Once the Safety Officer arrives on the scene, the Incident Commander should:

• A. Have the Safety Officer review the Incident Action Plan
• B. Delegate command to the Safety Officer
• C. Place the Safety Officer under operations
• D. Make the Safety Officer a branch officer

Answer: (A)

Safety oversight must be integrated into planning, and the Safety Officer should review the Incident Action Plan on arrival. The Safety Officer (as part of the Command Staff) checks that hazards have been identified and appropriate safety controls and contingencies are built into the plan before operations proceed. This keeps safety considerations front and center as plans are executed.

Delegating command to the Safety Officer would remove command authority from the Incident Commander, which isn’t appropriate when safety is needed as a planning input. Placing the Safety Officer under operations would subordinate safety oversight to execution, rather than ensuring it guides the plan as a whole. Making the Safety Officer a branch officer is something that happens only if the incident expands to require a dedicated Safety Branch; it isn’t the default action upon arrival.