What goes into an Incident Decision Support Briefing
Where does every fact in the report come from?
A report is assembled on demand from dozens of trusted sources: federal fire data, official health care and specialty listings, aviation records, weather, terrain, roads and coverage maps, and the facilities’ own websites. Every facility it names is kept in a directory that every incident shares and improves. Each fact shows where it came from and how sure we are of it, and anything we are not sure of waits for a person to confirm it instead of being printed as fact.
Where the facts come from
- Federal fire data The fire itself: where it is, how big it is, and the fires that have burned this ground before. Feeds: Maps and Terrain, History.
- Where the fire could go Distances are measured to where the fire could reach, not just where it started, so the answers stay useful as the fire grows. Feeds: Maps and Terrain.
- Who answers the call The dispatch center and the 911 center responsible for this area. Feeds: The Collaborative Resource Directory.
- Official health care listings Which hospitals, clinics and ambulance services are licensed and operating. Feeds: The Collaborative Resource Directory.
- Specialty care listings Which hospitals are recognized for trauma, burn, stroke and cardiac care, from the organizations that grant those designations. Feeds: The Collaborative Resource Directory.
- Aviation records Hospital helipads and heliports, and any flight restrictions over the fire. Feeds: The Collaborative Resource Directory, Maps and Terrain.
- Air and ground transport Who can carry a patient: air ambulances, rescue helicopters and ground ambulance services. Feeds: The Collaborative Resource Directory.
- Weather and smoke Fire weather, warnings and air quality where the crews are working. Feeds: Environmental, Summary.
- The ground itself Slope, vegetation, buildings, and who manages the land. Feeds: Maps and Terrain.
- Roads and drive times How long it takes to drive from the fire to each hospital, on the roads that are really there. Feeds: Maps and Terrain.
- Phone and EMS coverage Where a cell phone works, and which agencies respond on the ground and by air. Feeds: Maps and Terrain, Local Resources.
- Places and addresses Every address placed on the map, and the nearby towns and counties. Feeds: The Collaborative Resource Directory, Log.
- The facilities’ own websites Details are confirmed against each facility’s own pages and the state’s own rules. A claim with no source behind it is left out. Feeds: The Collaborative Resource Directory, Environmental, Regulatory, Rejected Items (no source).
The shared Directory
- The Collaborative Resource Directory Every hospital, clinic, ambulance service, helipad and dispatch center we know of, shared by every incident and better after each one. Opens for signed-in staff Feeds: One record per facility, Trusted designations, Needs Review (not yet confirmed), Medical Facilities, Local Resources.
How it is checked
- One record per facility A facility found again is recognized as the one already listed, so the list stays clean without hiding a different facility that happens to share a building. Opens for signed-in staff Feeds: Rejected Items.
- Trusted designations Trauma, stroke, cardiac and burn status come from the most authoritative source available, and “not checked yet” is never shown as “no”. Opens for signed-in staff Feeds: Medical Facilities, Summary.
- Needs Review Anything new or uncertain is shown, clearly marked, until a person confirms it. Nothing that was found is ever hidden. Opens for signed-in staff Feeds: Medical Facilities (marked unconfirmed).
What the report answers
- Summary The one-screen answer: what is closest, what is missing, and what rules apply. Feeds: A shareable report, Built for a fire, on demand, One PDF for the IAP.
- Medical Facilities The hospitals you need for each kind of emergency, plus urgent care, clinics and pharmacies. The closest emergency room is always shown. Feeds: The ICS-206 Medical Plan, The incident’s reports, One PDF for the IAP.
- Local Resources Fire and EMS stations, ambulance services, air medical and rescue helicopters, dispatch centers, and who to contact at each. Feeds: The incident’s reports, One PDF for the IAP.
- Maps and Terrain The fire, the terrain and road access, EMS coverage, drive times, and other fires nearby. Feeds: Drive times on the map, One PDF for the IAP.
- Environmental Fire weather, air quality, health advisories, and local hazards such as ticks, venomous snakes and poison oak. Feeds: One PDF for the IAP.
- Regulatory What visiting EMTs, paramedics and ambulance services need to work legally here, the state’s privacy rules, and who to ask. Feeds: One PDF for the IAP.
- History What has burned here before, and how those fires behaved. Feeds: One PDF for the IAP.
- Log A record of every source checked, so any fact can be traced back to where it came from. Feeds: A shareable report.
- Rejected Items What was found and left out, and why, so you can see that something was considered rather than missed. Feeds: A shareable report.
Where you use it
- Built for a fire, on demand Pick a fire from the active list or name one, and the report is ready in minutes rather than after a day of phone calls. Opens for signed-in staff
- A shareable report Any report can be shared by link, with no account needed, so people who do not use this system can still read it.
- The incident’s reports Kept with the incident for as long as it runs, so every document built from it uses the same facts.
- The ICS-206 Medical Plan The hospitals, clinics and ambulance services on the Medical Plan come straight from the report, and you choose which ones to keep.
- One PDF for the IAP Every printable section, with its sources and its cautions, so the printed copy is as honest as the screen.
- Drive times on the map Travel time to each hospital, shown on the C&G/Safety map next to the resources that would carry a patient.