National Incident Management System (NIMS)
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December 18, 2008 Dear NIMS Stakeholders: Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD)-5, Management of Domestic Incidents, directed the development and administration of the National Incident Management System (NIMS). Originally issued on March 1, 2004, by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), NIMS provides a consistent nationwide template to enable Federal, State, 1 tribal, and local2 governments, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and the private sector to work together to prevent, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate the effects of incidents, regardless of cause, size, location, or complexity. HSPD-5 also required DHS to establish a mechanism for ongoing coordination to provide strategic direction for, and oversight of, NIMS. The National Integration Center (NIC)’s Incident Management Systems Integration Division (IMSI)—formerly the NIMS Integration Center—was established to support both routine maintenance and the continuous refinement of NIMS. Since 2006, the NIMS document has been revised to incorporate best practices and lessons learned from recent incidents. The NIMS revision also clarifies concepts and principles, and refines processes and terminology throughout the document. A wide range of feedback was incorporated while maintaining the core concepts of NIMS and no major policy changes were made to the document during the revision. Below is a summary of changes to the NIMS document: . Eliminated redundancy; . Reorganized document to emphasize that NIMS is more than the Incident Command System (ICS); . Clarified ICS concepts; . Increased emphasis on planning and added guidance on mutual aid; . Clarified roles of private sector, NGOs, and chief elected and appointed officials; 1 As defined in the Homeland Security Act of 2002, P.L. 107-296, the term “State” means “any State of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and any possession of the United States.” 6 U.S.C. 101(14) 2 As defined in the Homeland Security Act of 2002, section 2(10), the term “local government” means “(A) a county, municipality, city, town, township, local public authority, school district, special district, intrastate district, council of governments..., regional or interstate government entity, or agency or instrumentality of a local government; (B) an Indian tribe or authorized tribal organization, or in Alaska a Native village or Alaska Regional Native Corporation; and (C) a rural community, unincorporated town or village, or other public entity.” 6 U.S.C. 101(10) www.dhs.gov December 2008 National Incident Management System i . Expanded the Intelligence/Investigations function; and . Highlighted the relationship between NIMS and the National Response Framework. I ask for your continued assistance as we implement NIMS. I look forward to continuing our collective efforts to better secure the homeland and protect our citizens. Thank you for your hard work in this important endeavor. Sincerely, Michael Chertoff ii National Incident Management System December 2008 CONTENTS Transmittal Letter .................................................................................................... i List of Tables .......................................................................................................... ix List of Figures ........................................................................................................ ix What Is the National Incident Management System? ..............................................1 PREFACE..................................................................................................................3 INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW .............................................................................5 A. Introduction ............................................................................................... 5 B. Concepts and Principles ............................................................................... 6 1. Flexibility .............................................................................................. 6 2. Standardization ...................................................................................... 7 C. Overview of NIMS Components ..................................................................... 7 1. NIMS Components .................................................................................. 7 COMPONENT I: PREPAREDNESS .............................................................................9 A. Concepts and Principles ............................................................................... 9 1. Unified Approach .................................................................................... 9 2. Levels of Capability .............................................................................. 10 B. Achieving Preparedness ............................................................................. 10 1. Relationship Between NIMS and Other Preparedness Efforts ...................... 10 2. NIMS and Its Relationship to the National Response Framework ................. 11 3. Preparedness Roles .............................................................................. 12 4. Preparedness Elements ......................................................................... 16 5. Mitigation ............................................................................................ 21 COMPONENT II: COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION MANAGEMENT .............. 23 A. Concepts and Principles ............................................................................. 23 1. Common Operating Picture .................................................................... 23 2. Interoperability .................................................................................... 24 3. Reliability, Scalability, and Portability ...................................................... 24 4. Resiliency and Redundancy.................................................................... 24 B. Management Characteristics ....................................................................... 25 1. Standardized Communication Types ....................................................... 25 2. Policy and Planning ............................................................................... 25 3. Agreements ......................................................................................... 26 4. Equipment Standards and Training ......................................................... 26 C. Organization and Operations....................................................................... 27 1. Incident Information ............................................................................. 27 2. Communications Standards and Formats ................................................. 28 December 2008 National Incident Management System iii COMPONENT III: RESOURCE MANAGEMENT ......................................................... 31 A. Concepts and Principles ............................................................................. 32 1. Concepts ............................................................................................. 32 2. Principles ............................................................................................ 32 B. Managing Resources .................................................................................. 34 1. Identify Requirements .......................................................................... 35 2. Order and Acquire ................................................................................ 37 3. Mobilize .............................................................................................. 37 4. Track and Report ................................................................................. 38 5. Recover and Demobilize ........................................................................ 38 6. Reimburse ........................................................................................... 39 7. Inventory ............................................................................................ 39 COMPONENT IV: COMMAND AND MANAGEMENT ................................................... 45 A. Incident Command System ......................................................................... 45 1. Management Characteristics .................................................................. 46 2. Incident Command and Command Staff .................................................. 49 3. General Staff ....................................................................................... 54 4. Incident Management Teams ................................................................. 61 5. Incident Complex: Multiple Incident Management Within a Single ICS Organization ...................................................................... 61 6. Area Command .................................................................................... 62 B. Multiagency Coordination Systems .............................................................. 64 1. Definition ............................................................................................ 64 2. System Elements ................................................................................. 65 3. Examples of System Elements ............................................................... 66 4. Primary Functions of MACS ...................................................................