What role does the Incident Commander primarily hold during a major incident?

The Incident Commander plays a crucial role during a major incident as the primary leader coordinating the response efforts. This position involves overseeing the incident response team and making critical decisions that affect the course of action. The Incident Commander is responsible for assessing the situation, determining priorities, and allocating resources, which are vital to ensuring that the incident is managed effectively and efficiently. This leadership role is essential because it allows for organized responses to complex situations, minimizing confusion and improving response times.

In contrast, facilitating team training sessions is more of an ongoing developmental task that falls outside the urgent scope of incident response. Managing external communications is a vital function, but it typically falls to a communications manager or a designated spokesperson rather than the Incident Commander. Similarly, performing technical fixes personally can be counterproductive, as the Incident Commander must focus on management and decision-making rather than directly engaging in technical work, which may distract from their leadership responsibilities.