Mascal - Declaration of An MCI

Declaration of An MCI

A mass casualty incident will usually be declared by the first arriving unit at the scene of the incident, though it can be declared by a dispatcher based on the information available from people who call an emergency number, such as 9-1-1 in the US, about the incident. A formal declaration of an MCI is usually made by an officer or chief of the agency in charge. Initially, the senior paramedic at the scene will be in charge of the incident, but as additional resources arrive, a senior officer or chief will take command, usually using an incident command system structure to form a unified command to run all aspects of the incident. In the United States, the Incident Command System is known as the National Incident Management System (NIMS), and according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, "NIMS provides the template for the management of incidents."