Which set of essential questions should a complete incident report answer?

• A. Who, What, When, Where, Why, How
• B. Where, When, Why
• C. Who, What, When, Where, Why, How
• D. What, How

Answer: (C)

A complete incident report should answer six fundamental questions: who, what, when, where, why, and how. Each piece adds essential context. Who identifies the people involved, including witnesses and responders. What provides a clear description of the incident or event. When and where establish the timeline and location, anchoring everything that happened. Why explains the cause, contributing factors, or motives if known. How describes the sequence of actions, the methods used, and how the situation unfolded or was addressed. Together, these six elements give a full, usable picture for investigation, accountability, and future prevention. If any of these are missing, important context is lost—narrowing the report’s usefulness for understanding the incident and planning corrective steps.