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Nims & Incident Management System

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Submitted By bizfoshiz0930
Words 1652
Pages 7
Nathan Bizzle
HLS 420-Preparedness, Prevention And Deterrence
MAR-MAY 2014

Picture yourself as an FBI agent in the Afred P. Murrah Federal Building in the city of Oklahoma on April 19, 1995. At 9:02 a.m. a bomb is detonated on the North side of the building reducing a third of the building to rubble incinerating dozens of nearby cars and damaging or destroying some 300 nearby buildings. (Terror Hits Home, 2014) As a first responder, it is imperative that you are able to communicate with local law enforcement, medical agencies and government intelligence agencies as quick as possible in order to ensure that medical care is rendered, innocents are rescued, infrastructure is saved and the source of the destruction is apprehended. The only problem is that you have no expertise in the field of emergency management. You are unaware of neither local nor federal operating procedures in response to such a devastating attack. If only there were a uniform set of processes and procedures that enabled all emergency responders at all levels to work together effectively and efficiently in the management of domestic incidents regardless of their size and complexity. Unfortunately for first responders, emergency management personnel and 168 unfortunate souls in Oklahoma City on that fateful day, there wasn’t. Derived from the Homeland Security Presidential Directive-5, the National Incident Management System (NIMS) was developed by the Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge, to develop a consistent nationwide approach for federal, state, tribal and local governments to prepare for and respond to disaster. (NIMS and the Incident Command System, 2004) This systematic approach to incident management was set up with focus on five key areas to practice in the emergency management and incident response. These five focus points used in conjunction with the Incident Command System (ICS) will help provide responders at all areas guidance on quick and effective preparation, response and improvement to any kind of disaster. The first key focus area of the National Incident Management System (NIMS) is that of preparedness. The preparedness module enhances cooperation through all levels of government, the private sector and non-governmental organizations. It enforces the principle that preparedness is essential for effective incident and emergency management. This involves a continuous cycle of planning, organizing, training equipping, exercising, evaluating and taking corrective measures to achieve and maintain readiness to respond to emergencies. (Preparedness Overview, 2014) Simply put, in this specific phase a region, city, county or parrish’s different threats are identified by both local and later federal emergency management authorities. Scenarios are established and run through in regards to the needs of both first responders and citizens in the community based on the type of disaster and a chain of command along with communications outline if prepared in preparation for the training aspect of each disaster. Various baseline trainings are conducted giving each person involved in the scenario a background of the threat and impact that it may or may not have based on the response capabilities of the community. That training is then put into effect through various exercises designed to test and implement primary, secondary and tertiary measures while later being evaluated for weaknesses or areas of improvements that would help evolve the ability of all aspects and levels of governments involved. Following the re-evaluation of areas that need improvement the process begins all over again with those new controls put into effect. This allows for the NIMS to be an ever-growing and evolving tool as opposed to a static, outdated one that constantly requires re-organization. For example, in 1989 when Hurricane Hugo struck the state of South Carolina, the governor’s office and the Emergency Management System had set-up and established Emergency Operations Centers and neither knew that the other existed. (Miskel, 2006) Through the usage of NIMS it could have easily been recognized that in a state of emergency the primary command center for control of disaster assistance would have been the state’s emergency management agency and the Governor could have used such an agency to establish the need for and request disaster assistance instead of attempting to re-invent the wheel himself. The second focus area for NIMS is that of communications and information management. This particular aspect distinguishes that the lack of emergency communications interoperability across disciplines and jurisdictions hinders situational awareness, command and control and the overall management of response and recover efforts. This particular area focuses on two subcomponents known as a common operating picture and interoperability. The common operating picture gives officials a standard overview of an incident that enabling the Incident Commander/Unified Command and any supporting agency/organization the ability to make timely decisions regarding the disaster/incident. This information is not obtained without interoperability. This allows emergency management and response personnel the ability to communicate in any way possible when needed and authorized. (Communications and Information Management, 2014) In any situation, the key to resolution is the free-flowing exchange of information. With this effective capability achieved, both state and federal officials have a clear picture of what the disaster is, what assets/resources are needed to assist with immediate threats and what assets/resources will be needed post disaster in order to effectively re-boot the local community. It provides a multi-tiered approach in the establishment of communications in the event of failure of one or more pre-planned methods of communications to ensure information can be shared. The third component is that of the effective management of resources in the pre and post disaster stage. This enables the effective identification of accredited individuals, equipment, teams, units and personnel needed in order to respond to a particular type of disaster. The steps taken in response to an incident involve identifying requirements, ordering/acquiring, mobilization, tracking and reporting, de-mobilization, reimbursement and finally inventorying. (Resource Management, 2014) This allows for the affected region to receive the specified number of units of an item needed and then re-acquiring all assets in preparation for the next anticipated need for that particular item. For example, a hurricane hits your county and effectively disables all power for the next days. Through the utilization of NIMS you can identify exactly how many generators are needed to provide power for first responders. Once it has been identified that more generators are needed than on hand, a request is submitted and federal assistance is met in the form of diesel generators and gas to power them. Once power is restored in your local area, the generators are returned to their source, maintenance is performed and the source is reimbursed for their usage. The fourth component is that of the Command and Management System and within, the Incident Command System. In any situation, a chain of command must be established not only for accountability, but also to enable multiple agencies a source of information regarding direction and priority in response to daily situational reports. This is where the Incident Command System (ICS) allows for the integration of facilities, equipment, personnel, procedures and communications with a common organizational structure. It does this through a coordinated response on behalf of multiple agencies while establishing common process for planning and management of resources. (Incident Command System, 2014) Think to yourself: In a disaster situation, who knows the local area the best? The local authorities or the federal authorities? So why is it that when a major disaster occurs the federal authorities are largely to blame? ICS allows local authorities to respond to any incident of any kind or size while being able to quickly establish a common management structure in the form of both a logistical, administrative and operational chain of command. This allows the reduction of cost through avoiding the duplication of efforts by multiple agencies. The last component of NIMS is perhaps the most important of all. The Ongoing maintenance and management module provides direction, oversight and coordination of agencies in the application of NIMS in the continued refinement of its concepts and principles. This affords all levels of the government to share lessons learned, refine standard operating procedures and identify shortfalls in response techniques across America. It allows for the ever-demanding task of keeping up with science in technology affording all agencies the ability to have the latest and greatest to support their mission. The National Integration Center (NIC) takes the lead in establishing guidelines and standards in regards to administration and compliance with NIMS, keeping up with standards and credentialing of all levels of response and development of training and exercises that allow agencies the ability to sharpen their usage of NIMS. The National Incident Management System does not hold all the answers in reference to exactly what to do in the event of every type of emergency ever experienced. What it does contain is an ever evolving exchange of information that will enable responders all levels of government to utilize and build upon the framework of a solid foundation for disaster reliefs. This will drastically help reduce the loss of life, money, resources and infrastructure in any emergency situation.

Terror Hits Home: The Oklahoma City Bombing. Retrieved April 6, 2014 from http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/history/famous-cases/oklahoma-city-bombing

NIMS and the Incident Command System. (November 23, 2004) Retrieved April 6, 2014 from http://www.fema.gov/txt/nims/nims_ics_position_paper.txt

Preparedness Overview. Federal Emergency Management Agency. Retrieved April 6, 2014 from http://www.fema.gov/preparedness-0

Communications and Information Management Overview. Federal Emergency Management Agency. Retrieved April 6, 2014 from http://www.fema.gov/preparedness-0

Resource Management. Federal Emergency Management Agency. Retrieved April 6, 2014 from http://www.fema.gov/preparedness-0

Incident Command System (ICS) Overview. Federal Emergency Management Agency. Retrieved April 6, 2014 from http://www.fema.gov/preparedness-0

Miskel, J.F. (2006). Disaster Response and Homeland Security: What Works, What Doesn’t. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group Inc.

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