Incident commanders at structure fires have an enormous amount of responsibility. The incident commanders within the Myrtle Beach Fire Department (MBFD) are often overtaxed and placed in a setting that can adversely affect their critical thinking and decision making abilities on structure fires. This research was intended to identify strategies that will aid the incident commander with the ability to increase their focus and effectiveness at structure fires. The descriptive research method was used to evaluate three research questions. The three questions answered were how external distractions affect focus and performance, what steps other fire departments have taken to assist incident commanders with increasing their effectiveness on structure fires, and how the MBFD command officers viewed the department's current ICS practices on structure fires. The research methods included creating and administering a focus and performance assessment while various distractions were introduced and conducting personal interviews. The MBFD command officers were surveyed regarding the command practices within the MBFD and fire departments from across the United States were surveyed concerning the steps they have taken to improve their incident commanders' effectiveness. Finally, MBFD structure fire footage was reviewed and a noise test was administered measuring the noise level inside the command vehicle. The results revealed that stress and distractions can decrease performance levels, adding additional incident command support betters the overall command and control process, and the MBFD command officers share a similar view of the department's command practices. The recommendations included standardizing the MBFD incident command practices, providing additional training for MBFD personnel and utilizing the command staff to deliver the training, adding an additional command officer on structure fires, and making the incident command post a sterile environment.