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.

In an interview, Skot McDonald talked about his experience on the streets a few blocks from the twin towers, “We started backing away and then had to run from a tidal wave of collapsing debris rushing down the street at us as the north tower collapsed,” (Liddy). McDonald and his friend were photographers and were staying very close to the twin towers. They woke up on September 11 like a normal day. Skot’s parents called him to tell him about the attacks. On 9/11, emergency groups in Manhattan needed to evacuate an area a certain distance around towers to maintain safety for inhabitants and tourists watching in horror.

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

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

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 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

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

In American society, there are numerous of organizations, agencies, corporations, and distributions that each have certain systems that are required for them to be successful. When it comes to homeland security and the management of different disasters or incidents, there definitely needs to be a protocol or plan in place to be able to manage detrimental events. The Incident Management System and the Incident Command System are two very significant systems, that go hand-in-hand with each other, therefore are presented within the same type of logic model known as the NIMS Command Chart. Knowing the fundamental components of each and key points, discussing how these programs operate in practice, and understanding their elements, strengths, and weaknesses are all worthy of attention when dealing with serious disasters.

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

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has developed and implemented many practices for managing both natural and man-made disasters. Emergency managers play an important role in ensuring these practices are fulfilled entirely and all disasters are handled efficiently and effectively. Through the development of plans emergency managers work to reduce vulnerability to hazards and cope with disasters. Emergency management does not avert or eliminate the threats but instead focuses on decreasing the impact of disasters. Issuance of the Homeland Security Presidential Directive 5 (HSPD-5) has forced Homeland Security to manage domestic incidents better and they have done so through the National Incident Management System (NIMS). The NIMS system offers a reliable nationwide model to assist “Federal, State, tribal and local governments, nongovernmental organizations, and the private sector to work together to prevent,

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

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

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).

Dispatch protocols and systems have been implemented in many departments nationwide. In an article on Emergencydispatch.org, Mike Scott notes that protocol use can help departments handle situations better through a more structured environment where all calls are handled similarly. In the same article, Allan Young, a communications supervisor for Hooknet Police and Fire mentions how protocols can help avoid missing important questions like the five w’s (who, what, when, where, and why) . Mr. Janica mentioned that some helpful information from dispatch that is often missed is the number of patients and extent of injuries. This information is critical when preparing for a scene while in route.