The National Incident Management System (NIMS)

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.

Therefore, COOP or BCM will play a significant role during the response and recovery efforts and it will also help maintain the NEFs during those difficult times. However, continuity planning is a coordinated effort that must be in sync with all levels of government, from the Federal Government to the Local Government, as well as with the private sector (Homeland Security Council, 2007). In those efforts, the Federal Government plays a key role in coordinating and executing COOPs within the different agencies and departments that exist within the Federal Government ((Homeland Security Council, 2007). Moreover, the Federal Government assist State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial (SLTT) Governments as well as private sector owner and operators of Critical Infrastructure and Key Resources (CIKR). The Federal Government’s assistance could be financial help in the form of grants or helping them develop their own COOPs or BCMs ( (Homeland Security Council, 2007). SLTT Governments and the private sector share the responsibility of identifying the essential needs of their communities as well as identifying the vulnerabilities that could prevent them from maintaining their PMEFs (Homeland Security Council, 2007). Moreover, they are also responsible for creating strategies and effectively allocating resources to reduce those vulnerabilities (Homeland Security Council,

Selective application of the framework’s structures and procedures is also possible to account for differing factors in incidents and the resources available. Partnerships between government agencies at the local and federal level, private sector entities, communities and individuals become of the utmost importance in this design. They all play a key part, with each entity’s roles and responsibilities supplementing the group effort in realizing the mission. This system also allows for the development of a unified command. With the integration of all levels of the community, maintaining coordination and cohesion is also necessary. One command would permit for concentrated effort and proper allocation of skills and resources towards the common goal (National Response Framework Second Edition,

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.

The National Incident Management System is a systematic approach to a national template when dealing with incident management. This is how incidents are managed across all agencies to ensure protection, response time, mitigation of duties, and recovery (Walsh, 2012, p.4). In order to use the National Incident management System effectively, you must use the five major components. These components are used throughout government organizations, non-government organizations, and private sectors. The five major components consist of: (1) preparedness; (2) communications and information management; (3) command and management; (4) ongoing management and maintenance; and (5) resource management (Walsh, 2012, p. 6).

It is also designed as a standard, cooperate tool used for managing incidents. “The concepts contained herein provide for a flexible but standardized set of incident management practices with emphasis on common principles, a consistent approach to operational structures and supporting mechanisms, and an integrated approach to resource management” (Department of Homeland Security, 2015). The NIMS has several functions that work in collaboration to provide the necessary tools for response efforts. These functions include: NIMS Doctrine Supporting Guides and Tools; Training; Resource Management and Mutual Aid; Implementation Guidance and Reporting; NIMS Alerts; FEMA NIMS Regional Contacts; and Incident Command System Resources. These functions work together to produce the Department of Homeland Security’s effective emergency response strategy.

What is the National Response Framework? The National Response Framework is a guide to how the Nation conducts all-hazards response – from the smallest incident to the largest catastrophe. This key document establishes a comprehensive, national, all-hazards approach to domestic incident response. The Framework identifies the key response principles, roles and structures that organize national response. It describes how communities, States, the Federal Government and private-sector and nongovernmental partners apply these principles for a coordinated, effective national response. And, it describes special circumstances where the Federal Government exercises a larger role, including incidents where Federal interests are involved and catastrophic

When the NRP, uses the inclusive framework of the NIMS, it provides the mechanisms and coordinating structure “for national-level policy and operational direction for Federal support to State, local, and tribal incident managers, Federal-to-Federal support and for exercising direct Federal authorities and responsibilities as appropriate

Disasters are incidents that most hope to avoid but in reality they happen often. Preparation for these events is necessary if the damage and loss of life is to be mitigated. Several events have occurred in the last decade that has increased awareness of the necessity of emergency management. Events such Hurricane Katrina and the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Both of these events had massive death tolls and millions of dollars worth of property damage. They both resulted in a public outcry for more effective intervention and assistance with disaster incidents. The National Response Framework (NRF) was created after both of these events and in response to criticism of the prior National Response Plan. The change of title from National

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

The National Response Framework is a guide designed to assist local, State, and Federal governments in developing functional capabilities and identifying resources based on hazard identification and risk assessment. It outlines the operating structure and identifies key roles and responsibilities. It established a framework to identify capabilities based on resources and the current situation no matter the size or scale. It integrates organizational structures and standardizes how the Nation at all levels plans to react to incidents. The suspected terrorist attack will have health, economic, social, environment and political long-term effects for my community. This is why it is essential that local government’s

The NIMS system, or National Incident Management System, was developed by Fema to create a nationwide framework and aid in the coordination of all governmental: tribal, local, state, and federal governments; with the private sector, and non-governmental organizations. This system creates a framework for all of the groups listed above to work in a more organized, efficient manner and create better outcomes when a disaster occurs in the community. The system is set up to aid in the coordination of these groups to prevent, mitigate, and manage any incident regardless

(2015), selective execution via the activation of the NRF elements permits maximum flexibility to meet the distinctive functioning and information-sharing necessities of any condition. It allows effective connections among different non-governmental entities, local, state, federal, private-sector and tribal. The growth of the NRF was authorised by the Homeland Security Presidential Directive and Homeland Security Acts of 2002. The NRF has been significant because it incorporates the National Contingency Plan among others national-level contingency plans (US Department of Homeland Security,