- Created by Carl Brown, last modified by Rawle Alexander on Oct 02, 2019
eICS follows the national framework for Incident Command Systems (ICSs), and as such, setting up the system properly is important. There are four main user roles in eICS, the Domain Administrator, Facility Administrator, Facility Staff, and Facility Staff Limited, who each play a vital role in setup.
In brief:
Domain Administrators structure and organize eICS. They also create facilities when necessary, and maintain the system's automated notifications.
Facility Administrators set up the Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) for their facility, including ICS positions and depth charts, incident response guides (IRGs), internal and external contacts, and library materials.
Facility Staff enter contact and availability information, manage incidents, and fill ICS positions in the event of an emergency.
Facility Staff Limited enter contact and availability information and fill ICS positions in the event of an emergency; however, they cannot create incidents.
Task Lists
Users with the Facility Staff role are responsible for keeping their profile information up to date and for knowing the positions they may be asked to take on during an incident.
Normal Operations
Task | Location in eICS | Description and Links |
|---|---|---|
| Keep profile and contact information up to date | Settings > My Profile | Keep their profile information up to date, including the phone numbers and email addresses the system uses to notify them of an incident, a position assignment, and more. For more information, go to the procedure About Your Profile. |
Be aware of positions they may need to fill when an incident occurs | Settings > My Profile > ICS Positions | Know the positions to which they may be assigned. For more information, go to the procedure About Your Profile. |
Learn the expectations for the position(s) they may be assigned | Planning > Library | Study the materials associated with positions they may be assigned to during an incident such as job action sheets. Be aware of other resource materials that might aid them when taking on a position. Materials and resources include job action sheets, HVA documents, and HICS forms and reports. For more information, go to the procedure About the Library. |
Learn the expectations for the position(s) they may be assigned | Planning > Plan Summary | Review the incident response guides (IRGs), including position-specific objectives. For more information, go to the procedure About IRGs. |
Emergency Operations
Task | Location in eICS | Description and Links |
|---|---|---|
Answer and acknowledge receipt of notifications | -- | Notification indicating an incident is occurring:
For more information, go to the procedure Respond with Your Availability. |
Access the incident in eICS | Incident Dashboard | Log in to the application and click the active incident's view link, or use the link in the email notification to access eICS. The link is available in the initial incident notification and the message that is sent when you are assigned to a position for the incident. For more information, go to the procedure About the Incident Dashboard. |
Update your status | Incident Dashboard > Summary > User Status | When you first open the incident's dashboard, the User Status window opens immediately so that you can indicate your availability and location. For more information, go to the procedure Update Your Availability Status. |
Access your job action sheet | Incident Dashboard > Files | Re-read your job action sheet to familiarize yourself with your position's responsibilities. |
Assign positions | Incident Dashboard > ICS Chart | If you are part of the command center, such as the Incident Commander or a Section Chief, track candidate availability responses and locations and assign positions to appropriate candidates. For more information, go to the procedure Assign or Unassign a Contact to an ICS Position. |
Review and update objectives | Incident Dashboard > Objectives | Read your objectives to familiarize yourself with the expectations for your position. Update the status of your objectives throughout the incident. |
Document your actions and decisions | Incident Dashboard > Event Log | Create entries in the Event Log for actions you taken and decisions you make. Certain actions, such as assigning a position, are automatically recorded in the log. Others you must enter manually. For more information, go to the procedure Add or Edit an Event Log Entry. |
Communicate with other responders | Incident Dashboard > Messages | As necessary, use the Messages tab to communication in real time with other responders who are also logged in to eICS. For more information, go to the procedure Send or Respond to a Message. |
Conduct or participate in briefings or status update meetings | Incident Dashboard > Event Log and Files | Document actions in the Event Log and be prepared to discuss them during briefings and meetings. In addition, forms and reports are available from the Files tab, including the HICS 201 Incident Briefing form. For more information, go to the procedure About Forms and Reports. |