What term is defined as the general plan or direction selected to accomplish incident objectives?

• A. Plan of Action
• B. Strategy
• C. Tactics
• D. Incident Action Plan

Answer: (B)

Strategy is the general plan or direction chosen to achieve incident objectives. It answers the big-picture question of how we intend to approach the incident—whether to attack offensively from the interior, to defend from the exterior, or to pursue another overarching approach—and it shapes major decisions like priorities and how resources are positioned. Tactics are the specific actions used to carry out that strategy—the concrete steps like where to deploy hoses, entry points, ventilation decisions, and search patterns. The Incident Action Plan documents the objectives, the selected strategy, and the tactics for the incident period, turning the chosen approach into a written plan to guide operations. A Plan of Action isn’t the formal ICS term for the general approach, and while the IAP may include both strategy and tactics, the term that describes the overarching plan is strategy. For example, choosing a defensive strategy to limit fire spread dictates the high-level approach, while the actual hose line placement, ventilation timing, and entry decisions are tactics carried out to implement that strategy.