Response Plan Hierarchy
In the event of a temporal disaster that effects numerous Latter Day Saint families within the Seaside 1st Ward boundaries, the Bishopric may make the decision to activate all or part of the Ward Emergency Response Plan. If the disaster is persistent (lasting more that a few hours) and/or extensive (effecting a large percentage of the Ward families), this activation may include repurposing the Ward Leadership structure into an Incident Command System (ICS). An ICS is a standardized approach to command, control, and coordination during disasters which is utilized in all organizations with the people and resources to effectively respond. Organizing into an ICS provides a common and scalable hierarchy within which responders from multiple families and neighborhoods can operate effectively together, as well as optimizing coordination with other ICS organizations that will likewise have been created by the State, County, City, and other Religious and relief organizations. The basic ICS organization is as follows and the roles would be appointed at the discretion of the Bishoric;
*The Bishop is the president of the Aaronic Priesthood in the ward. As part of this responsibility, he administers temporal matters such as welfare and finances in the ward (D&C 107:68). However at the Bishop’s discretion, the role of Incident Commander may be delegated to a Bishop’s Counselor, Elders Quorum President, or Elder’s Quorum President’s Counselor as an Incident Command is formed in response to a temporal emergency. The appointment of an Incident Commander and some / all of the other roles by the Bishop is in accordance with the his temporal duty of administering the Church Welfare Program.
**In a community-wide emergency or disaster, the Stake President may assist legitimate disaster relief agencies by allowing meetinghouses to be used as emergency shelters. The Church retains control. Stake and ward leaders ensure that people who use the buildings observe Church standards of conduct, including the Word of Wisdom, while they are in the buildings. (Church Handbook 2, Section 21.2.3)