Create an Incident

You can create incidents on the Crisis Track homepage or in the Incidents module. The process is identical either way. Commanders cannot access the Incidents module to edit, close, or delete incidents, but they can still create incidents through the Crisis Track homepage.

To create an incident

  1. Do one of the following.

    Incident creation actions
    Role Procedure

    Admin or commander

    On the Crisis Track homepage, next to New Incident, click Create. The Incident Information page opens.

    Admin

    1. On the Administrative Functions homepage, click Incidents. The Incidents module opens.

    2. On the upper left, click New. The Incident Information page opens.

  2. Enter the following information.

    Incident creation fields
    Field Description

    Name

    Name of the incident

    Status

    Sets the incident as active or closed.

    Closed incidents do not appear in the lists of incidents displayed to users. You cannot add data to an incident while it is closed. Admins can view closed incidents, set them to active, or delete them. To avoid confusion, it is recommend to only make one incident active at a time.

    Type

    FEMA-based category that describes the incident, such as Hurricane, Power Failure, or Survey.

    Date

    Start date of the incident. This references the start date of the real-world incident, not the date that the incident was logged in Crisis Track.

    Disaster Number

    		 The FEMA Disaster Declaration Number (e.g., DR-####). This information may not be available until some time during the public assistance process. When you do receive this information, edit the incident to add it in this field.
    PA ID # The FEMA Public Assistance ID Number. This information may not be available until some time during the public assistance process. When you do receive this information, edit the incident to add it in this field.
    Description A description of the incident. Be concise so your field users know they're adding info to the correct incident.

  3. Click Next (Settings). The Incident Settings page opens.

  4. Enter the following information.

    Incident settings fields
    Field Description

    Population

    The population of your region, which is pre-populated using the population value in the Settings module in the Administrative Functions.

    If the population is not accurate, refer to the Edit Settings page for more information on how to modify this value.

    County FEMA Factor

    FEMA's countywide impact indicator. This field is pre-populated with the current year's value. This value is set by FEMA annually and is used for the per-capita impact indicator threshold (described on the FEMA Impact Indicator page).

    This should not need to be edited unless directed to by FEMA or an authorized person.

    Enable Resident Self-Reporting

    This checkbox appears if you have a Resident Self-Report webpage configured for your account. If you select this checkbox, this incident appears in the list of incidents on the Resident Self-Report webpage.

    For more information, refer to the Resident Self-Reports page.

    Employee Records Threshold

    Employee work hours are automatically tracked based on this threshold status. The default status (Staged-Available) is usually preferred, but you can alternatively choose from one of the following statuses:

    • Demobilized: Demobilized and not available.

    • Requested: Requested but has not yet replied.

    • Staged-Not Available: Not present but available to be assigned.

    • Staged-Available: Present and available to be assigned.

    • Assigned-Standby: Assigned to a team that is not currently active.

    • Assigned-Working: Assigned to a team that is actively collecting data.

    Employee time tracking begins when an employee is assigned to a task and gains the threshold status or a lower status on this list. Time tracking stops when the employee gains any status above the threshold status on this list. For more information on employee time-tracking, see Personnel Records Module.

    Equipment Records Threshold

    Equipment usage hours are automatically tracked based on this threshold status. This works just like the Employee Records Threshold, except the default threshold status for equipment is Assigned-Working. For more information on equipment time tracking, see Equipment Records Module.

  5. Click Next (Employees). The Employee Status page opens. For more information on employees, see Employees Module

  6. Set employee statuses. This page lists the status each employee has when you begin the incident. You can choose from one of the following statuses.

    • Demobilized: Demobilized and not available.

    • Requested: Requested but has not yet replied.

    • Staged - Not Available: Not present but available to be assigned.

    • Staged - Available: Present and available to be assigned.

    • Assigned - Stand-by: Assigned to a team that is not currently active.

    • Assigned - Working: Assigned to a team that is actively collecting data.

    The default status is Staged - Not Available, which works well with the default Employee Records Threshold status of Staged-Available. You should keep the threshold status in mind when setting these employee statuses, so you don't accidentally begin time tracking for employees who are not working. EM customers can manage the status of individual Employee Resources.

  7. Click Next (Equipment). The Equipment Status page opens. For more information on equipment, see Equipment Inventory Module.

  8. Set equipment statuses. This page lists the status of each piece of equipment when you begin the incident. This works just like the employee statuses, except the default status is Staged-Not Available.

  9. Click Next (Teams). The Teams page opens. For more information on teams, see Preconfigured Teams Module.

  10. Specify the preconfigured teams to add to the incident by selecting the checkboxes for each desired team. You can also select the checkbox next to an account or jurisdiction name to select all the preconfigured teams in that account or jurisdiction.

    • Create Default Team: If this box is selected, then a Default Team will be created in the incident.

    • Preconfigured Teams: Add the preconfigured teams from the list to the incident, or they can be added later in the incident Teams module.

  11. Click Next (Tasks). The Tasks page opens. For more information on tasks, see Preconfigured Tasks Module.

  12. Specify the preconfigured tasks to add to the incident by selecting the checkboxes for each desired task. You can also select the checkbox next to an account or jurisdiction name to select all the preconfigured tasks in that account or jurisdiction.

    • Create Default Task: If this box is selected, then a Default Task will be created in the incident.

    • Preconfigured Tasks: Add the preconfigured tasks from the list to the incident, or they can be added later in the incident Tasks module.

  13. Click Next (Guest Users). The Guest Users page opens. For more information on guest users, see Preconfigured Guest Users Module.

  14. Specify the preconfigured guest users to add to the incident by selecting the checkboxes for each desired user.

    • Preconfigured Guests: If you have established preconfigured guests, add them from the list, or they can be added later in the incident Guest Users module.

  15. Click Next (Map Layers). The Map Layers page opens. For more information on map layers, see Manage Preconfigured Map Layers.

  16. Specify the preconfigured map layers to add to the incident by selecting the checkboxes for each desired layer.

    • Map Layers: If you have established preconfigured map layers, add them from the list, or they can be added later in the incident Info module.

  17. If you have the WebEOC interface, you can continue with this optional step for selecting a WebEOC Incident to integrate with.

    Otherwise, continue to the next step.

  18. Click Finish. The new incident appears in Existing Incident menu.