There is a huge amount of literature and thought on strategic planning for business and nearly as much on emergency response. The most notable difference between strategic planning for business vs emergency response situations is that the emergency response situations usually require quicker actions and the 'scene' is more dynamic - this means our methods have to be very flexible and quickly adaptable.
The process I find useful is "Situation-Target-Path-Act". It's a simple term to remember but is none the less useful, practical and may be a lifesaver.
Situation - You first need to evaluate the situation you're presented with. Figure out the main contributing factors to the incident you are trying to deal with. This could be anything from affected area/person, hazards and also knowing what assets you have at your disposal.
Target - Figure out what the main objective of this emergency response is. Is it containment, mitigation and/or rescue?
Path - Define the route to the completion of the situation you are trying to deal with.
At this point you have a knowledge of what you are dealing with, know your capabilities and limitations as well as having a route to completing your tasking. The final point is:
Act - You can have done as much preparation, planning and defining as you wish but the most important part is to act. You don't want to have 'inaction by planning' being a factor in your emergency response.
Documenting protocols, recording incidents and training in an open and collaborative environment is one of the reasons we built Decisions [D4H] - Multi-Award Winning Emergency Response Team Software.
Written by Adam Scott, [D4H] Customer Success Dept, EMT & SAR Responder