Which action is a responsibility of the Incident Commander at an MCI?

The responsibility of the Incident Commander at a Mass Casualty Incident (MCI) includes establishing an ambulance staging area. This action is crucial for organizing the logistics of patient transport and ensuring that there are adequate resources for managing the influx of patients. The Incident Commander coordinates multiple units and resources, directing where ambulances should go and maintaining an efficient flow of care and transport for patients.

By creating a designated staging area, the Incident Commander can ensure that ambulances are positioned strategically to receive patients quickly as they are triaged and treated. This is essential to maintaining an effective response during an MCI, where time, organization, and communication are critical for saving lives.

Other actions, while important in their own right, fall outside the scope of the Incident Commander’s primary responsibilities during an MCI. For example, triaging patients and conducting patient treatment are tasks typically carried out by medical personnel on the ground, while conducting size-up is more concerned with assessing the scene and hazards rather than managing the incident as a whole. The establishment of the ambulance staging area represents a key logistical and operational focus for the Incident Commander, underscoring their role in overall incident management.