At a site-specific incident, Incident Command may have the ability to coordinate some level of resource support on its own, and this will likely be based on prior agreements between emergency services such as Mutual Aid Agreements (service-to-service agreements). For support that is not easily coordinated, as well as not to be distracted from immediate responses tasks, Incident Command may need support from an EOC.

Within Ontario, most EOC activations are to facilitate the provision of support to a site-specific Incident Command, where Incident Command is working from an Incident Command Post. There are many types of supports that the ECG may provide from the EOC. An added benefit of providing some of these supports would be to free on-site resources to focus on the response where the Incident Commander needs to focus on tactics. Some of these supports may include the following:

Policy direction: The ECG may establish policy or resolve conflicting policies when jurisdictions with differing policies are involved in a response.

Strategic planning: The ECG may provide overarching strategic direction that allows the Incident Commander to focus on tactics for the response operation.

A common operating picture: The ECG may provide the “big picture” view of the incident that is critical during incidents that are large or complex, or involve