The pre-incident planning and preparation phase addresses threat assessment, incident command, operational philosophy and safety prioritization. Candidates for incident command positions must have a demonstrated work history of strong leadership in crisis situations and, once chosen, should receive formalized critical incident management training followed by a mandatory program of observation and interaction with the tactical and negotiations components. Establishing safety priorities is a prerequisite to making sound decisions in life-threatening situations. In addition, it is important that the agency prepare the incident command response components and the philosophy, policy and procedure framework in which they will operate. The article includes a discussion of mutual-aid agreements and how they facilitate emergency response for smaller agencies. Notes