What is the purpose of the Incident Action Plan (IAP)?

• A. To outline the objectives, strategies, and resources needed to manage an incident.
• B. To schedule shift changes and vacations.
• C. To publish daily press releases during an incident.
• D. To record after-action findings for historical records.

Answer: (A)

The central idea behind the Incident Action Plan is to lay out what must be accomplished during an incident and how to achieve it. It states the incident objectives for the current operating period, outlines the strategies and tactical actions to reach those objectives, and lists the resources, assignments, and timeframes needed to carry them out. This makes the IAP a practical roadmap that aligns all responders—across divisions, teams, and partner agencies—so everyone works toward the same goals and shares a common operating picture. Because incidents can change quickly, the plan is updated for each operational period to keep the response coordinated and safe. The other options describe tasks that fall outside planning: scheduling shifts and vacations is administrative; publishing daily press releases is public information; and recording after-action findings occurs after the incident as part of the post-incident review, not during planning.