By Directorate of Communications – NDMA
After the horrific twin fire incidences that completely ravaged 34 makeshift structures and properties worth millions of leones at Kroobay on Sunday 19th September 2021, the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) yesterday Wednesday 22th September 2021 activated a bronze Incident Command Center (ICC) at the disaster scene.
The move is in a bid to ensure a coordinated approach in responding to the fire victims.
The activation of ICC after disaster occurrences is a hierarchical management system used to respond to emergencies. It is primarily a field response system that provides guidelines for multi-agency operating procedures and management. Its modular structure allows for a consistent and coordinated response to incidents of all types and complexity.
The activation of the ICC is also to guide potential responders (Donors, Corporate Institutions, NGOs, INGOs etc.) in ensuring the actual needs of the victims are procured and to avoid multiple duplications of items.
NDMA is pleased to inform the public that the established incident command centre comprised two senior NDMA staff, the ward Councilor, the chiefs, NDMA’s community volunteers and Sierra Leone to provide security. This is to make certain the community leadership taken along and help NDMA judiciously distribute the donated items to the intended beneficiaries.
The National Disaster Management Agency hereby inform its partners, donors, corporate entities and philanthropists that it has activated an incident command centre at Kroobay through which all responses in the form of donations should be channeled to ensure equitable distribution of the donated items.
The NDMA has put this temporal structure in place to guarantee that every victim benefits from the donations of sympathisers, and avoid situations where some donors will go directly to the field and respond to few victims and leave behind major apprehensions from the other victims that were not catered for.
Donors who would like to go directly to the scene and donate themselves are encouraged to do jointly with the established incident command centre on the ground in conformity with the responsibility of NDMA as prescribed in section 11 of the National Disaster Management Act 2020.
The public is also informed that the establishment of incident command centres is not synonymous with every disaster that occurred. It is mainly predicated on the magnitude of the incident more so when over 150 households are destroyed with a proportionate population of over 500. This is only when an incident command centre will be established at the disaster scene and report directly to management.
