IS-700.a: National Incident Management System (NIMS) An Introduc

HSPD-5 required the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish a mechanism for ensuring the ongoing management and maintenance of NIMS. The Secretary established the National Integration Center (NIC) to perform all of the following functions EXCEPT:

• Developing assessment criteria for the various components of NIMS, as well as compliance requirements and timelines.

• Inventorying and tracking all national resources and assets available for deployment in incidents managed using NIMS.

• Promoting compatibility between national-level standards for NIMS and those developed by other public, private, and professional groups.

• Facilitating the establishment and maintenance of a documentation and database system related to qualification, certification, and credentialing of emergency management/response personnel and organizations.

Select the NIMS term that is defined as 'the architecture to support coordination for incident prioritization, critical resource allocation, communications systems integration, and information coordination

• Incident Operations Network

• Multiagency Coordination System

• Incident Management Team

• Command and Control Cente

The National Response Framework (NRF) presents the guiding principles that:

• Mandate specific operational plans for local responders to use when managing a wide range of incidents.

• Are singly focused on improving Federal homeland security agencies' response to catastrophic natural hazards and terrorist-related incidents.

• Supersede the National Incident Management System's framework when Federal agency and departments are assisting in area response.

• Provide the structure and mechanisms to ensure effective Federal support of State, tribal, and local related activities.

Homeland Security Presidential Directive 5 (HSPD-5) requires all Federal departments and agencies to:

• Implement NIMS as the doctrine for how best to organize and manage all routine, day-to-day department/agency operations.

• Establish a panel that will evaluate activities at the State, tribal, and local levels to ensure compliance with NIMS.

• Make adoption of NIMS by State, tribal, and local organizations a condition for Federal preparedness assistance (through grants, contracts, and other activities).

• Create NIMS strike teams that can manage incident operations if a local government fails to comply with NIMS.

Unified Command:

• Obligates all responsible agencies to pool their resources without consideration to the terms of mutual aid and assistance agreements.

• Assigns a single Incident Commander to assume unity of command and make decisions for all jurisdictions.

• Enables all agencies with responsibility to manage an incident together by establishing a common set of incident objectives and strategies.

• Requires that employees report to several different Incident Commanders, each representing each jurisdiction.

Interoperability:

• Involves oversight by the Federal Communications Commission for assigning emergency frequencies.

• Primarily involves creating automated systems that allow for the sharing of sensitive incident information.

• Is the ability of emergency management/response personnel to interact and work well together.

• Requires nongovernmental and private-sector organizations to purchase standardized communication equipment.

This structure is the physical location at which the coordination of information and resources to support incident management (on-scene operations) activities normally takes place.

• Strategic Operations Center

• Incident Command Post

• Emergency Operations Center

• Joint Command Post

Which of the following statements is FALSE?

• NIMS specifies how resources will be allocated among jurisdictions.

• NIMS is based on best practices collected from all levels of responders.

• NIMS integrates best practices into a comprehensive, standardized framework.

• NIMS is applicable across the full spectrum of potential incidents, regardless of cause, size, location, or complexity.

Who is the individual responsible for all incident activities, including the development of strategies and tactics and the ordering and release of resources?

• Agency Executive or Senior Official

• Incident Commander

• Operations Section Chief

• Emergency Operations Center Manager

In an Incident Command System organization, the term 'General Staff' refers to:

• Incident management personnel organized according to function (i.e., Operations Section Chief, Planning Section Chief, Logistics Section Chief, and Finance/Administration Section Chief) and who report directly to the Incident Commander.

• Generalists who are assigned to support Section Chiefs with functions such as administrative matters and documentation of incident events.

• A person assigned by a cooperating agency or nongovernmental/private organization who has been delegated authority to make decisions affecting that agency's or organization's participation in incident management activities.

• Any combination of personnel resources assembled to support a specific mission or operational need with common communications and a designated leader.