[KYHAM] KEN Training for Feb 2005: A NIMS OVERVIEW PART 1

[Ron Dodson]

 A NIMS OVERVIEW - PART 1

On February 28, 2003, President Bush issued Homeland Security 
Presidential Directive- 5. "HSPD-5" which directed the Secretary of 
Homeland Security to develop and administer a new National Incident 
Management System. This new system must be adopted by all jurisdictions 
nation-wide in FY 05 in order for them to remain eligible for grants and 
other federal aid, contracts and programs. This begins a "ramping-up" 
period with full compliance being required nationally at all levels of 
government by October 1, 2006.

 
NIMS is intended to provide a consistent nationwide template which will 
enable all government, private-sector, and nongovernmental organizations 
to work together during domestic incidents. This training segment 
discusses the key concepts and principles of NIMS, and the benefits of 
using the system for domestic incident response.

 

* So What is the National Incident Management System?

 NIMS is a designed as a comprehensive, national approach to incident 
management that is applicable at all jurisdictional levels and across 
functional disciplines. The intent of NIMS is to:

 A. Be applicable across a full spectrum of potential incidents and 
hazard scenarios, regardless of size or complexity.

 B. Improve coordination and cooperation between public and private 
entities in a variety of domestic incident management activities.

 
* Why Do We Need a National Incident Management System?

 Emergencies of various sizes and types occur every day in the United 
States. Such emergencies cover the spectrum of the imagination, from 
lost persons to medical emergencies, explosions, cave-ins etc. Sometimes 
natural hazards like tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes and other events 
place large areas in peril.

Whatever the incident, it receives a response.  From single agency 
responses to large, local/state/federal full blown disasters each must 
be dispatched, coordinated and resolved.  This requires communications 
at all levels and those communications must be understood and correctly 
acted upon. Until now, each type of agency had individual ways to 
communicate and terminology differed from one to the other.  No standard 
existed across all levels that had to be used by anyone. Though problems 
arose from time to time from this situation, no one ever acted upon it 
until the spotlight of the 9-11 tragedies and the following 
investigations brought the glaring dangers of it to every responder's 
attention. NIMS is to provide that national standard for incident 
operations, incident communications, personnel qualifications, resource 
management, and information management and supporting technologies.

 
* Some of the Principles and Concepts of NIMS

 While the original Incident Command System used for years in Kentucky 
and other states had a structure and organization, NIMS provides a 
broader framework for interoperability and compatibility by balancing 
flexibility and standardization.

 NIMS is to provide a flexible framework that facilitates government and 
private entities at all levels working together to manage domestic 
incidents. This flexibility applies to all phases of incident 
management, regardless of cause, size, location, or complexity.

 NIMS was designed to provide a set of standardized organizational 
structures, as well as requirements for processes, procedures, and 
systems designed to improve interoperability.

 As the federal government has now tied funding to the use of this 
system, compliance is no longer debatable at any level.

 
* NIMS Components are:

Command and management.

Preparedness.

Resource management.

Communications and information management.

Supporting technologies.

Ongoing management and maintenance.

Command and Management


 NIMS standard incident management structures are based on three key 
organizational systems:

 1. The Incident Command System (ICS), which defines the operating 
characteristics, management components, and structure of incident 
management organizations throughout the life cycle of an incident

 2. Multiagency Coordination Systems, which define the operating 
characteristics, management components, and organizational structure of 
supporting entities

3. Public Information Systems, which include the processes, procedures, 
and systems for communicating timely and accurate information to the 
public during emergency situations

 
Preparedness

 Preparedness planning BEFORE incidents can simplify and improve 
response and recovery efforts. Preparedness is not a one shot operation, 
but an ongoing operation that never ends and it involves:

 Planning, training, and exercises.

Personnel qualification and certification standards.

Equipment acquisition and certification standards.

Publication management processes and activities.

Mutual aid agreements and Emergency Management Assistance Compacts or 
"EMACS".

 

Resource Management

NIMS also defines standardized mechanisms and establishes requirements 
for describing, inventorying, mobilizing, dispatching, tracking, and 
recovering resources over the life cycle of an incident. This being done 
at all agencies and all levels means that an item at one entity is the 
same item at another. Example: Some years ago there was a major 
difference discovered in what "brush truck" means in Kentucky and 
Florida.  They are two totally different animals as Florida has these 
which are amphibious for use in firefighting in the Everglades! Imagine 
the shock to everyone involved and the waste in time gathering proper 
resources had some of our Kentucky firefighters driven all the way to 
Florida in their "Brush Trucks" to discover this!

 
Communications and Information Management

NIMS identifies standard requirements for communications, information 
management, and information-sharing support at all levels of incident 
management. Incident management organizations must ensure that 
effective, interoperable communications processes, procedures, and 
systems exist across all agencies and jurisdictions. Information 
management systems help ensure that information flows efficiently 
through a commonly accepted architecture. Effective information 
management enhances incident management and response by helping to 
ensure that decision making is better informed.

 
Supporting Technologies

 Years ago there were not to many forms of communications or equipment. 
Today, new technologies take this to a whole new level. Modern 
technological systems provide supporting capabilities essential to 
implementing and refining NIMS.

 Examples include:

Voice and data communication systems.

Information management systems, such as recordkeeping and resource tracking.

Data display systems.

 Supporting technologies also include specialized technologies that 
facilitate ongoing operations and incident management activities in 
situations that will require unique technology-based capabilities.

 
Ongoing Management and Maintenance

The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) established the NIMS 
Integration Center to provide strategic direction and oversight in 
support of routine review and continual refinement of both the system 
and its components over the long term.  The NIMS Integration Center will 
address items such as policies, guidelines and procedures for planning, 
training, exercising, instructor and responder qualifications to include 
training, experience, currency of qualifications and physical and 
medical fitness to serve as a responder. Also on the NIMS Integration 
Center's realm is oversight of Mutual Aid agreements or EMACS, equipment 
certification and approved equipment lists and publications management.  
The NIMS Integration Center will manage a wide range of publications to 
include qualifications information, training courses, computer programs 
and best practices.


More on NIMS next month 

73