Common Nomenclature
ICS uses a common nomenclature for describing key Command Staff and Section Chief positions, so that individuals from various participating organizations can work together without confusion about responsibilities or expectations. For example, the person in charge of the emergency response for the agency is always called the Agency Incident Commander, regardless of the agency. Therefore, when someone from an external agency needs to communicate with the person in charge, they only need to know to ask for the Agency Incident Commander. Likewise, within the public health agency itself, all staff will know that the person in charge is the Agency Incident Commander, regardless of which individual is filling that role in the DOH that day. Likewise, the person in charge of communication is always referred to as the Public Information Officer, and the person in charge of responder safety has the title of Safety Officer. This greatly facilitates inter-agency communication because on a day-to-day basis agencies frequently use different titles for similar functions. Another advantage for use of common nomenclature is the fact that these “plain English” titles serve as a reminder for responding agencies that these particular functional roles may need to be filled. Before adoption of ICS, many departments of health did not routinely assign a specific individual to serve as a Safety Officer during an emergency response. With the use of common titles, the need for each of these roles must be considered by the AIC during each event.