National Incident Management System

`First responders face many unpredictable situations, and never know what risks they may face when responding to a call. The National Incident Management System (NIMS) and Incident Command System (ICS) are two methods used by US government to respond to emergencies and disasters at a local, state and federal level. NIMS employs ICS when disaster strikes. The NIMS is a system designed for disaster management and coordination. It was designed after the attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11th, 2001 and implemented starting in 2004/2005. NIMS is designed for the preparation, prevention, and management response to emergencies and disaster situations. The ICS is a personnel management structure through which disaster response is controlled. ICS was developed by the State of California as a method by which earthquakes and other emergencies could be handled efficiently and was first implemented in the 1970’s. Flexibility is a main
“ICS allows for effective and efficient incident management, by integrating a combination of facilities, equipment, personnel, procedures, and communications” (FEMA 2008, pg1). When encountering a man-made or natural disaster ICS can be implemented, allowing for structure and guidance for all who have positions during an event, to include worksheets for each position describing what their job entails. An Emergency Operations Center (EOC) is the HUB for information that needs to be collected and used by the Incident Commander and staff to make a determination and implementations on the current event. The National Incident Management Systems (NIMS) is a flexible but standardized approach to incident management, which was developed by Federal Emergency Management Agency and established in