FireFighterNation

Chief I. David Daniels suggests expanding the Incident Command System through the formation of a “Safety Section,” and details the five functional branches: Field Accountability, Hazard Identification, Responder Intervention, Technical Assistance and Responder Care.

When NIMS was rolled out, many incident commanders resisted the changes, especially the directive that the system should be used on everyday incidents. But such use is a critical way to ensure that personnel are ready to use NIMS when it really counts.

After 9/11, the fire service made a promise to its fallen colleagues—it would “never forget” the sacrifice of the 343. But as the 10-year anniversary approaches, Chief Matt Tobia points out that fulfillment of that promise goes way beyond a remembrance of those we lost.

Prior to the 1970s, no single system was in place to unify local command systems when multiple agencies responded to major emergencies. That changed with the creation of the FIRESCOPE program, which initially helped organize events in Southern California, but grew to be adopted by the federal government in the form of the National Incident Management System (NIMS). William Neville and Robert Neamy recall the early days of FIRESCOPE and its development into NIMS. They also offer insight into why it’s important that NIMS be adopted and used by all agencies.

The National Incident Management System has greatly aided the fire service in organizing large-scale incidents; however, NIMS can also be applied to non-emergency events. As Jeff Harkey describes, one such event was the 2010 World Equestrian Games (WEG). Harkey details the use of both NIMS and ICS to manage 49 individual events that took place during the 17 days of the WEG.