In a mass casualty incident, explain how span of control can be applied to triage teams.

• A. Assign one supervisor to manage all patients.
• B. Each supervisor oversees unlimited responders.
• C. Each supervisor should manage a limited number of responders (e.g., a triage supervisor for about 5 patients) to maintain effective oversight and communication.
• D. Span of control doesn't apply to triage.

Answer: (C)

Managing span of control in a mass casualty triage team means keeping the number of frontline responders and patients under one supervisor manageable. In practice, having a triage supervisor oversee about five patients allows clear, direct oversight of triage decisions, quick communication, and timely feedback to responders. This balance helps maintain situational awareness, reduces radio clutter and confusion, and supports accurate and rapid categorization and handoffs to transport. If one supervisor tried to oversee all patients, decisions would slow, mistakes could rise, and communication would suffer. If supervision were unlimited, no one could effectively monitor actions or provide timely correction. Span of control does apply here because structured supervision is essential to keep the team coordinated and efficient as the incident evolves. As the workload grows, more supervisors are added to preserve that manageable span.