What two elements must be included in the Incident Management System (IMS)?

The Incident Management System (IMS) is designed to provide a structured approach to managing emergencies and incidents, ensuring that teams can effectively respond to situations. A risk management plan and a personnel accountability system are crucial elements of the IMS because they address two fundamental aspects of incident management.

The risk management plan identifies potential hazards and outlines strategies to mitigate those risks, ensuring that responders are aware of the dangers they may face and how to minimize them. This proactive approach is essential for maintaining safety and efficiency during an incident response.

The personnel accountability system ensures that all members of the response team can be tracked and accounted for throughout the incident. This system is vital for crew safety and operational effectiveness, as it helps supervisors know who is on-site, who has been deployed to various tasks, and who may need assistance or extraction.

In contrast, other options such as communication plans, emergency alerts, evacuation plans, and zone maps, while important in various contexts, do not encompass the fundamental structure of the IMS as effectively as the risk management plan and personnel accountability system do. These latter elements focus primarily on the strategic management of both risk and personnel, which are essential for a successful incident response.