Who is the Incident Commander?

• A. The dispatch center supervisor.
• B. The lead on-scene officer responsible for managing incident operations.
• C. The last arriving unit's officer.
• D. A civilian observer.

Answer: (B)

The key idea here is who holds on-scene authority to direct incident operations. The Incident Commander is the person on the scene who has overall responsibility for directing incident objectives, safety, and coordination of operations and resources. This role is typically filled by the lead on-scene officer who takes command on arrival or is designated to assume command, and they remain in that role until a transfer of command occurs or the incident ends. The on-scene commander coordinates with all responding units and with dispatch as needed to achieve a safe, effective outcome.

Choosing the dispatch center supervisor isn’t correct because they operate from the communications center and do not direct field operations from the scene. The last arriving unit’s officer isn’t inherently in charge—the command is established by the designated Incident Commander who has the authority to run the scene. A civilian observer also cannot direct operations or safety on the scene.