NIMS Overview
Most incidents are generally handled on a daily basis by a single jurisdiction at the local level. There are, however, instances in which successful domestic incident management operations depend on the involvement of multiple jurisdictions, functional agencies, and emergency responder disciplines. The NIMS represents a core set of doctrine, concepts, principles, terminology, and organizational processes to enable effective, efficient, and collaborative incident management at all levels. NIMS provides a nationwide template to enable agencies to work together effectively and efficiently to prepare for, prevent, respond to, and recover from domestic incidents, regardless of cause, size, or complexity.
The National Interagency Incident Management System (NIIMS), adopted by NWCG partner agencies in 1982, served as the basis for its replacement, the National Incident Management System (NIMS). Many similarities exist between the NIIMS and the NIMS; however, there are new, additional components that were not in the original NIMS. NIIMS was originally designed to meet the challenges of wildland fire. Its replacement, NIMS, is designed to address the challenges of not just wildland fire, but all hazards, including terrorist events and natural disasters. In addition, there is increased emphasis on prevention and preparedness measures in NIMS. With the exception of the way the intelligence function is handled, the principles and concepts of NIMS ICS are the same as the NIIMS ICS was. Under the NIMS ICS, the incident commander has flexibility in where to assign the intelligence and information function, e.g., command staff or operations.
General NIMS information
NIMS Site (http://www.fema.gov/emergency/nims/index.shtm)
NIMS Alerts link (http://www.fema.gov/emergency/nims/nims_alert.shtm)
NIMS Training
Adequately trained and qualified emergency management/response personnel are critical to the national implementation of NIMS. In particular, the NIMS document describes the National Integration Center’s (NIC) responsibility to develop “a national program for NIMS education and awareness,” and to facilitate common national standards for personnel qualification. The National Training Program for NIMS will develop and maintain a common national foundation for training and qualifying emergency management/response personnel.
NIMS and its Effects on the NWCG Training Community
The development of the National Incident Management System (NIMS) from the original NWCG developed National Interagency Incident Management System (NIIMS) has impacted several programs managed by NWCG. One of the issues the Training Working Team (TWT) faces is Management of Wildland Fire Training Within the Framework of NIMS. This briefing paper was developed to help NWCG members understand the issues the TWT faces and the plan to address them.
The USFA/NFA All Hazard Program
In response to a Memorandum of Understanding between USFA, the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC), and the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Metro Chiefs, the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) convened a focus group of stakeholders and experts from across the country to best determine the means to develop all-hazard IMTs across the country.
The overall goal of USFA's all-hazard Incident Management Team (IMT) program is to develop state and regional IMTs to function under the National Incident Management System (NIMS) during a large and/or complex incident or a major event. For more information see the NFA All-Hazard Incident Management Team web site at www.usfa.dhs.gov/subjects/incident/imt/.
Course codes from non National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) courses. Where did they come from and what do they mean?
The NWCG curriculum utilizes course codes like “S-290” for Intermediate Fire Behavior, which most wildland fire organizations are familiar with and recognize. The increasingly close cooperation between the United States Fire Administration (USFA) National Fire Academy, FEMA’s Emergency Management Institute (EMI), and the National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) in such areas as “interchangeable courses” and co-development is exposing the wildland community to sets of course codes that they are not familiar with. These briefing papers briefly explain the differences in mission, focus, and the course codes that are associated with their training products.
More Information on NIMS training is available on the NIMS training web page at http://www.fema.gov/emergency/nims/nims_training.shtm
