Advantages Of NIMS

Natural and man-made disasters have increased in the past decade, and due to these changes, Emergency Managers had to make drastic changes in order to improve the way first responders operate in a disaster area.

The CPG 101 incorporates the concepts of the National Incident Management System (NIMS) into the planning guide. NIMS is the result of Homeland Security Directive Five. The directive came from President Bush February 28, 2003. The goal of NIMS was to offer a necessary foundation for emergency management to identify, prepare, respond and recover in any emergent situation. The approach and vocabulary established with NIMS remains the same nationwide to ensure consistency.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) would become the central point-of-contact within the national government in responding to incidents. Since formation in 1979, FEMA’s core missions were to enhance the government’s ability to survive a foreign attack, and to assist state and local authorities in disaster response (Carafano, 2005). And while the two core missions seem heterogenous in scope at times from an outside perspective, the biggest difference between the two tasks is duration. A man-made disaster may be over in a matter of minutes as compared to a hurricane lasting several days, but in both instances the road to recovery is long. In order to streamline response and recovery in either scenario, FEMA was reorganized with new directives to support comprehensive emergency management practices (CRS, 2006). Today, FEMA provides the standard approach and guidance that many local communities may not have due to funding, training, and

Supplies could be needed in one area, but without communication that area might not be able to reach out for those supplies. Communication amongst first responders is important for information sharing, so that information can flow between different jurisdictions and agencies. When looking at the efforts of first responders, communication is the one constant variable, which without communication all efforts would be in vain. (Newman & Clarke, 2008) The National Incident Management System (NIMS) places an emphasis on the importance of communication when dealing with response efforts. The National Incident Management System shows how having a unified command systems can benefit the response efforts to disaster. However, without proper and efficient communication, a unified command system cannot proceed efficiently.

I see the utility for its intended audience, as well as for a casual reader, curious about emergency response for incidents which occur on or near college campuses. The format of the article allowed me as novice to the National Incident Management System to stay engaged and grasp the concept. There are only there main sections to this article, “Understanding NIMS”, “Becoming Compliant” and the “Conclusion”. The two sub-sections of this Understanding NIMS section manage to provide an overview that helps the reader to understand NIMS in just seven short paragraphs. The Illinois Criminal Justice Authority report offers a brief glimpse of history about campuses incidents, without going into great detail, to spark the interest of the

After September 11, 2001, the Department of Homeland of Security was formed in response to the terrorist attacks. Out of the birth of the agencies formed, the National Incident Management System (NIMS) was created to allow clear allocation of resources and a systematic approach to emergency management. The system can be effective in many responses where many levels of government and response are imminent to respond to the disaster. Many of these agencies are emergency management, police, fire, health, and EMS from all levels of government. NIMS can be used on any type of incident and of any size or scope in nature.

NIMS is a uniform set of processes and procedures that emergency responders at all levels of government will use to conduct response operations. NIMS helps improve cooperation and interoperability among organizations. The framework is adaptable and accessible. It encourages all hazards preparedness. NIMS enables a variety of organizations to contribute successfully in emergency management and incident response. NIMS creates uniform professional emergency management and incident response practices.

This paper will explain an overview perspective of the September 11th attacks, as well as examine the response of local emergency personnel to this incident. I will discuss the lack of coordination amongst emergency personnel, and also analyze the connection between this event and the National Incident Management System (NIMS). This paper will also reveal the challenges faced due to interoperability and the ways in which improvements were made and improvements many believe still need to be made.

Emergency services face vast difficulties in the operations field when handling emergency situations, whether it comes from handling a minor accident to a catastrophic catastrophy. Many of the difficulties do not come from the actual incident, but instead they arise from forming a rescue team containing different agencies and people. For the benefit off all individuals participating, it is imperative that there be a unified command structure in place to effectively coordinate and oversee the tasks that need to be accomplished. The need of a unified command was seen from the hardships faced in incidents, bringing forth the development of the Incident Command System that was designed to be used in an array of conditions, to bring all

As the Disaster Coordinator for the city I am responsible for ensuring the public safety and welfare of the citizens within the city's jurisdiction. This requires me to have a full understanding on my role and responsibilities for managing disaster response and employing resources in order to save lives, protect property, the environment. Additionally I’m tasked to preserve the less tangible but equally important social, economic and political structures. My first reaction was to alert the regional Joint Terrorism Task Force to prepare them for possible activation. Next it is vital to gain situational awareness and develop a Common Operating Picture (COP). This COP is the who, what, where, when and how as it relates to the incident. Situational awareness starts at the incident site and includes continuous monitoring of reporting channels to gain

In the Disaster in Franklin County simulation (Regents of the University of Minnesota [UMN], 2006), there were several key personnel in the incident command team. This concept is utilized in real disasters when the Public

* In The missing piece of NIMS: Teaching incident commanders how to function in the edge of Chaos, the author notes that first responders have to deal with a disaster situation already unfolding, and not “all the pieces fit together nicely.” The author writes about the Five Tenets of Working in Chaos.

Emergency management faces many challenges in today’s modern society. In the years prior to 9/11 emergency management was primarily focused on natural disasters. That has since changed; we now face a diverse variety of risks and hazards on a constant basis. As we continue to grow in population current and newer have compounded into more problems that emergency planner must face and find solutions for.

The NIMS model of incident Command Systems (ICS) will be used as the framework for all responses to hazardous material releases. This will allow flexibility to rapidly activate and establish an organizational structure around the functions that need to be performed to efficiently mitigate an incident (Washoe County LEPC, 2006).

Today, the Incident Command System (ICS) is a major component of NIMS and is widely used in emergency management response. However, this was not always the case. According to David A. McEntire and Gregg Dawson, authors of the article, “The intergovernmental Context,” ICS was originally developed by the fire service in 1970. Its purpose was to assist in the command of wildfire events. It was unique because it standardized operations, yet offered flexibility so that it could be used on any number of events, regardless of size or type (McEntire & Dawson, 2007, p. 63).