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Lewistown commission adopts Incident Command System resolution to formalize emergency coordination
Summary
The City Commission approved Resolution No. 4189 to formally adopt the Incident Command System (ICS) for local emergency response and coordination with Fergus County and regional partners; commissioners cited recent severe-weather responses and after-action training as reasons to formalize the system.
The City Commission approved Resolution No. 4189, formally adopting the Incident Command System (ICS) as the standard for municipal emergency response and coordination with Fergus County and regional partners.
Commissioners discussed recent ICS training attended by city, county, fire, law enforcement and hospital personnel and an after-action review of the May 2024 winter response. Public safety and dispatch staffing pressures during recent events were cited as reasons to align with county systems. "The ICS is like a specific standardized disaster emergency system...and both city and county, certain people like our law enforcement and our firefighters have to be trained on it," a staff speaker said.
The mayor called for a vote on "Resolution number 4189." Commissioners recorded their votes: Commissioner Bueller — aye; Commissioner Day — aye; Commissioner Rubes — aye; Commissioner Robertson — aye; Commissioner Spica — aye; Commissioner Terry — aye. The roll call recorded six ayes; Commissioner Hewitt was not recorded as voting in the transcript.
Supporters said the system improved interagency cooperation and resource-sharing during recent incidents; participants described follow-up meetings to establish an ICS action team and to finalize communications and operational protocols. One commissioner noted ICS use already facilitated a rapid county response to a medical call when an ambulance could not reach a site.
Ending: The city will participate in the county-led ICS action team, and public works and police representatives were identified to take part in the follow-up effort.
