Incident Command and Emergency Management Program
Incident Command and Emergency Management Program — a Matcom University professional development pathway.
Who it's for
Emergency Management Academy students and Field Operations personnel, including first responders, supervisors, EOC staff, public works and utility personnel, and volunteers who may be assigned roles in an incident organization. The course suits both newcomers to ICS and practitioners who want a structured refresher.
Program director: Walter Lee
What you'll be able to do
- Describe the purpose of the Incident Command System and explain its place within NIMS and the Command and Coordination component.
- Apply the ICS management characteristics, including common terminology, chain of command, unity of command, and manageable span of control, to incident scenarios.
- Differentiate single, unified, and area command structures and apply span of control and modular expansion or contraction to a complex incident scenario.
- Apply the Planning P to develop SMART incident objectives and the components of an Incident Action Plan for an operational period.
Drawn from the learning objectives of the required courses.
Schedule
- 1. MU-ICS-301 Incident Command System Trainingabout 3 weeks · 14.5 h cumulative
- 2. MU-EMA-201 Advanced ICS and Emergency Managementabout 3 weeks · 31.5 h cumulative
Estimated pace at about 6 study hours per week. Instructor-led cohorts set their own dates.
Upcoming cohorts
No cohorts are scheduled yet. Contact training@matcomops.org to ask about the next start date.
Curriculum
- Step 1 · MU-ICS-301Incident Command System Training14.5 h · 4 modules
Incident Command System Training introduces the standardized, on-scene management approach that public safety, emergency management, and partner organizations use to organize response to incidents of any size. Learners study ICS within the National Incident Management System (NIMS), including management characteristics, Command and General Staff roles, organizational elements, incident facilities, and resource management. Through scenario-based activities, they practice sizing up an incident, setting objectives, building and scaling an organization chart, conducting transfer-of-command briefings, and recognizing when Unified Command or Area Command is appropriate. The course also clarifies how ICS differs from an Emergency Operations Center and multiagency coordination. This Matcom course supports preparation for field and EOC assignments but does not replace FEMA IS-100 or IS-200, which are issued only by FEMA's Emergency Management Institute. Local agency policy, state requirements, and authority having jurisdiction guidance govern how ICS is applied in your jurisdiction.
Matcom ICS training is educational preparation. FEMA/IS certificates are issued only through authorized FEMA training mechanisms, not by Matcom University.
- Step 2 · MU-EMA-201Advanced ICS and Emergency Management17 h · 5 modules · after MU-ICS-301
Advanced ICS and Emergency Management builds on foundational ICS and NIMS knowledge to prepare supervisors, emergency managers, and emerging leaders for complex, multi-agency incidents. Learners examine expanding command structures, the operational planning cycle, resource management, EOC and multiagency coordination, and the preparedness cycle that links planning, exercises, and improvement. Through scenario-based lessons, learners practice writing incident objectives, building operational period briefings, requesting and tracking resources, and designing capability-based exercises. The course aligns with publicly available FEMA doctrine, including NIMS, the National Response Framework, CPG 101, and HSEEP. It reinforces and extends ICS-300 and ICS-400 concepts but does not replace them. Those courses require in-person delivery by an authorized agency, and local jurisdictional policy determines who must complete them. Learners should always apply their own agency's plans, authorities, and procedures over generalized course examples.
ICS-300/400 and FEMA credentials are issued only through authorized agencies, not by Matcom University.
To graduate you must pass every required course (orientation, lessons, knowledge checks, assignments, practical sign-offs, practice exam, and a final exam at 80% or higher), meet the elective rule, and complete the capstone.