PURPOSE:
The purpose of this procedure is to establish within METROFIRE the use of the METROFIRE INCIDENT COMMAND POST. This Command Post contains extensive communications equipment and space for staff conferences.

ACTIVATION PROCEDURE
The activation of this resource may be initiated by the Chief of Department or his designee during an extended incident where the Incident Command System is employed to mitigate a emergency situation, including but not limited to multiple alarm fires. The unit will be dispatched by the Control Center as a companion unit with the Haz Mat Vehicles on Tier 2 and Tier 3 response activations.

All requests will be made to the Metrofire Control Center who will activate the delivery of the Command Unit through established procedures with the caretaker department.

Requests to the Metrofire Control Center will require the following information from the requesting community:

1. Location of the incident
2. Requesting Department and a callback number
3. Incident Commander
4. Nature/extent of the incident
5. Staging area for the Command Unit

HOUSING AND DELIVERY
Housing and routine maintenance of the Unit will be provided by the Waltham Fire Department. This department will deliver the Unit to the incident scene on direction from the Control Center. (Waltham will not dispatch the Unit on direct request - only on direction from the Control Center) Waltham personnel may turn the Unit over to the requesting community and return to quarters. The requesting community assumes responsibility for the units' safe, timely return to Waltham.

COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER
When the Unit is dispatched (except for Haz Mat responses) the Control Center shall call back a dispatcher familiar with the unit's equipment and Metrofire procedures, to dispatch to the Unit to act as Communications Officer. Such an Officer may be special called to major Haz Mat incidents when needed. The duty of the Communications Officer is to support the Incident Commander in providing available communication links and monitoring radio traffic as requested. This dispatcher will be drawn from a group of Metrofire community dispatchers who have volunteered for Command Unit duty and have been trained in the use of it's onboard equipment. Their community will be reimbursed by Metrofire for their overtime rate of pay.

FOOTLOCKER RADIOS
The VHF and UHF Portable Radio Footlocker Radios are now carried on this unit and travel to Emergency Scenes to be employed at the discretion of the Incident Commander.

COMMUNICATIONS
The units' radio call sign will be "METROFIRE Command Post" and will operate on the METROFIRE "RED" Channel when it is operating at a METROFIRE incident.< /p>