Incident Command and Information Flows in a Large‐Scale Emergency Operation

Abstract

In this article social and information network theory is used to study information flows through the incident command post in a large‐scale emergency operation. The case presented is the 2011 terrorist attacks in Norway. The data were collected from evaluation reports, media and interviews with the incident, fire, medical and ambulance commanders. The article presents the incident command system in Norway and how this was used as a base for improvisation during the operation on initiative from rescue workers on scene. The main internal information flows in each separate rescue service were connected and coordinated at the incident command point through strong ties between the commanders. Important and novel information also reached the commanders through weak and informal ties to more peripheral actors.

Improving situation awareness in crisis response teams: An experimental analysis of enriched information and centralized coordination

“…This workflow however makes it difficult for the other team members to process and interpret the information, impeding effective information sharing. The main contribution of this paper is that we build upon suggestions in literature (Rimstad et al, 2014;Scholtens et al, 2014;Wolbers and Boersma, 2013) to investigate two possible improvements to this default state: (1) we provide enriched information to the response team, and (2) we centralize information sharing via a coordinator in the team. By means of a controlled experiment, we contrast these two possible improvements to the existing situation and evaluate the impact on the teams' situation awareness.…”

Shifting Structure of One National Disaster Management Network in the Caribbean

“…Leaders at command headquarters and leaders in the field report their actions via continuous two-way communication mechanisms. Findings of a study [33] that support Granovetter's research have specified internal information flows are coordinated via strong ties among command leaders and new information enters headquarters through weak ties to those in the field. Moreover, it seems the eventual ICS structure, while based on official guidelines, is determined by field leaders in large-scale disaster operations [33].…”

“…In fact, Rethemeyer and Hatmaker [21] have claimed, "informal aspects of hierarchy are an emergent property of any network." And, successful public management networks will exhibit both stability and flexibility [10,11,15,25,33]. According to Moynihan [11], the ICS is similar to the NAO since it is "a highly centralized mode of network governance."…”

Maritime Operations and Emergency Preparedness in the Arctic–Competence Standards for Search and Rescue Operations Contingencies in Polar Waters

“…It is traditionally structured hierarchically and has clear command and control agreements (Owen et al 2015). Particularly ICS are designed for large-scale operations and support coordination, flow of information, best possible use for on-scene personnel and timely decision making (Rimstad et al 2014;Boersma et al 2014). Rimstad et al (2014) claim that crises should be managed at the lowest possible level, procedures should be every day procedures, and both public and private actors should jointly provide all resources available.…”

“…Particularly ICS are designed for large-scale operations and support coordination, flow of information, best possible use for on-scene personnel and timely decision making (Rimstad et al 2014;Boersma et al 2014). Rimstad et al (2014) claim that crises should be managed at the lowest possible level, procedures should be every day procedures, and both public and private actors should jointly provide all resources available. Yet, there is a need for mission commanders to coordinate and facilitate cooperation beyond organizations and borders (Politidirektoratet 2011).…”