Who has the authority to order demobilization when it is needed?

• A. Public Information Officer
• B. Incident Command
• C. Finance/Administration
• D. Operations Sections Chief

Answer: (B)

In the Incident Command System, the person in charge on the scene—the Incident Commander—has the authority to decide when to scale back operations and order demobilization. Demobilization is part of closing out an incident, and the IC must balance when objectives are met, safety, and the efficient use of resources. A demobilization plan is typically developed by the Planning Section and executed by the Demobilization Unit, but nothing gets demobilized without the IC’s sign-off. Other roles, like Public Information, Finance/Administration, or the Operations Section Chief, support the process or carry out tasks, but they don’t have the authority to initiate demobilization on their own.