After the initial report, which role will be notified next?

• A. Health and Safety Officer
• B. Incident Commander
• C. Company Officer
• D. Director/Fire Chief

Answer: (A)

The key idea is who takes responsibility for safety early in incident management. After the initial report, bringing in the Health and Safety Officer is the next critical step because this role focuses on creating and enforcing the incident safety plan, identifying hazards, and monitoring operations to protect everyone on scene. Having a Safety Officer engaged early ensures proper PPE, hazard controls, air monitoring, safe escape routes, and coordination of safety resources from the start, guiding all actions and helping prevent injuries.

The Incident Commander is the person in charge of overall operations and would already be involved once command is established; the Company Officer leads their crew on scene but safety oversight is handled by the Safety Officer as a distinct function. The Director/Fire Chief would be notified for large-scale or long-duration incidents, not as the immediate next step on the scene. So, the next role to be notified is the Health and Safety Officer to set the safety framework for the incident.