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Incident commander guide

The incident commander runs the incident from outside the structure, using the command board and whatever comes in over the radio. This page covers what you control and what you are deliberately denied.

Taking command#

The instructor designates command from the Board tab. When you have it, the board header shows you have command and your name carries an IC marker in the roster.

Command can be transferred during a drill. If you are standing inside a structure when command lands on you, you are moved outside automatically. Command works from the exterior.

What you cannot see#

  • Interior views. Never, under any circumstances, whatever assignment your unit holds. The interior tabs are visible but locked for you.
  • That is the exercise. Conditions inside reach you through radio traffic, CAN reports, and reported heat. If you are not getting reports, that is a finding for the debrief, not a software problem.

What you can see#

  • Every exterior view, including the aerial.
  • The full event feed, all radio traffic, and every CAN report.
  • Where each member is standing, from the occupancy counts on the view tabs.

The command board#

Open the Board tab in the right panel.

Strategy#

Declare offensive or defensive. The declaration is recorded with its time, and it appears in the review. Change it when conditions change; the change is recorded too.

Incident command#

Shows who holds command. Only the instructor reassigns it.

Cartographer#

Present when the apparatus placement module is on. This is who marks intended apparatus positions on the aerial. By default it is you; the instructor can designate another officer.

Unit rows#

Each responding unit has a row showing:

  • a status dot: filled once the unit is on scene,
  • the callsign,
  • a placement marker (a pin when the crew has parked their rig, … when they have not yet) when the placement module is on,
  • an assignment control.

Assigning companies#

Each unit's assignment comes from your department's list, which shows the most-used assignments first, then the rest alphabetically, then Custom… for anything not on the list.

Assignments carrying the house flag are interior duties. Assigning one is what clears that unit's crew to enter the structure, and only after their unit has arrived. Fire Attack and Search & Rescue are interior duties in the default list; Water Supply and Ventilation are not.

This has a direct consequence: a company cannot go interior until you assign them an interior duty. Reassigning them to an exterior duty removes that access immediately, and anyone inside is walked back out.

To write your own assignment, choose Custom…, type it, and tick the house flag if it takes the crew inside. Your department's list is editable in Department settings.

CAN reports#

Companies report with a structured CAN report: Conditions, Actions, Needs, plus a declared heat level of Low, Moderate, High, or Untenable. Reports appear in the feed for everyone, and the most recent heat for a room shows as a badge on that room's tab.

Heat is declared by the crew inside, because heat is felt, not seen. Treat a rising heat report the way you would on a real fireground.

PAR and elapsed time#

The dispatcher announces elapsed time on the scenario's interval, and prompts you for a personnel accountability report on the PAR interval. The instructor can also prompt one at any time. Answer them the way your department expects; the exchange is recorded and reviewable.

Practical notes#

  • Get a 360 done. You can walk the sides yourself, and the view tabs show who is standing where.
  • Use the aerial. When the placement module is on, it shows you where apparatus actually sits versus where you planned it.
  • Assign before crews arrive if you can. A company that arrives with an assignment already on the board gets to work immediately.
  • Your strategy declaration and your assignments are the two things most visible in the review. They are what the debrief will start from.

Marking the map#

As the IC you hold the pen on the aerial view: draw division boundaries, mark drop points, label what matters. Everything you draw broadcasts to every crew instantly and lands in the record with its time. Short labels beat long ones; the radio is still where the talking happens.