ICS-Port-A-Board Incident Command Board Review

Overview/Description of ICS Port-A-Board

The “ICS-Port-a-Board” from Cherry Brother Designs is a product designed to organize your command post easily and effectively. Everything that you need to have noted is right in front of you.

From building layout, incident priorities, staging, weather and utility information, building fire protection location, building construction, accountability, manpower pool information and more its all here, which passes the first test in this review.

The board I tested was two sided, with an incident command board on one side (with predefined fields) and on the other side was a complete chart of the incident command structure for large scale incidents. According to the manufacturer, it can be ordered with a blank white board area on one side if that was to better suit your needs, as well as blank fields on the incident side.

Overall, the board did exactly what I needed it to and I would recommend the board for someone who needs a quality incident command board.

Quality of The ICS Port-A-Board

This is a very well thought out product, I would venture to say that the designer behind this has used some command boards in the past and set out to build one that was superior to the ones used prior.

The writing surface is thick enough that it does not flex when written on, and the edges are trimmed nicely to give it a polished professional look. The printing itself is written in a font that is very easy to read in all lighting conditions and is obviously designed to last.

It will not rub off under normal usage in my opinion, I tried. This is the first board I have used that can be written on with permanent marker as well as your typical dry erase marker. Once the permanent marker is allowed to “set” it withstands moisture quite well where as a dry erase marker would be history.

I wrote on the board allowed it to sit for a few seconds then actually dipped my hand in water and tried to rub it off and it stayed and was perfectly legible. This would be very useful in damp conditions. Cleaning of the board is a snap, a few shots of “Goof Off” or a wipe with a Mr. Clean magic eraser makes quick work of the permanent marker and a damp cloth takes care of the dry erase marker easily. There is also no “residual” ink left where you can kind of still see the writing. It wiped brand new clean.

 Durability of The ICS Port-A-Board

This is a well made product, the materials are sturdy and it should be able to withstand whatever you throw at it under normal usage on the fireground. It should be able to serve your incident command needs for many years.

Longevity of The ICS Port-A-Board

If the board is stored properly, and taken care of in a reasonable manner this product will last a very long time. Ideally it can be stored in a safe area inside of a chief’s vehicle (such as a command cabinet) or anywhere you would normally store your incident command items.

If your department has a dedicated command unit, it will be right at home. Since it does not come with a case of any kind it should be protected from the possibility of scratching or falling.

Price of The ICS Port-A-Board

At the time of the review, the price of the board as tested is $525.

This price is for the double sided 24” x 36” command board, and the manufacturer asks that you do call for specific pricing as they will make a board to suit your needs perfectly so your price may differ.

They make boards of varying sizes and features so if you are interested it is worth the call. I spoke to Tina who was extremely courteous and helpful on the phone and stressed her desire to make sure you get the board you are looking for.

Who Do You Recommend The ICS Port-A-Board For?

Cherry Brothers Designs manufactures command boards to suit the needs of fire departments as well as for public health, hazmat, confined space & collapse, search and rescue, dive/scuba emergencies just to name a few. There is a board made to properly manage your emergency scene, visit their site at cherrybrothersdesigns.com for more information.

Do You Recommend The ICS Port-A-Board?  Why or Why Not?

Yes, I recommend the board.  This is a product that is designed for an incident commander who is in command of a scene that needs to formally establish the incident command system.

It is a tool designed to make the event much easier to manage and to be able to record data and times that are of importance and have that info at your fingertips. It is also set up in a way that it can easily remind you to implement some tactics that are needed with the incident command system.

Any Safety Issues?

No safety issues.

Any reasons you would not recommend this?

There are no reasons, I feel this is a tool that will suit its purpose quite well on the fireground.

About The Manufacturer

Cherry Brother Designs was developed in the Fall of 2005 when they realized that the public safety sector had a need for this kind of command and accountability board.  Subsequently, Cherry Brother designs created their first product: The “ICS Port-A-Board”.  Cherry Brother Designs is a firefighter family owned and operated business.

Contact Tina Cherry

Cherry Brother Designs
3987 E. Michigan Road
Shelbyville, IN 4617

888-842-9850

[email protected]

Disclosure

Firefighter Toolbox has been hired to provide an honest review of the manufacturers product by an experienced firefighter or fire officer and/or expert/thought leader in the fire service.  We have been paid a flat fee up front and in no way, shape or form have been influenced to provide a favorable review.  We get paid whether its a good review or a bad review so our review is independent and unbiased.

Firefighter Toolbox has completed reviews where the products had safety issues and other issues which we reported on and provided the feedback to the manufacturer to improve the product and/or eliminate the safety concern or defect.

Our goal is to provide an honest review and be a trustworthy resource for you to get an honest review of the product in review.  We do our best to provide that and realize that for  firefighters in one part of the country, it could be an extremely valuable tool or product and for others it may not be.  Therefore, we do our best to provide you with solid investigative information that can help you decide if the product would be good for your objective/department.

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