After appointing the Incident Commander, what is the next key step in ICS?

• A. Establish sections
• B. Develop the Incident Action Plan
• C. Communicate with EOC and responders
• D. Confirm the incident

Answer: (A)

When the Incident Commander is in place, the next key step is to establish the ICS organizational structure by setting up the major functional sections—Operations, Planning, Logistics, and Finance/Administration—and appointing the respective leaders. This creates a clear chain of command, assigns responsibility, and ensures that there is a defined span of control so tasks, resources, and information flow can be managed effectively.

This setup is essential because it provides the framework for directing field operations, planning the incident horizon, obtaining and sustaining resources, and tracking costs. Without establishing these sections, there isn’t a formal, accountable way to coordinate efforts across different areas of the response.

Communicating with the EOC and responders, and developing the Incident Action Plan, are critical activities that follow once the command structure is in place, because they rely on having defined sections and leaders to coordinate and execute the plan. Confirming the incident isn’t a distinct step in the ICS sequence; it’s a factual understanding of the situation, which should already be reflected in the established structure and plans.