From Forest Fires to Hurricane Katrina: Case Studies of Incident Command Systems

The success of the Incident Command System (ICS) as a hierarchical-network organizational model in emergencies such as forest fires led to its being designated by the federal government as the preferred approach for responding to emergencies. However, it seemingly failed in the response to Hurricane Katrina. Professor Moynihan examines the Katrina case, as well as others, and identifies the conditions under which the ICS approach can be successful.

Moynihan offers a series of recommendations for managing in hierarchical networks like the ICS. Moynihan concludes that while the ICS was not used successfully in Katrina, none of the subsequent after-action reviews questioned the basic wisdom of the ICS approach. Collaboration: Networks and PartnershipsMissions and Programs