The National Incident Management System

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.

The President of the United States of America issued the Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD)-5 on February 28th, 2003 for managing Domestic incidents like terrorist attacks. The HSPD-5 helped create the National Incident Management System (NIMS), (Homeland Security, 2004). The use of the Incident Management System and Incident Command System can help manage the response to an attack involving Weapons of Mass Destruction among many other emergencies. These systems allow for coordination to be used in a proper and efficient manner. Without a system in place communication and coordination can fall apart and the response will not be prompt as it needs to be to protect lives and infrastructure.

The National Incident Management System is a systematic guideline on how to effectively plan, mitigate, respond and recover, from significant incidences especially those that encompass diverse interest and involves all levels of governments. It works hand in hand with the National Response Framework, which provides structure for incident management while NIMS provide the guide for all departments and agencies at all levels of government, nongovernmental organizations, and the private sector to work flawlessly during incident management to reduce loss of life and property (U. S. Department of Homeland Security, 2008). The core aspect of the National Incident Management System during incident response is the Incident Command System (ICS),

This report article titled, “Implications of an Improvised Nuclear Device Detonation on Command and Control for Surround Regions at the Local, State and Federal Levels” by David Pasquele and Richard Hansen talks about the different types of issues that surrounds the area of the Improvised Nuclear Device and other units. These types of issues are mainly related and connected to the Incident Command Posts (ICP) and Emergency Operations Centers (EOCs). Command and control is part of the issue because they cause a lot of problems for the operations on these jurisdictions. In this essay we will discuss more on the key issues and to agree if the Incident Command System (ICS) and National Incident Management System (NIMS) would be sufficient or use different procedures. Also, I will talk about the federal agencies mentioned in this report to see which is important to use for a response and recovery of an IND event.

After the horrific attacks on September 11th, 2001, The United States had a new mission at hand. They needed to repair their procedures of responding to natural disasters or massive attacks. They needed to create a system that would ensure that everyone, from local law enforcement to the top guy in the federal government, were in sync and on the same page for training purposes and during actual national incidents. The American government did a review of the 2001 attacks and discussed what caused the issue, what steps or procedures were carried out, and what could have been done in order to correct any faults that might of taken place. One of the main issues discovered, was all the different agencies, departments, and private sectors

These three living documents work hand-in-hand, continuously evolving to improve consistency and account for changing conditions. The National Preparedness Goal, as of 2011, sets the vision and overall policy for nationwide preparedness. The National Incident Management System provides the template for managing incidents at all levels, while the National Response Framework gives structure to national-level incident management and response policy. (pg. 2)

To better understand the National Incident Management System we must first understand why there was a need for such a program. There are several emergency incidents to date that would show that this system was needed. However I believe that it can be brought back to the fires in the 1970’s. (Boles, Coniglio, Martin, & Martin, 2012) The main incident that provide beyond a doubt that this system was needed was the 9/11 tragedy. That day changed not only how we respond and handle situations like this but, it also changed America and all her citizens. We realized that we are more susceptible to an attack on our own lands than we thought. Gone went the idea that we are only as safe we think.

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

Incident Command System (ICS), a standard, on-scene, all-hazards incident management system. The ICS has been established by the NIMS as the standardized incident organizational structure for the management of all incidents. An operational plan and organization go hand in hand and should include but are not limited to:

When an incident occurs within the United States, the Incident Command System (ICS) is brought into action. The ICS process serves as a management system designed to provide an effective incident management structure by way of combining facilities, personnel, equipment, operating procedures, communications and operational standards. The ICS is not a flawless system, however its flexible design allows for adaptation and change. During Hurricane Sandy, the ICS was implemented with mixed results. More than 28,000 personnel were utilized for the response and recovery efforts from that hurricane. It was the Incident Command System that served as coordinating guidance for facilitating the organizational structure for the hurricane Sandy response

The National Incident Management System (NIMS) was put into place after 9/11 and is the standard for all first responders when dealing with large scale events (NIMS, 2014). The Incident Command System (ICS) is the structure for the NIMS and establishes separate but unified sections and divisions to include operations, a commander, logistics, plans and finance (NIMS, 2014)). The ICS can grow or shrink depending on the size and scale of the event. The term “Span of Control” implies that within the ICS, any individual with a supervisory position should oversee 3 to 7 subordinates. The “span of control is key to effective and efficient incident management” (ICS Resource Center, 2008 p 3).

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

Prior to the creation of the Incident Command System, (hereinafter, ICS) local fire, police and EMS departments and local emergency managers operated within their respective incident management systems which obviously varied depending on their historical and political experiences.

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,

The National Incident Management System (NIMS) was established by the federal government in 2004 after the inappropriate response to the terrorist attacks of 9/11s showed that reorganization was needed for dealing with disaster matters (FEMA, n. d.). Thus, NIMS provides a unique template for all levels of government, the NGOs, and the private to work together in order to reduce the loss of life, damage to properties by preparing for, responding to, mitigating , and recovering from any disaster (FEMA, n. d.). According to Lindell, Prater, and Perry, NIMS is dynamic and applies to planned events as no-notice events and forecasted events (2007). For FEMA (n. d.), NIMS components are adaptable to any situation, from routine events to those requiring