At large scale incidents, where are units often dispatched to?

In large-scale incidents, units are often dispatched to a Staging Area. This location is critical as it serves as a designated place for resources and personnel to await assignment. The Staging Area allows for better organization and management of units responding to the incident, ensuring that resources are available and ready when needed without clogging the immediate area of operation.

This area also helps maintain a certain level of safety by keeping responders away from the chaotic environment of the incident scene until they receive specific instructions. It is effectively a point of readiness, where teams can receive updates, briefings, and assignments for deployment into the incident as required, ensuring a well-coordinated response.

The Incident Command Post is the command center for managing the overall incident strategy but does not serve as a holding area for units awaiting deployment. The Emergency Operations Center focuses on coordinating and managing broader resources and information across multiple agencies and areas, rather than a specific operational response. The Safety Officer's Station is primarily concerned with monitoring safety conditions and risk management during an incident rather than serving as a dispatch location for units.