimally to them after they had occurred, whenever and wherever. An incident is something that has occurred, or is occurring. To a degree, of course, an incident can also be taken to mean something ("just") about to occur.

The task of preventing incidents from occurring, however, is the task of those charged with prevention or, in a specific sense, mitigation. Mitigation here alludes to proactive or pre-emptive measures taken to minimize the impacts of incidents before they actually occur, even when their occurrence is much anticipated -- that is, "around the corner".

An evaluation of ICS must therefore be restricted to its applicability or effectiveness in responding to incidents, not in preventing them.

Yes, you can minimize mortality and alleviate morbidity through appropriately designed, timely and effective responses to incidents which are on-going or have already occurred. However, the important point here is that ICS was never meant to prevent incidents that lead to injury, death and/or destruction of property from becoming such incidents in the first place.

UPDATE: ICS link updated on March 6, 2018