Build the IC Structure
Drop the ICS structure pins so everyone — your crew, mutual aid, drone pilots, dispatch — sees the same operational picture. Command Post, Staging, Divisions. This is your map-as-IAP.
The Pins to Drop (In Order)
1. Command Post
Drop this first. It anchors everything else. From the map, long-press where your CP is physically located. Pick ⚑ Incident Command → Command Post. Title it CP. Save.
If CP is at a specific address (a station, a parking lot, a property), search for that address first so the GPS pin drops exactly right.
2. Staging
Next pin. Drop it where incoming units will stage. Some rules of thumb:
- Clear, level area with room to turn around
- Upwind of the fire
- At least 0.5 mile from active fire line
- Accessible to the largest apparatus you expect (tender, tillered truck)
Long-press where staging is, pick ⚑ Incident Command → Staging, title it Staging.
3. Divisions
Divide the fire geographically. Standard ICS divisions are lettered A-Z clockwise starting from the origin or the heel. For a small fire, you might only need two divisions. For a running fire with a head and flanks, you'll want 4+.
For each division, drop a pin at the center of that division, use ⚑ Incident Command → Division, title it with just the letter: A, B, etc.
4. Fire Assets as They Arrive
As each engine, tender, or dozer shows up and gets deployed, drop a pin at their assignment location. Use 🚒 Fire Assets with the unit number as the title. When they move, update the pin.
Don't make up your own division names. Firefighters trained in ICS expect A on the origin side, B clockwise from A, C clockwise from B, etc. Mutual aid crews showing up at "Division C" know exactly where that is if you used the convention. If you named it "Division North" they have to ask.
Drop the Fire Pins
Separate from the IC structure, map the actual fire:
- Active fire line — drop 🔥 Fire Related pins along the active edge. One every 200-300 feet is usually enough.
- Spot fires — use 🔥 Fire Related → Spot Fire. Red-flag these so they're obvious.
- Secured / mopped up — drop a pin, mark it as secured in the notes. When a division lead declares an area cold, update the pin.
Hazards
Anything dangerous gets a ⚠ Hazard pin. Downed powerlines, propane tanks inside the fire area, structures with confirmed hazmat, unstable snags — all of it. Hazard pins are the single most important thing for mutual aid safety.