Incident Response Team

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An Incident Response Team are the group of persons directly involved, or prepared for, a Emergency Incident. The team is generally comprised of specific members, but may, under certain circumstances be an ad-hoc group of willing volunteers. Incident Response Team members are prepared to fufill the roles requied by the specific situation (eg. Incident commander). As the size of an Incident grows, and as more resources are drawn into the event, the command of the situation may shift through several phases. In a initial small event, usually only a volunteer or Ad-hoc Team may respond. In small but growing, and large events, both Specific Member and Ad-hoc teams work jointly in a unified command system. individual Team members can be trained in various aspects of the response, be it Medical Assistance/First Aid, Hazardous Materials spills, Hostage situations or disaster reliefe.

[edit] Specific Member Teams

Trained and on standby at all times, during scheduled hours. Paid by the State as a means of financial support. Organized by Ranks and clearly defined chain of command
Examples :

Critical Incident Response Team (aka. SWAT)
Air Rescue units

[edit] Volunteer and Ad-hoc Teams

Respond in a similar fashion as do Volunteer FireFighters. Have a unrelated job outside of the Response Team environment for means of support. Usually the first responder on the scene will assume the role of Incident Commander
Facility Examples :