Which statement accurately describes one reason a delegation of authority may be needed?
A. When the incident scope is complex or beyond existing authorities
B. If the Incident Commander is acting within his or her existing authorities
C. To relieve the granting authority of the ultimate responsibility for the incident
D. To specify the Incident Action Plan to be implemented by the Incident Commander
Answer: A. When the incident scope is complex or beyond existing authorities
Authority delegation may be needed in a situation where an incident is beyond the scope of an Incident Commander or has a complex decision-making process. Specific incidents necessitate that extra authority or legal power should be exercised in order to deal with the matters more promptly. Through the delegation of power, the Incident Commander has the crucial authority to make or take specific actions independent of their daily work. The authority of Incident Commander is thus at an appropriate level to enable him/her to handle the critical aspects of the incident very effectively. The others merely fail to capture true, genuine reason for authorizing a delegation.