b'PIPELINE EMERGENCY RESPONSE GUIDELINESBreathingApparatus(SCBA).Becausenosingleprotectiveclothing material will protect you from all dangerous pipeline materials, always use the highest level of caution.NOTE If Natural Gas is escaping in a building, refer to Appendix D for additional precautions.Establish a Command Post and Lines of CommunicationPipeline incidents require coordination ofinformationandresourcesamong all responders. Employing the Incident Command System (ICS) is one of the mostimportantactionstotake.ICS provides common terminology, orga-nizational structure, duties, and oper-ationalproceduresamongoperator personnelandvariousfederal,state andlocalagenciesthatmaybein-volved in response operations.Identify an Incident Commander. The Incident Commander is the person responsible for the management of on-scene emergency response operations. Incooperationwiththepipelineoperatorspointofcontact,theIncident Commander determines when it is safe for the response teams to enter the area and access the pipeline.Establish a command post, lines of communication and a staging area for additional responding equipment and personnel.Pipeline operators will dispatch personnel to the scene and may initiate other actions to isolate and close off affected pipeline segments.CommandSafetyPipeline Control Center LiasionInformationPipeline TechniciansPipeline Contractors Operations Planning Logistics FinanceInitial command structure before operator personnel arrive at the sceneWhenoperatorpersonnelarriveatthescene,theywillcheckinwiththe Incident Commander. If they are trained in ICS and have the proper author-ity with the pipeline company, they can participate in a Unified Command. 24 2020 by Pipeline Association for Public AwarenessPERG 2020 Final.indd 24 8/5/20 4:17 PM'