Who is in charge of developing the Incident Action Plan?

The Incident Action Plan (IAP) is a crucial document in the National Incident Management System that outlines the strategy and tactics for managing an incident. The responsibility for developing the IAP lies with the Planning Section Chief. This individual is specifically tasked with gathering and analyzing information to create a detailed plan that addresses the objectives and overall strategy during an operation.

The Planning Section Chief collaborates with various stakeholders, including the Incident Commander and other section chiefs, to ensure the plan is comprehensive and aligns with the incident's goals. They play a pivotal role in coordinating the planning process, which involves assessing resources, setting objectives, and designing the tactical action to be taken.

In contrast, while the Incident Commander has overall authority and decision-making responsibilities for the incident, the actual crafting of the IAP is handled by the Planning Section Chief. Other roles, such as the Safety Officer and the Logistics Section Chief, focus on specific aspects of the incident management process—safety and resource management, respectively—providing support to the overall incident response but not directly responsible for creating the IAP.