The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston Disaster Response Plan calls for the formation and operation of an Incident Command Center (ICC) to be operated jointly by the Archdiocese, the Society of St. Vincent DePaul and Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. The ICC is the central point for diocesan disaster response operations. The purpose of this central point is to ensure coordinated response when the emergency involves more than one parish, department, or agency and requires resources from several areas. Coordination and allocation of all resources will be through the ICC function leaders and the ICC Coordinator to provide for the most efficient management of response resources. The ICC key to the successful response operation. With decision and policy makers located together, personnel and resources can be used efficiently. Coordination of activities ensures that all tasks are accomplished and duplication of effort is minimized. During disaster situations, certain departments of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, Catholic Charities, and SVDP will be required to relocate their center of control to the ICC. Department or agency heads or other officials legally administering their office may perform emergency function(s) on their own initiative if, in their judgment, the safety or welfare of others (particularly visitors or clients) are threatened. The ICC Coordinator should be notified as rapidly as possible. Most emergencies or disasters will require a graduated response involving only those persons necessary to handle the situation. For this purpose, four levels of response will be used: Level One Emergency. A level one emergency is a common emergency situation that occurs on a frequent basis (e.g. "unruly" visitor who can be "talked down" by staff, minor property damage such as an accidental window breakage). The responsibility for control of the incident rests with the responding department. Completion of an incident report is necessary. Level Two Emergency. Should an incident remain unresolved, the emergency status will rise to a level two emergency (e.g., intruder becomes violent, serious injury or property damage requiring medical or police intervention). Level two incidents involve routine assistance from other agencies (police, ambulance, etc.). Control is still the responsibility of the responding department. Notification of the Office of Risk Management is necessary. Completion of an incident report is necessary. Level Three Emergency. Should the incident begin or escalate to a situation where non-routine assistance is required or anticipated, a level three emergency will be declared. The ICC will activate at this level. A level three could be a major single site event or a widespread disaster. This level of emergency will be used for all natural or man-made disasters. Level Four Emergency. This level of emergency is used for catastrophic diocesan-wide or regional events. The ICC may not be activated until the immediate danger is passed. Depending upon the severity and magnitude of the emergency or disaster (see levels of emergency described above), activation of the ICC may not be necessary, may only be partially required or may require full activation. Partial activation would be dictated by the characteristics of the disaster and would involve only those persons needing to interact in providing coordinated response. In some emergencies, this may involve only a Crisis Action Team (CAT) comprised of the personnel in the responding department(s).
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