DALLAS — Implementing the FEMA-mandated National Incident Management System in every fire department in the nation has hit some roadblocks, as many fire service leaders reject the system in place of legacy strategies. However, NIMS was enacted by a presidential mandate so fire departments must implement the system and can do so seamlessly through education and training, said Leonard Carmichael Jr., who led a session on the use of NIMS at Fire-Rescue International.

Carmichael is a fire captain in Trenton, N.J., and also works with Fire Training Associates. In an interview with FIRE CHIEF, he said NIMS provides a systematic, proactive approach that can guide departments and agencies at all levels of government to prevent, protect against, respond to, recover from and mitigate the effects of incidents. It provides a framework for which all incidents should be managed and is crucial in promoting firefighter safety during an incident.

“The number-one importance is firefighter safety,” Carmichael said. “Failure to implement this system can contribute to a line-of-duty death or a serious injury. It also eliminates freelancing, which mean that everyone has an organized approach to the incident and everyone knows what their job is. It also makes the incident commander’s job easier because they can use objectives, strategies and tactics to bring the incident to a close. But most importantly, using the system fire chiefs knows where everybody is.”

John Buckman, chair of the IAFC’s FRI program planning committee, said NIMS helps the fire service follow a consistent action plan — from the largest to smallest fire departments or emergency services agency in the country. It also lets fire chiefs manage and organize any emergency event and lets departments work seamlessly during large-scale incidents that often can cross jurisdictions.

“It’s a simple system to implement,” he said. “And it provides a consistent way across the country to approach any incident.”

For NIMS to work, it is crucial that training and education is offered. Carmichael said all levels of leadership should be trained on how to use the system so young firefighters moving up the ranks are well-versed on how to run an incident based on the NIMS mandate.

“When the fire chief has that expectation of his or her chief officers then that should transfer to the lowest level to the firefighter,” he said. “They need to know there is a system in place that holds them accountable for their actions and as the incident escalates they are prepared to handle that.”

Buckman said fire chiefs need to think more globally compared to the past. Although all emergencies are local, extreme events means resources from surrounding cities or counties often are needed to assist mitigate an incident. NIMS provides a roadmap to using resources that often sit on the shelf until a large-scale incident occurs.

“Every department is prone to have a disaster and will need to bring in resources not used every day, from floods, to tornados to earthquakes,” he said. “A tornado is not an everyday event, so chiefs may have to bring in people, such as from the health department.”

Cultural roadblocks have stalled implementation of NIMS across the nation, Carmichael said. He said fear of the unknown is driving the trend. Many chiefs are slow to change policies and are more willing to stick with time-proven legacy strategies. He said training, education and commitment to NIMS can change such roadblocks.

“Chief officers have to lead by example,” Carmichael said. “If captain allows his people to freelance then the next chief has a tougher job and a lot more work to correct his or her mistakes. The whole intent is that if everyone follows the plan then all you are doing is transferring the level of responsibility and the plan will continue to move forward.”

Fire chiefs often don’t implement NIMS because they are concerned about outside interference. They fear another department will take over the incident, Buckman said.

“It’s again that fear, unfounded fear, that the fire chief has that someone is going to come in and take over,” Buckman said. “No they are not. The law does not allow them to, doesn’t provide them the opportunity and will lead to negative consequences if they do because if the state fire marshal comes in and takes over an incident it’s the state that’s responsible for everything that happened. Most states don’t want that responsibility. The fire chief has to get out of that cultural fear. It’s not going to happen.”

Carmichael emphasized that fire chiefs who don’t follow the NIMS leave themselves open to liability or, worse, criminal malfeasance.

“Fire chiefs worked hard their whole life to get to the chiefs position,” he said. “They risk losing it all by not following the system.”