The National Incident Command System, 2nd edition

At a glance

What’s new

Main updates, page 5

The manual lists its own main updates. In short:

Section	What changed
2.5	Transfer of command clarified
2.6	Command level thresholds updated, and Command Level 4 added
4.1 to 4.3	New: situational awareness, effective decision making and operational discretion
5.2	Risk philosophy updated
5.3.5	Safety Officer duties expanded
5.4.1	Dynamic Risk Assessment summary updated
5.5	Transitional mode removed
5.5.1 and 5.5.4	Offensive mode, and changing tactical mode, clarified
Section 6	Interagency coordination: the 3Cs, the Operations Coordination Group, shared situational awareness, coordination structures and other agencies
Appendix 3	New Incident Commander and Rostered Senior Fire Officer prompt cards
Appendices 4 and 5	Aide memoires updated, with a new BA Coordination Officer aide memoire (5.2)
Appendix 6	Command support packs updated
Appendix 7	New National Incident Debrief Tool and debrief report template

A short history

• 1st edition, 2006. The first National Incident Command System gave all Irish fire services one common way of commanding incidents. Fire services began training in it in late 2006, and it was rolled out nationally in 2007.
• 2nd edition, 2026. About 20 years later, this edition replaces the first. It is in effect from 1 September 2026, and all training at local, regional and national level should reflect it. Foreword
• The table above is the manual’s own list of what has changed since the 1st edition.

Command levels

Section 2.6

Command levels now depend on the number of Class B appliances at the incident, and they differ between services. Officers of a lower rank can take command if they are trained for it, and the Incident Commander can scale the level up or down as the incident changes.

Retained services, and the full time services in Waterford, Louth, Limerick and Galway

Table 5

Level	Appliances (Class B)	Usually in command
1	1	Driver Mechanic or Sub Officer
2	2 to 3	Sub Officer or Station Officer
3	4 or more	The Rostered Senior Fire Officer attends and decides whether to take command. If they don’t, a Station Officer manages the incident. A Command Support Unit attends, and a Safety Officer is mandatory.
4	Not used	These services may be asked to help at Level 4 incidents in Dublin or Cork.

Cork City

Table 6

Level	Appliances (Class B)	Usually in command
1	1	Sub Officer
2	2	Station Officer
3	3 to 4	Third Officer
4	5 or more	Rostered Senior Fire Officer

Dublin Fire Brigade

Table 7

Level	Appliances (Class B)	Usually in command
1	1 with a Sub Officer, or 2 with a Station Officer	Sub Officer or Station Officer
2	2 to 5	District Officer
3	6 to 8	Third Officer
4	9 or more	Chief Fire Officer or Assistant Chief Fire Officer

Transfer of command

Section 2.5

• Staying without taking charge: say “Carry on in command, as you are”, and wear the reversible tabard so everyone knows who is in charge.
• Taking command: say “I am now assuming command of this incident”. Record the change on the command board and tell the RCC by radio.
• The new Incident Commander puts on the IC tabard and carries out their own Dynamic Risk Assessment. Don’t just carry on with the previous plan without checking it (“anchoring”).
• The previous Incident Commander may become the Operations Commander.
• Handing command back down is just as formal as taking it.

Tactical modes

Sections 5.5 to 5.5.4

Transitional mode has been removed. There are now only two modes:

• Offensive: crews are working inside the hazard zone. If any sector is Offensive, the whole incident is Offensive.
• Defensive: crews are working from outside the hazard zone.
• If in doubt, declare Defensive.
• Give the tactical mode in your first message to the RCC after the Dynamic Risk Assessment, and then about every 20 minutes.

Changing mode

Change	What the manual says
Offensive to Defensive	No permission needed. Use “Tactical withdrawal of personnel in progress” or “Emergency evacuation of personnel in progress”. The incident only becomes Defensive once everyone is out of the hazard zone and accounted for.
Defensive to Offensive	Needs the Incident Commander’s permission.

Risk and the Dynamic Risk Assessment

Sections 5.2 and 5.4.1

The updated risk philosophy

• Firefighters should not be put at higher risk unless there is a reasonable expectation of saving life, or of stopping the incident from escalating quickly and significantly.
• The greater the benefit, the greater the risk that may be accepted.
• A risk is only acceptable when the benefit is clear, achievable and outweighs the possible harm.
• The manual’s example: with no persons reported and an unvented fire, BA crews are unlikely to be committed until the building has been vented.

The Safety Officer

Section 5.3.5

The Safety Officer’s duties have been expanded. A Safety Officer:

• advises the Sector Commander and corrects unsafe practice;
• does not get involved in firefighting or change the plan;
• keeps an eye on crew welfare;
• can ask for extra Safety Officers;
• reports unsafe practices at the debrief, so training needs can be found.

How commanders think

Sections 4.1 to 4.3

These three sections are new in this edition.

Situational awareness

Building a picture of the incident in three stages: observation (what is happening), perception (what it means) and anticipation (what is likely to happen next). The manual also explains how commanders use mental models built from experience.

Effective decision making

• The manual sets out the Decision Control Process, a structured way to make and check decisions.
• It warns about common decision traps:
  • Confirmation bias: only seeing information that fits what you already think.
  • Anchoring: sticking with the first plan or piece of information.
  • Escalation of commitment: keeping going with a plan because you have already invested in it.
  • Status quo bias: preferring to leave things as they are.
  • Decision inertia: delaying a decision when one is needed.

Operational discretion

• Operational discretion means significantly departing from the Standard Operational Guidance, only when standard procedures can’t resolve the incident.
• It is for situations such as an immediate risk to life, unforeseen circumstances, or a rapidly changing incident.
• You need a clear risk versus benefit reason.
• It should not be the main plan. Use the minimum resources for the minimum time.
• Its use is reviewed at the debrief.

Working with other agencies

Section 6

The new Section 6 lines NICS up with the national Framework for Emergency Management.

• The 3Cs: Come together, Communicate, Coordinate. When two or more Principal Emergency Services (fire, Gardaí and ambulance) attend, their leads meet as an Operations Coordination Group (OpsCG).
• The OpsCG can decide that no further coordination is needed, keep meeting, or set up a Tactical Coordination Group (with an on site coordination centre) and consider a Strategic Coordination Group.
• Shared situational awareness: every agency should have the same picture of the incident.
• Other agencies are not under fire service control, but the fire service Incident Commander must tell them about the hazards. Section 6.4

For how the 2006 Framework for Major Emergency Management works, and how its groups map to the new names, see Major emergencies: who does what.

New roles and tools in the appendices

Appendices 3 to 7

• Prompt cards for the Incident Commander (3.1) and the Rostered Senior Fire Officer (3.2).
• BA Coordination Officer aide memoire (5.2). At larger incidents, this officer takes charge of contamination arrangements for BA operations, and should be Sub Officer rank or above where possible.
• Updated aide memoires (Appendices 4 and 5) and command support packs (Appendix 6).
• National Incident Debrief Tool (Appendix 7), with a debrief report template (7.2).