The National Incident Management System

As stated earlier, the 9/11 attacks revealed the indomitable spirit of the US and awakened a sleeping giant, which was very reminiscent of the US response following the attacks by the Japanese on US forces in Hawaii. Both 9/11 and Pearl Harbor attacks galvanized the American people into action and caused the government to heavily invest resources to combat enemies of the US; the Axis enemies during World War II and “the terrorists”, wherever they may be located, following 9/11. One of the first NIST deficiencies to be corrected were the operational protocols for intra- and inter-agency communication. This, in part, has been addressed in the Incident Command System (ICS) since the purpose of ICS is to integrate operations between public safety entities at all levels of government.

Communication is Key Although there were many reasons to the cause of 9/11 , lack of communication cost more lives than needed. During 9/11, communication between the three departments of justice was subpar at best, they ended up panicking at crisis and were not able to come together as a group, but stay as individual squads. Some forms of communication were good though, face-to-face communication proved to be best fit in the buildings and firefighters were able to understand where to go to save more lives. Lack of communication during 9/11 exposed the problems between departments in New York, which ultimately caused greater loss of lives inside the twin towers.

September 11, 2001, marked a key date in U.S. history, the most deadly terror attack in the world. The 9/11 terror attacks presented many issues with the communication of first responders and citizens. The likelihood of surviving the World Trade Center attacks was dramatically reduced due to the lack of communication during the response. Jim Dwyer and Kevin Flynn, in their book 102 Minutes, provides evidence of how the response groups and people working in the Twin Towers had not prepared for communication problems if something tragic were to happen. Analyzing multiple sources of communication, Jim Dwyer and Kevin Flynn, Joel Roberts, and Brendan Sasso all agree that communication during emergency response and preparedness aids in a more successful

September 11, 2001 is commonly thought of as the next major disaster in the United States. So I prefer to choose this real incident. The event that shook the world like a thunderstorm, thousands of people died in the terrorist attacks they did not resemble the catastrophic disasters previously discussed. Unlike all of the natural disasters previously detailed, the attacks in New York City and Washington, DC did not completely overwhelm the emergency response capabilities of entire regions. The attacks caused brief mass confusion and overwhelmed individual emergency response agencies but did not paralyze the entire emergency response network. The primary first responders were the Fire Department of New York (FDNY), the New York Police Department (NYPD) and the Port Authority Police Department (PAPD. While federal officials participated in rescue operations and helped provide security after the attacks, the immediate rescue efforts were orchestrated by local responders. The local response networks were overwhelmed and resources were strained, but there was no system-wide breakdown in organization or authority. Nonetheless, emergency responders encountered many of the same problems that responders experience during catastrophic disasters. Communication systems

Both the national response framework and National Incident Management system are plans set in place to provide a response to domestic incidents and both are overseen by the Federal Emergency Agency. While they are both similar they do have distinguishing characteristics (Haddow, G., Bullock, J, & Coppola, D. 2014). The National Response Framework incorporates a formal plan that involves both local, state, federal, and non-government agencies that works seamlessly together to provide a response that if followed properly can be proven to have a successful ending to an emergency situation. The most important concept behind the National Response Framework is that Federal Government does not supersede local government and combines the government

September 11th terrorist attack the U.S., and we were forced to watch as they used airplanes to crash into the World Trade Centers in New York City. First responders and other rescue organizations were thrust into immediate action, and were very confused because they did not know how bad the situation was with the communications and disorganization of some of our government agencies. The horror of watching the WTC crashing down was shocking. We suffered a massive loss of life, so within this paper we will try to understand all the things that interfered with public safety’s responding to the crisis that day. This report will examine the types of programs that were carried out to help these organizations with communication and cooperation issues that could create a problem within these agencies across the board internally and externally, and discuss the different types of programs that were carried out after 9/11 to help LEOs and other organizations. These issues need to be discussed because without cooperation the leaders of these organizations are thrust into the limelight and deem as self-serving. Therefore, it is beneficial for everyone to find ways to deter terrorism, but that cannot happen if they do not cooperate. The FBI and the CIA are the main agencies that need to fix this issue, and make organizational changes, and it would behoove us to move past 9/11, and examine all the things that went wrong and fix them for the greater good of society.

49). In order for all of the leaders of the different infrastructures to be successful at eliminating or mitigating such attacks they will need a common form of communication as all of their systems have been proven to affect each other. One tool to help eliminate such communication barriers is the National Incident Management System (NIMS). This system “is a standardized management plan that provides a core set of concepts for incident command and multi-agency coordination during emergency response” (Kamien, 2012, p. 486). With such systems as NIMS the government realized that no one system can work without the other and if one fails they all fail causing wide spread panic and various other hurdles for emergency responders to respond to. It is up to the government to realize that our world is no longer ran manually, but rather digitally so that we can better prepare for possible cyber attacks on our key critical infrastructures.

In everyday life communication is one of the most important aspects to receiving information. The information is not just verbal but reading or visual as well. Every morning we wake up and turn on the tv or sit down and read the newspaper. We begin to absorb the information and this continues throughout the day. The fire service no different. We rely on good communication to get our message across. Although, sometimes we fail to effectively use our communications well. This is not only at the company level, but as well in informing the public. I was once told, "information is power" and I certainly agree. Although, the key is to have effective and accurate information. Within the Incident Command System among the Command Staff rests a very

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 September of 2001, the worst terrorist tragedy that has ever occurred on American soil, and quite possibly in the world, rocked the foundations of the United States of America. The unimpeded destruction of the twin towers of the World Trade Center led many to wonder how an event of such magnitude could not have been foreseen and prevented. Later, many sources led us to believe that it was not that the information was not there, but rather, it was the inability of intelligence communities and law enforcement agencies to communicate the data among themselves that resulted in the greatest security breach in American history. To combat this inability to coordinate use of data and information, the Defense Advanced

Today’s technology has enabled communication to various parts of the world a 24-hour service, which means that, in any emergency response circumstance, there will always be a continuous claim for information (Haddow & Haddow, 2013).

Congress created the Department of Homeland Security which consolidated two dozen agencies and was given the task of protecting the United States from another attack. (Waxman, 2009). By consolidating these agencies, communication paths would be greatly improved. Fusion centers were then created to enable the various agencies to share information and conduct threat assessments for events. The amount of intelligence is greatly improved by the increased participation of the numerous agencies. The agencies then have the ability to “connect the dots” and create a better picture of an incident or

Interoperable communications is on the front line of homeland security. Communications drive every aspect on the scene of an emergency. Most of the failures in the past on emergencies can be directly related to either poor communication technology or poor communications between emergency personnel. The future of homeland security in the U.S. is directly reliant on strong interoperable communications. These communications do not only apply to Police and Fire. Having interoperability means that any person or agency involved in hazard control has the ability to send and receive radio traffic. Other agencies that are involved in large-scale disasters include – city personnel, public works, railway personnel, hospital, military, etc. The size

The goal of creating better transportation security systems to move people and cargo more securely and efficiently attribute to the protection phase of the domestic preparedness cycle. The ability to move cargo safely and efficiently through our national ports makes them an economically critical infrastructure, which coincides with the Department of Homeland Security’s initial goals and the domestic preparedness cycle (Cordner, 2016). The response phase of the domestic preparedness cycle parallels the goals of information-sharing and increasing overall preparedness, which lead to the creation of the National Incident Management System. The National Incident Management System established a common set of terms and procedures used during multiagency coordination, unified command, and the identification of equipment, resources, and common protocols for processing events and disseminating information regarding an incident (Cordner, 2016, p. 433). The standardization of communication and procedures display how the Department of Homeland Security goals and the