In an alert from the NIMS Integration Center on Aug. 17, the NIC stated “The requirement to adopt and implement NIMS and ICS means NIMS and ICS for incident management every day. Those who don't are not NIMS compliant.”

It’s clear that NIMS and ICS need to be used every day -- at every incident -- for an organization to be NIMS compliant. For the fire service, this means we need to use ICS on more than just fire events. But more important than how often the ICS is used is how efficiently and effectively it actually works.

For many years, many fire departments have relegated the use of ICS to fire incidents only. With the decline of fire occurrences, this has created a challenge for the fire service. Limiting the use of ICS only to fires limits opportunities for “experience,” thus limits the opportunity to demonstrate competence.

In the period between 1983 and 2003:

• Total fires in the U.S decreased by 32%



• Total overall responses increased by 105%



• Total fire departments decreased by 1%
  

In effect, the same number of firefighters is responding to one-third the number fires but twice as many overall incidents as the last generation.  If ICS is used only at fires, using ICS becomes more the exception than the rule. One aspect of NIMS compliance is the need to “institutionalize ICS.” The more frequently ICS is used, the better the opportunity for institutionalization of the system.

Before the “ICS purists” get too excited about this development, it’s important to note there are still questions about what “ICS for incident management every day” actually means. The intent of the National Incident Management System is "to ensure that all levels of government across the nation have the capability to work efficiently and effectively together, using a [single, comprehensive] national approach to domestic incident management."  Realizing that both are important, the question is will more emphasis be placed on “working efficiently and effectively together” or on “single comprehensive national approach” in your organization?

The 10th amendment of the U. S. Constitution states,  “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.” This is the concept commonly referred to as “states’ rights.”

It is generally accepted that the delivery of public-safety related services in communities is a local government function, covered by this amendment. 

As states become more familiar with the details regarding NIMS compliance in the future, it will be interesting to see how they will respond to the requirements. Already, there are indications that local jurisdictions are using slight variations or filling in some of the gaps they perceive in ICS; this may challenge some of the finer details of the system itself. 

The focus for jurisdictions should be on “working efficiently and effectively together” just as much or maybe even more than working on the single system. The NIC is established to create a strategic overarching national philosophy regarding management of domestic incidents, rather than to dictate a system to local governments.  If a local government is not in need of the assistance of resources outside its circle of influence, an assertion that the jurisdiction is not NIMS compliant could be interesting if outside resources can “effectively and efficiently” integrate into the management structure an emergency event.  

As many non-fire services entities begin to join the “ICS club,” the fire service needs to show more solidarity than ICS demagoguery. Over time, growth in the community of NIMS users will answer many of the questions we face today.

I. David Daniels is fire chief of the Fulton County (Ga.) Fire Department, a metro department surrounding the city of Atlanta. He holds a master’s degree in human resources management and is chair of the IAFC Safety, Health and Survival Section. He is a member of the NFPA’s Fire Service Occupational Safety and Health and the Professional Qualifications for Incident Management Functional Positions committees.