National Incident Management System
The National Incident Management System (NIMS) was developed by the Secretary of Homeland Security at the request of the President to integrate effective practices in emergency preparedness and response into a comprehensive national framework for incident management. It guides departments and agencies at all levels of the private sector, nongovernmental organizations, and the government by using a proactive and systematic approach to prevent, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate the effects in order to reduce the loss of life and property and harm to the environment. NIMS also works hand in hand with the National Response Framework (NRF) and provides the template for the management of incidents, while the NRF provides the structure and mechanisms for national-level policy for incident management.
It also establishes the standardized incident management process, the protocols, and the procedures that any federal, state, and/or local responders will use to manage and conduct response actions. With responders using a standardized procedure, they will all share a common focus, and will be able to place importance on incident management when a homeland security incident occurs whether it is in the form of terrorism or a natural disaster. Also, national preparedness and readiness in responding to and recovering from an incident is improved greatly since the nation 's emergency teams and authorities are using a common set of procedures. The advantage of NIMS is that it incorporates incident management’s best practices developed and proven by thousands of responders and authorities across America. These practices, coupled with consistency and national standardization, will now be carried forward throughout all incident management processes: exercises, qualification and certification, communications interoperability, doctrinal changes, training, and publications, public affairs, equipping, evaluating, and incident management. All of these measures
It also establishes the standardized incident management process, the protocols, and the procedures that any federal, state, and/or local responders will use to manage and conduct response actions. With responders using a standardized procedure, they will all share a common focus, and will be able to place importance on incident management when a homeland security incident occurs whether it is in the form of terrorism or a natural disaster. Also, national preparedness and readiness in responding to and recovering from an incident is improved greatly since the nation 's emergency teams and authorities are using a common set of procedures. The advantage of NIMS is that it incorporates incident management’s best practices developed and proven by thousands of responders and authorities across America. These practices, coupled with consistency and national standardization, will now be carried forward throughout all incident management processes: exercises, qualification and certification, communications interoperability, doctrinal changes, training, and publications, public affairs, equipping, evaluating, and incident management. All of these measures
References: Department of Homeland Security, (2008). National Incident Management System. Federal Emergency Management Agency. http://www.fema.gov/emergency/nims/AboutNIMS.shtm