Department of Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge approved the National Incident Management System on March 1, creating the first national standardized plan to manage emergency incidents and a unified chain of command for federal, state and local government.

Fire chiefs who want to pursue federal funding next year should begin NIMS implementation. The presidential directive that created NIMS also requires that its implementation be a condition for all federal grants, contracts and activities in FY 2005.

NIMS provides an incident management template for all emergency forces — federal, state and local law enforcement, environmental protection, public works and public health, EMS, emergency management, the Red Cross — including private organizations involved in response.

“NIMS gives all our nation's responders the same framework for incident management and fully puts into practice the concept of one mission, one fight,” said Ridge.

The release of NIMS follows the October approval of the Interim National Response Plan, which agencies can use while development continues on the final National Response Plan, expected to be completed this summer.

Representing the International Association of Fire Chiefs, Chief John Buckman of the German Township (Ind.) Volunteer Fire Department is a member of the DHS State, Tribal and Local Advisory Board that provided input in the development of NIMS and the INRP since August last year.

Buckman said fire and EMS incident commanders will be on a shorter learning curve to adopt NIMS than leaders of other response sectors. The fire service has used and debated the intricacies of incident command for more than 20 years. The Firescope system, the Fire Command System and the Incident Command System taught by the National Fire Academy all have devoted followers. It shouldn't be difficult for devotees of any of these systems to adopt NIMS, he said.

The NIMS document is the first step in trying to bring consistency to the management of incidents. NIMS should make it easier for fire service incident commanders to work with the various response forces to manage and recover from emergencies of all sizes.

The system should not be difficult to adopt, but there are some new things to learn. NIMS contains new roles and a new framework that differs from the way FEMA worked at incidents in the past. For one thing, the Principal Federal Official will be above the Federal Coordinating Officer in FEMA regions.

“The Principal Federal Official will be the coordinating authority for the federal government,” explained Buckman. “So if you get on scene, and you need anything from the federal government, the Principal Federal Official has the ultimate authority. If you need resources, whatever those resources are — whether it be the FBI, the CIA, the military, the ATF or the U.S. Fire Administration — the PFO can either make it happen or will tell you it can't happen.”

Another new federal entity is the NIMS Integration Center, which will keep all response agencies informed of what protocols, procedures and standards need to be maintained for NIMS compliance. It also will study how NIMS is working at emergency incidents and make refinements to the system in the future. NIMS Integration Center members haven't even been appointed yet, but the IAFC will be monitoring its development closely to ensure the fire service plays a role in it, Buckman said.

The NIMS document also hints that NIMS compliance at some point may require state and local organizations to implement interoperable voice and data communications systems, but Buckman was skeptical that requirement would be realistic in the near future.

For More Info

National Incident Management System (complete document)
www.dhs.gov/interweb/assetlibrary/nims-90-web.pdf

DHS Fact Sheet on NIMS
www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/display?content=3258

“NIMS: The Last Word on Incident Command?” (transcript of interview with Chief John Buckman)
firechief.com/ar/firefighting_nics_last_word