What is the purpose of an Incident Command Post (ICP)?

The purpose of an Incident Command Post (ICP) is to provide a centralized location where the Incident Commander and their staff can effectively manage the incident. This facility is critical because it houses the personnel who are responsible for incident management, coordinating resources, and making strategic decisions. The ICP facilitates communication and collaboration among various teams, ensuring that all actions are coordinated, and that information flows efficiently.

An effective ICP allows the Incident Commander to maintain situational awareness, oversee the incident response, and make informed decisions that are crucial for the safety and success of the operation. By concentrating personnel and resources at this location, the incident response becomes more organized and systematic, directly contributing to the overall effectiveness of the incident management process.

While logistics management is important in incident management, it is specifically a function of the logistics section within the ICS framework, and not the sole purpose of the ICP. Also, providing training to new personnel is not a primary function of the ICP; instead, it focuses on managing the incident at hand. Finally, serving as a backup location does not align with the ICP’s main operational objective, which is to establish control and coordination on-site.