NIMS

Michigan
Abby Watkins
Emergency Services
  • 306 North Street, PO Box 885
    White Cloud, MI 49349
    M-F 8am-5pm
  • (231) 689-7354
    (231) 689-7305
 
On February 28, 2003, President Bush issued Homeland Security Presidential Directive–5. Homeland Security Presidential Directive–5 directed the Secretary of Homeland Security to develop and administer a National Incident Management System. National Incident Management System provides a consistent nationwide template to enable all government, private-sector, and nongovernmental organizations to work together to prepare for, respond to, recover from, and mitigate domestic incidents, regardless of cause, size, or complexity. Based upon emergency management and incident response practices, the National Incident Management System represents a core set of doctrine, concepts, principles, terminology, and organizational processes that enables effective, efficient, and collaborative incident management.
 
The National Incident Management System is a comprehensive, national approach to incident management that is applicable at all jurisdictional levels and across functional disciplines. The intent of the National Incident Management System is to be applicable across a full spectrum of potential incidents and hazard scenarios, regardless of size or complexity and to improve coordination and cooperation between public and private entities in a variety of domestic incident management activities. Until now, there have been no standards for domestic incident response that reach across all levels of government and all emergency response agencies. The events of September 11 have underscored the need for and importance of national standards for incident operations, incident communications, personnel qualifications, resource management, and information management and supporting technology.
 
National Incident Management System benefits include a unified approach to incident management; standard command and management structures; and emphasis on preparedness, mutual aid and resource management. It also provides a common foundation for training and other preparedness efforts, communicating and sharing information with other responders and with the public, ordering resources to assist with a response effort, and for integrating new technologies and standards to support incident management. For the first time, all of the nation’s emergency responders will use a common language, and a common set of procedures when working individually and together to keep America safe. The National Incident Management System ensures that emergency responders will have the same preparation, the same goals and expectations, and most importantly, they will be speaking the same language.
 
Implementation of and compliance with the National Incident Management System is critical to ensuring full and robust preparedness across our nation. HSPD-5 established ambitious deadlines for National Incident Management System adoption.
 

National Incident Management System Compliancy Requirements

To ensure that stakeholders implement National Incident Management System, the National Integration Center evaluates implementation using the National Incident Management System Compliance Requirements. These compliance requirements are regulated at the organizational or jurisdictional level, and Federal policy requires jurisdictions and organizations to meet National Incident Management System compliance requirements as a condition for receiving Federal preparedness assistance (through grants, contracts, and other activities). National Incident Management System compliance requirements for training typically require that stakeholders are providing their personnel with appropriate National Incident Management System training.
 

Adopting NIMS

Homeland Security Presidential Directive-5 requires Federal departments and agencies to make the adoption of National Incident Management System by State and local organizations a condition for Federal preparedness assistance (grants, contracts, and other activities). 
 
Local governments must establish legislation, executive orders, resolutions, or ordinances to adopt formally the National Incident Management System. The adoption of National Incident Management System should be recorded in an official document and a copy provided to the Emergency Management Division. A sample local resolution is attached and an electronic copy in MSWord available from the Emergency Management Division. The wording can also be incorporated into the jurisdictions general emergency management resolution. Adoption and implementation of the National Incident Management System by State, tribal, and local organizations is one of the conditions for receiving Federal preparedness assistance (through grants, contracts, and other activities).
 

National Incident Management System Training

The desired state of the National Training Program for National Incident Management System is to create a sustained program of training and personnel qualification that is well coordinated and continually maintained and meets the operational needs of the emergency management and incident response community under the National Incident Management System. It is envisioned that at the end of Fiscal Year 2012 (FY12), the Training Program will be fully developed and National Incident Management System training will be consistently delivered throughout the community of emergency management/response personnel at the levels identified by the core competencies—at which point, the National Training Program for National Incident Management System will include:
  • Core competencies and associated behaviors to describe capabilities required of emergency management/response personnel within the National Incident Management System
  • A national core curriculum for the National Incident Management System, with each course having learning objectives that meet training needs set by the core competencies
  • Complete training guidance for all courses in the core curriculum for the National Incident Management System
  • Qualifications guidelines for individual emergency management/response positions or functions within the National Incident Management System
Region 6 Homeland Security Governing Board is working on a Regional Standard for National Incident Management System compliancy and required training for each position. At this time, Newaygo County Emergency Services recommends those persons responsible for the implementation and supervision of emergency response within the emergency services disciplines and government administration (state and local EOC command staff and their alternates) must complete IS 700, IS 100 and IS 200 training.
 
Emergency Services has one four hour class which covers IS-700, IS-100, and IS-200 and meets all the requirements for the National Incident Management System mandates.  
As defined by the National Incident Management System training plan, all personnel with a direct role in emergency management/response must complete NIMS IS-700, IS-100, and IS-200 including:
  • Executive level—political and government leaders (both elected and appointed officials); agency and organization administrators and department heads; personnel that fill ICS roles as unified commanders, incident commanders, Command Staff, or General Staff in either area command or single incidents; and emergency operations center Command or General Staff.
  • Managerial level—agency and organization management between the executive level and first-level supervision; personnel who fill ICS roles as Branch Directors, Division/Group Supervisors, Unit Leaders, technical specialists, strike team and task force leaders, single resource leaders, and field supervisors; EOC Section Chiefs, and other emergency management/response personnel who require a higher level of ICS/NIMS training.
  • Responder level—emergency response providers and disaster workers, entry level to managerial level, including emergency medical service personnel; firefighters; medical personnel; police officers; public health personnel; public work/utility personnel; and other emergency management response personnel.
“National Incident Management System (NIMS), An Introduction” – IS 700
 
Overview: This course explains the purpose, principles, key components and benefits of NIMS. IS-700 is not an Incident Command System course.
 
“Introduction to the Incident Command System,” IS-100 and “ICS for Single Resources and Initial Action Incidents,” ICS 200
 
Overview: IS 100 introduces the Incident Command System (ICS) and provides the foundation for higher-level ICS training. This course describes the history, features and principles, and organizational structure of the Incident Command System. It also explains the relationship between ICS and the National Incident Management System (NIMS). IS 200 is designed to enable personnel to operate efficiently during an incident or event within the Incident Command System (ICS). ICS-200 provides training on and resources for personnel who are likely to assume a supervisory position within the ICS.
 
“Intermediate ICS for Expanding Incidents,” G-300 and “Advanced ICS Command and General Staff – Complex Incidents,” G-400
 
Overview: G 300 and G 400 provides training on and resources for personnel who require advanced application of the Incident Command System. G 300 describes how the NIMS Command and management component supports the management of expanding incidents (Type III Incidents). It also describes the incident/event management process for supervisors and expanding incidents as prescribed by the Incident Command System. G-300 is designed to enable personnel to implement the incident management process on a simulated type III incident and develop an Incident Action Plan for a simulated Event. G 400 explains how major incidents engender special management challenges. It also describes the circumstances in which an area command is established and when Multiagency coordination systems are established. 
 
Audience: All Federal, State, tribal, and local emergency management/response personnel who may assume a supervisory role in expanding incidents or Type III Incidents and all supervisory personnel who are expected to perform in a management capacity in an Area Command or Multi-agency Coordination Entity.
 
“National Response Plan (NRP), An Introduction” IS-800
 
Overview: The purpose of the course is to introduce the National Response Plan, describe the purpose and the roles and responsibilities of entities as specified in the National Response Plan, identify the organizational structure used for coordination, describe the field-level organizations and teams activated under the National Response Plan, and identify the incident management activities addressed by the National Response Plan.
 
Audience: All Federal, State, tribal, and local emergency management/response personnel whose primary responsibility is emergency management must complete this training. Specifically, officials who must take the course include:
  • Personnel in Federal departments and agencies with emergency management and incident response responsibilities under the NRP
  • Officials in State and Territorial governments with emergency management and incident response responsibilities, personnel from emergency management agencies, and personnel from agencies who support and interact with the NRP’s 15 Emergency Support Functions
  • Officials in tribal entities and local jurisdictions with overall emergency management responsibilities as dictated by law or ordinance, officials with overall emergency management responsibilities through delegation, and officials primarily involved in emergency planning

Funding Restrictions for Non-Compliancy

In order for any County, municipality, or agency to receive FY 2007 Homeland Security funding (including equipment), other federal grant funding sources (including but not limited to Firefighter assistance grants, USDA Grants and Loans, EPA grants, etc.), and potentially even state or federal operational support and funding after a disaster or emergency, the County, agency, or municipality must be NIMS compliant. Copies of training certificates are needed for all department personnel as well as a copy of the local NIMS resolution and are being tracked by Newaygo County Emergency Services Department.
 
Please forward a copy of all NIMS resolutions and training certificates via fax, email, or mail to: Abby Watkins, Newaygo County Emergency Management, 1018 Newell Street, PO Box 885, White Cloud MI 49349, Fax: (231) 689-7348, or Email Here.
 

Why Do I need to take National Incident Management System Training

The National Incident Management System is the foundation of Federal, State, and Local Incident Management. Responders from your community or agency may be involved in providing or receiving mutual aid during response to large-scale emergencies and utilize Incident Command System to organize the response to emergencies. The National Incident Management System training is important to understand because this is the method that the responders in your community use to respond to emergencies and disasters and you need to understand how your agency fits into the overall incident management system. As defined by the National Response Plan, incidents are managed at the lowest jurisdictional level possible. It does not matter what State or Federal resources come into assist, it is ultimately our responsibility to be prepared for and respond to incidents which may impact our citizens in which we serve.     
 

RESOURCES

National Integration Center. The NIC posts up-to-date information on the progress and current activities on the NIC web page. The NIC web page can be found at Fema.Gov/NIMS.  If you have any questions regarding National Incident Management System, please contact Abby Watkins, P.E.M., Director of Emergency Management and Homeland Security.