Readings, Resources, and Assignments
Required Textbook Readings Read

Why is NIMS and ICS the one-size-fits-all response to significant national incidents?

https://www.fema.gov/strategic-plan

Multimedia Resources Watch
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOa8jiEmkIc
(9:31 min)
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJ2avnkmeEk&feature=youtu.be
• (3:00 min)
Interact
• https://training.fema.gov/is/courseoverview.aspx?code=IS-100.c

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READ:
• https://www.fema.gov/strategic-plan
https://training.fema.gov/is/courseoverview.aspx?code=IS-100.c
WATCH:
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOa8jiEmkIc
• (9:31 min)
First responders, governments, and individuals in the public/private sectors train and prepare for worst-case scenarios. One of the most feared terrorist incidents is the use of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) or a “dirty bomb.” After the events of 9/11, the U.S. government established a standard protocol for managing emergencies such as a WMD to better prepare communities to respond during and after an attack.
Approaching the Objectives
The FEMA. https://www.fema.gov/gov Web site provides the following information regarding the National Incident Management System.
READ:
• http://www.hlswatch.com/2010/06/08/why-is-nims-and-ics-the-one-size-fits-all-response-to-significant-national-incidents/
National Incident Management System (NIMS)
Developed by the Department of Homeland Security and issued in March 2004, the NIMS will enable responders at all jurisdictional levels and across all disciplines to work together more effectively and efficiently. Beginning in FY 2006, federal funding for state, local and tribal preparedness grants will be tied to compliance with the NIMS. One of the most important ‘best practices’ that has been incorporated into the NIMS is the Incident Command System (ICS), a standard, on-scene, all-hazards incident management system already in use by firefighters, hazardous materials teams, rescuers and emergency medical teams. The ICS has been established by the NIMS as the standardized incident organizational structure for the management of all incidents.
The NIMS provides a consistent, flexible and adjustable national framework within which government and private entities at all levels can work together to manage domestic incidents, regardless of their cause, size, location or complexity. This flexibility applies across all phases of incident management: prevention, preparedness, response, recovery and mitigation. The NIMS provides a set of standardized organizational structures – including the ICS, Multi- Agency Coordination Systems and public information systems – as well as requirements for processes, procedures and systems to improve interoperability among jurisdictions and disciplines in various areas.
The History of Incident Command System
The concept of ICS was developed more than thirty years ago, in the aftermath of a devastating wildfire in California. During 13 days in 1970, 16 lives were lost, 700 structures were destroyed and over one-half million acres burned. The overall cost and loss associated with these fires totaled $18 million per day. Although all of the responding agencies cooperated to the best of their ability, numerous problems with communication and coordination hampered their effectiveness. As a result, the Congress mandated that the U.S. Forest Service design a system that would “make a quantum jump in the capabilities of Southern California wildland fire protection agencies to effectively coordinate interagency action and to allocate suppression resources in dynamic, multiple-fire situations.”
The ICS is a system designed to manage any size of incident from its beginning until the requirement for management no longer exists. The Incident Commander is in charge of an incident and is a title that can apply equally to an engine foreman or to the chief of a department depending upon the situation. The structure of the ICS can be established to expand and contract as needed to meet the changing conditions of the incident. It is intended to be staffed and operated by qualified personnel from any emergency services agency and may involve personnel from a variety of agencies.
Incident Command Systems
As mentioned in previous lessons, a terrorist attack or any large-scale emergency will often require resources out of the scope of an agency’s typical response. Due to the complexity of these incidents, multiple disciplines will often work simultaneously on the scene, each focusing on their own specialty, but with the common goal of aiding victims, eliminating the threat(s), all while minimizing their own risk. Due to the size of these tasks, similar agencies from neighboring jurisdictions will need to assist.
An incident command system allows any given agency to account for all available resources, to allocate them most effectively, and increase their span of control from normal operations. The system also allows emergency services to contain and control a threat until it can be eliminated.
The ICS organization develops upon a foundation of five major management functions. These functions include the following:
• Incident Command: The Incident Commander sets the incident objectives, strategies, and priorities and has overall responsibility for the incident.
• Operations: Operations conducts operations to reach the incident objectives and establishes the tactics and directs all operational resources.
• Planning: Planning supports the incident action planning process by tracking resources, collecting/analyzing information, and maintaining documentation.
• Logistics: Logistics provides resources and needed services to support the achievement of the incident objectives.
• Finance & Administration: F and A monitors costs related to the incident. It provides accounting, procurement, time recording, and cost analyses.
When a first responder arrives on the scene of a catastrophic incident, he or she must recognize any limitations and communicate the need for additional resources to their supervisors. The supervisor’s role is to accept this communication and lower all egos and jurisdictional ownership and begin to allocate more assistance.
This supervisor often becomes the Incident Commander, because this individual is the first supervisor involved and often has the most up-to-date, working knowledge of the incident. Other times, this role will be assigned to the highest-ranking officer involved. He or she will begin to assess the incident and establish a command post.
A command post should be established in an area inaccessible to the media or general public. It should be a safe distance from the incident so that personnel operating from the command post are not in immediate danger. During 9/11 a command post was established in the lobby of one of the towers. When the towers fell, the entire command post was destroyed resulting in mass casualties of high-ranking law enforcement and fire personnel.
Staging is an identified area where those who have not been assigned a position or duty will report. While a first responder’s is ingrained to immediately report to “ground zero,” this is not a coordinated or well-planned decision. Staging allows responding personnel to be accounted for and placed appropriately.
A Liaison officer is a Command Staff position consisting of a single person who acts as the on-scene contact point for representatives of assisting agencies assigned to the incident. A Liaison Officer may designate one or more assistants from either the same or another assisting agency or jurisdiction. Liaisons ensure that accurate and timely information is reported to the Incident Commander.
During an incident, an area for the media will also be identified. This allows information to be presented and shared in a coordinated manner. Cameras and reporters may try to access the actual scene, and this could be very dangerous for them and first responders who may still be looking for a suspect or threats. A public information officer (PIO) will coordinate with the responding media and be the spokesperson to share information as it comes in. The goal of the PIO. is to communicate ongoing or eliminated threats, to pass on critical information that may assist in the investigation of the incident, and to calm the public by keeping them informed with accurate information and serve as official rumor control for the incident.
An incident command system allows an agency to expand their span of control and allow the experts in a given discipline narrow their field of focus and most effectively address a threat or incident. The ICS is also used for planned events such as a sporting event.