Who typically writes the Incident Action Plan (IAP) within ICS?

The Incident Action Plan (IAP) is a critical component of incident management within the Incident Command System (ICS), as it outlines the strategies and tactics for managing incidents efficiently. The responsibility for writing the IAP falls primarily to the Planning Section.

The Planning Section plays a fundamental role in assessing the situation and gathering information needed to make informed decisions about the incident response. They analyze various factors such as resources, current conditions, and operational needs to create a comprehensive plan that guides all activities during an incident. This section ensures that objectives are clearly defined and that appropriate strategies are in place to meet those objectives.

Furthermore, the Planning Section's collaborative approach involves input from various other sections, ensuring that the IAP is realistic and addresses the needs of all teams involved in the incident response. In contrast, while the Operations Section Chief focuses on executing the plan, the Logistics Section is more concerned with resource procurement and management, and the Command Staff holds overall leadership but does not specifically draft the IAP.