Incident Command System
The Incident Command System (ICS) is a standardized approach to the command, control, and coordination of emergency response providing a common hierarchy within which responders from multiple agencies can be effective. ICS was initially developed to address problems of inter-agency responses to wildfires in California but is now a component of the National Incident Management System (NIMS) in the US, where it has evolved into use in all-hazards situations, ranging from active shootings to hazmat scenes.